The Slow Revolution, Svadhyaya
Dear Yoga Friends,
I wish to encourage you to join a revolution. The slow revolution has been going on forever; it is armed with powerful weapons, compassion and courage. It speaks truth through clear voices, working for a better world together.
The leaders of the slow revolution are not hateful, not angry, not judging they are collaborating and offering solutions and staying clear about the problems humans on earth face. They are bringing people together, understanding how everyone is vital in the process of making a better world.
Evolve in this inner revolution. The world needs us to be awake, creative and connected. Speak up against injustice with a heart full of love. There are many good people showing the way. Let them inspire you, and support those leaders who stay calm through the storms and those who bring people together.
Do vote. Do continue to do the good works. Do speak your truth more. Do have courage, from the fire you tend every day, your meditation/yoga practice. But,
“Never be in a hurry;
Do everything quietly
and in a calm spirit.
Do not lose your inner peace
for anything whatsoever,
even if your whole world seems upset.”
Do everything quietly
and in a calm spirit.
Do not lose your inner peace
for anything whatsoever,
even if your whole world seems upset.”
~ Francis de Sales
When we feel week and powerless, let’s strive to show each other how powerful we are. When the culture tells us to be independent rather than interdependent, encourages isolation, and we feel alone, defy this conditioning and connect with other humans over and over, regularly.
Because together, we are strong.
When the culture tells you to be afraid, choose love instead, it always the antidote to fear. To be brave is to carry on in spite of fear, to love in the face of hatred. No matter how unjust and cruel the tyrants and injustices are, the real revolution will come from knowing how to be calm and love even the enemies, the others.
When the culture tells us to see humans as others, somehow not worthy, contradict this by caring for those persons less fortunate, marginalized and oppressed. This can be as simple as eye contact with those who are made invisible such as disabled, elderly, children and homeless persons.
I call on you to drink deeper the fruits of yoga: daily practice, meditation, compassion and discipline. Be together. Keep showing up for yourself and each other. This will keep you sane and empowered.
Your daily practice empowers you to filter the pervasive attention-grabbing news and media which screams for your attention by playing on the emotions of fear and hatred. This, along with the pressure to look and be OK, can be overwhelming. Advertising, promotions and campaigns tell us “we must do…”, playing on any insecurities and fears we may have.
Our world doesn’t need any more people stuck in despair and hopelessness. Our world doesn’t need any more people acting from anger. Our world doesn’t need any more people too busy to nurture their souls and the souls of persons everywhere.
I get stuck, paralyzed even, when I let my attention be pulled by external forces. I get so angry or overwhelmed and react poorly when I haven’t practiced svadhyaya, one of the niyamas, one of the eight limbs of yoga.
Svadhyaya – study of the self. It is the fourth niyama of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras will deepen our yoga practice way beyond the mat.
Practice of svadhyaya brings emotional balance. Emotional intelligence is accepting all feelings, allowing space and time for all emotions to move through you, thereby reclaiming your rational thinking and not being controlled or stuck by past hurts, humiliations and unmet needs.
If you catch yourself annoyed with others, love them, see their humanity, no matter how broken they seem, and then look at what state you are in. If someone else’s behaviors can steal your peace, it is the surest map to where you need healing. Discover what, about you, needs to judge rather than be compassionate. Become aware of where to heal, in yourself, that which got broken. This is svadhyaya.
Yes, it is right to have and feel emotions; there is sadness, loss and cruelty in the world, how can we not cry, shudder and even scream about it? This sometimes is called release; crying, laughing, yawning, ranting, growling, sighing, and sweating are all ways in which we release. If we are irrational or stuck in regards to an aspect of our life, it is based on past hurts, fears, and oppression. It comes from times where we had to store away the feelings. Our beings (mind, body, cells, habits, thoughts) are where it gets stored.
In modern society we expect people to look and be fine even when grieving great loss, to be back at work within days, back to our normal selves. Grief and unreleased emotions stored in our beings cloud our rational mind and create ill health and disease.
When you are overwhelmed by the horrible things of the world, create a place to find your peace, your inner stillness, a stillness deep enough to keep you a force for good. Cultivate this in your practice and carry it forward to hold space for people along your path. Begin with those near you in your day to day life. As more of us do this, the world changes.
I too stuff emotions, yet if I find persons who are able to hold space, and practice deep listening, I release those emotions that are in the way and in my being. Then I am free to act with compassion and creative intelligence, rather than react, become depressed or shut down. I also hold space for others to do this work in equal exchange. It is not as difficult as it is different, it goes against all our conditioning, and it is worth time and effort, it is worth risking mistakes and appearing foolish.
Peace,
Christina
Recommended reading, The Smell of Rain on Dust, by Martin Prechtel
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