Day 107 – As Krishna describes the internal experience of the work we do with yamas and niyamas, I see this reflection and work’s connection to the deeper compassion, although it resides rather dusty, misused, almost bruised within my core being. Rolf insists that we cannot draw nearer to these principles without drawing nearer to our own essence, but even he admits he hasn’t drawn nearer to these principles “without becoming more aware of all the ways” he violates them, as well. Good to know.
He offers suggestions to help us as we end the section on yamas and niyamas and roll into the other limbs. Since I have been here before (like reincarnation) etched upon my soul’s work is the rememberance to keep working the yamas and the niyamas and dispel the “ignorance-born darkness,” as Rolf puts it. He offers several ways to do this: keep one yama or niyama in mind each day for ten days or choose any one and work on it for a while.
I agree with Rolf that all form the part of a whole that can be summed up by the concept of nonviolence. As Martin L
uther King, Jr. said: “At the heart of non-violance stands the principle of love.” So true. And at the heart of all of it stands the idea of letting go of things that no longer serve me. Today in my yoga class, crippled by my food reaction which debilitated me last night, I taught the class I planned to teach on “fearlessness,” delving into some 3rd chakra work. I purposely planned some postures which are unobtainable to my students and myself. Fearlessness comes from knowing ones limitations and creating space around them to hold them reverantly and then let them go without harming yourself or others in the process. Fearlessness involves love, trust, and work. So, too, I did as Rolf advises: “Embrace the process, let go of the results, and always apply the yamas and the niyamas on the mat.”
uther King, Jr. said: “At the heart of non-violance stands the principle of love.” So true. And at the heart of all of it stands the idea of letting go of things that no longer serve me. Today in my yoga class, crippled by my food reaction which debilitated me last night, I taught the class I planned to teach on “fearlessness,” delving into some 3rd chakra work. I purposely planned some postures which are unobtainable to my students and myself. Fearlessness comes from knowing ones limitations and creating space around them to hold them reverantly and then let them go without harming yourself or others in the process. Fearlessness involves love, trust, and work. So, too, I did as Rolf advises: “Embrace the process, let go of the results, and always apply the yamas and the niyamas on the mat.”
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