HumanKind
Stress is pervasive right now. There is still so much news surrounding the election and the transfer of power, COVID numbers are rising, hurricane and fire seasons have both been unrelenting this summer. On top of all that we are living in an age filled with the constant bombardment of opinions and interpretations. I am seeing stress in my clients, students, family, friends, and myself. Everyone has been touched by the lessons of 2020. The trials and tribulations of lost jobs. The challenges of adapting to a new way of living. The heartbreaks for lost loved ones. Humankind is weary.
This will show up in many ways depending on our physical and mental constitutions combined with our current state of imbalance. Stress may present as a fiery anger that lashes at those closest or those that may hold a different view. Stress may show up as worry, anxiety, a sense of feeling ungrounded or a heavy depression that makes one unmotivated and lethargic. This is the time we need to lean into our practices and not default into the automatic responses. We can use the lessons as a teacher rather than fuel the internal trauma. When viewed from the yogic lens, this year gives of us the opportunity to shift our trajectory.
The Yoga Sutras offer a clear path of practices to implement for manifesting vibrant healthy bodies, loving relationships, conscious leaders, even a prosperous planet to live on. Everything is happening because we have all collectively manifested it. I know that may be a hard pill to swallow but we need to look at our current state and take some responsibility. Our leaders are a mirror of the general collective consciousness of what we will put up with, turn a blind eye towards or enthusiastically support. The climate phenomena are a glaring example. The increased frequency and severity of the fires, tornadoes and hurricanes are directly due to the changing climate. Which is a scientifically proven result of how we take from, deplete, and disregard the care of our planet.
Now I know this all sounds like I am being Debbie Downer. The good news is we can implement practices to change our consciousness. This will alter the collective consciousness so that we desire to live in such a way that not only every lifeform benefit but also the planet itself. Patanjali in the second book of the yoga sutras shares the playbook of this shift in the 8 Limbs of Yoga. He tells us that we can prepare for “that suffering which has not yet come.” Using his preparation methods means we can avoid it altogether, reduce its full impact, or create the conditions in our inner world that will allow us to embrace it. Fully realizing the first two limbs is the beginning of the path.
The foundation of the Yamas and the Niyamas when implemented in our lives have the result of both preparing for any upcoming suffering and shifting the direction that we are currently going. Yama is sometimes referred to as “the five restraints” because it describes what one should avoid on the spiritual path. Niyama, I like to approach as devotions or the five things you should do to make spiritual progress. We receive specific results when these are integrated into our life. For example, the first Yama is called ahimsa, which means non-harming. When this is so fully developed and established in our character that it is literally who we are then Patanjali teaches that “all hostility or enmity ceases in his/her presence”. The second Yama, Satya, translates to truthfulness. When one is fully present in truthfulness then everything will come to you. When fully established in Asteya, non-stealing, then all wealth comes to you. The benefits continue from one through ten. Basically, when we are living in accordance with the Yamas and Niyamas then we will be existing in absolute flow. We will treat each other as we want to be treated. We will treat all living beings and the whole planet well too.
We can turn this around, but we need to do the work, stop pointing fingers, and waiting for others to change. As Gandhi said we need to be the change we want to see in the world. I wish all of you great health and blessings as we wrap up 2020 and prepare for 2021. If you would like to take a deeper dive into the 8 limbs of yoga, please visit my article archive. If you would like guidance on where to start on your journey, please feel free to contact me for a private consultation. I look forward to walking with you on your healing path.