Day 27 of IDJSIJ Challenge - Roses, Thorns, and Yoga

You probably don’t know what a pain in the ass you are to the people in your life, especially your family.

However, it’s likely you are very sure how much of a pain in the ass they are to you.

Multiply that by 8 billion and you pretty much have the human condition. We’re like little prickly and bumpy blobs of energy bouncing off each other causing joy or suffering, depending on which bit goes where. This is not really a problem (with the obvious exceptions regarding murder and violence and such). Experiencing the flow of our emotions as they rise and fall is part of the beauty of being alive. The problem occurs when we hold onto and magnify our own suffering, creating even more in our life and in the lives of those who touch us.

How do we let go of our own suffering before we compound it? Yoga philosophy, as in the “Yoga Sutras” by Patanjali, gives a framework for us to observe our suffering and change it at the root so that it no longer arises. Yoga practice gives us a physical and energetic way to process the suffering we do experience by dispersing or transforming it. In my practice, I do both, but you can also practice one way over the other. Combining self study with energetic practice is a powerful catalyst for change in your life.

This month I’ve been offering you bits of the wisdom (like this bit of genius right here) and practices (the poses, meditations, and breathing practices) of yoga in the hopes that it helps you process your own suffering by finding stillness. Stillness enables us to pause long enough to observe ourselves, feel our habitual response pattern arise, and then decide our reaction. It also gives us the space to sink into elevated emotions, like joy, gratitude, and bliss.

As you go about your day today blobbing around, bumping others and being bumped back, try to find some time to create stillness in your body and mind. The more stillness we find, the less effective those jabs from others will be and the less likely we will be to respond in kind.

#yoga #yogapractice #restorativeyoga #yogachallenge #selfstudy #meditation ​