By: Virginia Iversen
M.Ed
As many of us begin to
settle back into our regular routine after a busy holiday season, we may be
confronted with the reality of implementing the New Year's resolutions that we
made a few weeks ago into the fabric of our lives. It is not uncommon for many
Yogis and Yoginis to make New Year's resolutions that are quite far-reaching
and beautiful, but difficult to obtain. For example, you may have made a
resolution for the year to come to practice Yoga everyday for one hour and to
meditate each morning before work for an hour. However, you may be encountering
difficulty as you try to implement these resolutions into your own life on a
daily basis.
Many Yoga students and teachers
are very committed to incorporating the diverse practices of Yoga into their
daily lives. However, many Yoga practitioners also have other obligations, such
as professional and family responsibilities. At times, these other obligations
may make it difficult to spend enough time "on the mat." If this is
the case for you, one way to prioritize your time is to clarify the truth of
what you really need in your own life. For some Yoga practitioners, having the
time to spend a full hour or more each day on their Yoga mat is critical to
their well-being. For others, spending 15 minutes a day in quiet contemplation
and doing 30 minutes or less of moderate Yoga poses provide enough rejuvenation
for them on most days.
Ultimately you must be the
one to decide what nourishes you the most deeply in your own life. According to
a number of ancient Yogic texts, integrating the awareness and practice of
Satya into your daily life is one of the keys to cultivating happiness and
peace in your own being. The Sanskrit term "Satya” is translated to mean
absolute truth or the reality of ultimate truth. In practice, by implementing
both an awareness and honoring of your own internal sense of truth, you will
align your thoughts, words, and actions in a seamless and coherent way into
your own life.
The Vedic concept of
Dharma is closely related to that of Satya in the Yogic scriptures. In the
Taittiriya Upanishad, a spiritual seeker is advised to conduct him or herself
according to the Dharma and to only speak the truth. In this context, Dharma
refers to an underlying sense of morality and ethical behavior, according to
the laws of one's land. In the Mundaka Upanishad, it is said that truth alone
is triumphant, not unreality. In other words, by aligning one's thoughts,
speech and action in an honest way, according to one's own internal sense of
truth and duty in the world, much confusion, frustration and anxiety will be
alleviated in your life.
If you are a Yoga student
and you were just becoming acquainted with the concepts of Satya and Dharma,
remember to be gentle with yourself, as you contemplate your progress in
implementing these concepts into your own life. If you find that you not
speaking your own truth in a variety of situations, this is a good place to
start to become aware of that discordance; for example, if you feel
uncomfortable speaking your truth to friends, family or work associates, you
may wish to begin to uncover your own true feeling by writing your thoughts in
a private journal. Once you begin to identify what your own internal truth
really is, it will be much easier to align your thoughts, speech and actions.
If you are a Yoga teacher,
you are probably already familiar with the concepts of Satya and Dharma in your
own Yoga practice. However, there are layers and layers of incorrect and unreal
thought patterns and perceptions that must be peeled away before you can truly
embody the light of the self. These incorrect or unreal thought patterns and
perceptions are called "samskaras” in the Yogic scriptures. Samskaras are
deeply rooted ways of perceiving ourselves and the world around us. By taking
the support of a regular practice of Yoga poses, pranayama exercises,
meditation techniques, and the study and recitation of sacred texts, you will
deeply enter into the process of excavating your own inner gold, which resides
in the core of your own being.
Virginia Iversen, M.Ed, has
been practicing and studying the art of Yoga for over twenty years. She lives
in Woodstock, New York, where she works as a writer and an academic support
specialist. She is currently accepting Yoga and health-related writing
assignments and may be contacted at: enchantress108@gmail.com.
2 comments:
By taking the support of a regular yoga practice we will deeply enter into the process of excavating our own inner gold, Thanks for nice posting.
It is very common for many Yogis and Yoginis to make New Year's resolutions that are quite far-reaching and beautiful, but difficult to obtain. Thanks for sharing this thoughtful article.
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