Happy Valentine's Day!

Love is treating your heart with a great deal of tenderness, with understanding, love, and compassion. -- Thich Nhat Hanh.

This quote from the late Buddhist monk, Thich, describes how to love ourselves in a certain manner. Loving ourselves in this way can open the doors of life to all kinds of possibilities to give love and be loved.

Coincidentally enough (not really), tonight's Yoga Nidra class will focus on loving and, of course, the heart chakra.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I am continuing the Valentine's Private Lesson special through the end of February. If you need a loving last minute gift, give your loved one and/or yourself the gift of a private lesson at a BOGO price. Happy Valentine's Day!

Aparigraha: Letting Go

Fall deeply in love. Cherish all in your heart. Now Open and let go. ~ C.L. (Adele, 2009)

The yamas and niyamas are considered to be the ethical principles of yoga. This week, we continue the series of these first two limbs of yoga, yamas and niyamas, with the fifth gem known as aparigraha.

Aparigraha, means non-possessiveness, non-attachment or letting go. To understand the meaning of non-attachment, let's first look at its antithesis: attachment.

We attach ourselves to things, people, goals, and maybe even places. By attaching ourselves to outside objects such as wealth, power, relationships, and food, we tend to identify ourselves by these external things even if we do not do it consciously. Going toward these things, attaches us to them and impacts our actions. By practicing non-attachment, rather we can use these things for their original purpose: sustaining life. By being attached, we limit ourselves and our opportunities for true growth (Seiberling, 2018).

For example, let's take attachment to goals. Goals are wonderful because they give structure to the path we are on. However, letting go of control of that goal or endgame, we may find joy in the journey itself.

Life is complicated and many times we get pushed in directions other than the ones where our goals are found. Sometimes we have setbacks before we can move ahead toward the goal. Or maybe, by using non-attachment we can see life more clearly. Non-attachment can give us the opportunity to change our goals amidst setbacks. Non-attachment or letting go of the actual goal can help you to find joy in the journey itself and then achievement of that goal becomes incidental to that amazing journey.

Non-attachment is very difficult to practice since our culture since it is so very goal-oriented and consumer-driven. By detaching from the externals such as wealth accumulation and overindulgence in food, we can go deeper into the journey toward finding the true self. We need money and food to sustain our lives, but by attaching to what is way beyond what we need to survive defeats their purpose entirely. I am not suggesting an ascetic lifestyle, but rather letting go to allow ourselves just enough. Freeing ourselves with the ability to let go. Aparigraha means letting go of things. Letting go helps to discover our innate being and thus improve our contributions to the world at large.

Upcoming Classes

Yoga nidra classes continue online at 7:30 ET Monday nights. Join me tonight for a beautiful relaxing journey that will help you to heal, relax, and de-stress for an hour. Tonight's theme is an internal journey of loving and the heart chakra ourselves.

Valentine's Gift Special

If you are looking for a Valentine's gift, maybe a private yoga lesson will do the trick. Be sure to check the box for gift on checkout. Give a private two for one pack to your loved one. 5 packs and 10 packs for online group classes are available at a discounted pricing especially if you plan to gift yourself.

Private Lessons

I continue my availability for face-to-face or online private lessons. Contact me via the form at the bottom of each of my web pages to set up an appointment.

Yoga for Organizations

Using yoga and meditation techniques, I am available to support an organization's institutional mission and values tailored to the needs of employees. Meditation and yogic exercise have been shown to promote wellness that boosts employee morale, effectiveness, and productivity (Sheelu, Garg, & Rastogi, 2022). If you know someone who may be interested in setting up a meditation or yoga class for a retreat or as a regular amenity or employee benefit in their organization please forward this link to them.

If we take good care of ourselves, we help everyone. -- Thich Nhat Hanh

References:

Adele, D. (2009). The yamas & niyamas: exploring yoga's ethical practice. On-Word Bound Books. Kindle Edition.

Newlyn, E. (2022). Aparigraha – practising non-attachment. Retrieved from Ekhart Yoga.

Seiberling, C. (2018). Yoga's yamas and niyamas 10 principles for peace & purpose. Kindle Edition.