As I read these words from Gabby Bernstein’s new book Happy Days, “I have developed a toolbox of methods for self regulation and connection to my own inner being” I smile with a deep knowing of the profound journey that she has been on in walking the path towards authenticity. These words speak to my own heart as over the years, I too have found ways to bring myself back into balance with methods and techniques in body, breath, music, and movement. Some of these tools have come from ancient and modern yogic wisdom, while others have come from experiences on stage dancing, singing , acting, and life in general. In blogs to come I will be sharing tools, techniques, methods, and practices that have made me feel safe, seen, soothed, and secure. They are things I remember to myself if I feel overwhelmed, stressed, or out of sorts. In this blog, I briefly go over The Eight Limbs of Yoga, which was my very first introduction to navigating my journey to wholeness.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga: These are the foundations of yoga. Yoga is a journey to the self, through the self, to know more about the way things are in relationship to each other as well as in relationship to self. Everything is about relationship. By practicing these foundations, we can improve the depth of our relationships so that there is more ease and flow.
1.) Yamas: Moral/Ethical things we can do towards others. Leaning towards:
Ahimsa: Non-harming to others as well as to yourself or non-violence.
Satya: Truthfullness. Telling the truth knowing that sometimes white lies practice more ahimsa. Food for thought. Leaning towards telling the truth when appropriate.
Astesya: Non-stealing. yeah, nuff said.
Brahmacharya: Right use of energy. Sexual energy as well as creative energy. Boundaries. Right in action on all layers towards consent.
Aparigraha: Greedlessness. Being generous if you have the means to do so will lead to health, wealth, and happiness.
2.) Niyamas: Moral/ethical things we can do towards ourselves. Leaning towards:
Tapas: Austerity is building heat in the body. Being able to be firm in the mind of knowing. In truth with conviction.
Saucha: Cleanliness. Keeping the body, mind and spirit clean. Through exercising, right diet, emotional wellness, developing discernment, looking and feeling free, but also, being okay with not being perfect.
Svadyaya: Self-Study. When we see others as ourselves, than we can study ourselves, but also learn through observing others with the utmost compassion, grace, and loving kindness. Simply taking asana postures, moving in a moving meditaion, vinyasa flow with the breath can reveal secrets unseen. The universe is within’ us and also outside of us. It’s both. Meditaion, asana, other forms of self-study not associated with the yogic culture are helpful in learning what makes you happy. Learning your authentic realized self.
Santosha: Contentment. When we are sthira, steady, and joyful, sukham, we are in contentment with all things good and bad. We learn to handle bad things with right action as well as wisdom. We can enjoy things with equanimity, not pushed or pulled too much to get more, more, more.
Isvara Pranidhana: Surrender to the divine. This does not mean to just let someone rule your life. Higher powers can lead us astray. We need to take action from a place of discernment and wisdom. When we have that, it makes it easier to let go, surrender, and relax into our spiritual alignment. First, take action to find your spiritual alignment. Ask the divine, whoever that is for you, “What shall I do and where shall I go”, but also, keep one eye on what intuitively feels right with the circumstances of your life. Comfort is always best through our journey. Really, who wants to be uncomfortable most of the time.
3.) Asana: Keeping the body fit whilst purifying the many layers of our body, mind, and spirit. These are the physical postures of yoga. Asana translates to seat. Each posture is a seat of an aspect of nature or creation.
4.) Pranayama: Breathing practices to help with overall well-being and to remove stuck places. This creates more space. This enhances our energetic body.
5.) Pratyahara: Sense Withdrawal. Pulling back the senses to gain more control over ones mind. For example, if you are an addict to something, than pulling back your senses to that which you are addicted to for a period of time until it could possibly be controlled. Like a 12 step program or if you eat too much, going on a diet plan. Meditating more. Turning to more spiritual practices are great for addicts. We all are addicted to something, which is fine… How do you feel and is it harming others? Harming yourself? Is there balance there? This limb can pull back the reigns of over sensory perception in a particular area. Being addicted to something is like a chariot driven by a master who doesn’t have the reins because he/she is going on a course that perhaps is too toxic. Only we can really free ourselves from harmful addictions despite outside help. Somethings are good to be addicted to, while others are really harming.
6.) Dharana: Concentration. If we sit in meditation and stare at a candle flame for a period of time, our eyes will begin to purify, meaning, the light of our soul will be seen more clearly with every meditation or gaze. This is why asana, the physical postures are ideal as well. You take an asana (which translates to seat) and you remain in that posture for a period of time. These days, usually the posture is held no more than 3-10 breaths or 5-10 minutes in restorative postures, however, in earlier forms of yoga, students were required to only master a few postures at a time and hold them for like 30 minutes or sometimes longer! Once they mastered those postures, their teacher would introduce 3 more and so on. These days we move faster as does the asana practice in a vinyasa flow format. However, honing the the Drishti, or gaze, in a posture while breathing will develop a firm mind and therefore deeper concentration. The key really is to learn to go in and out of concentration with ease. Somethings need their focus with a firm mind, while other times the mind needs to wonder, let go, and release into a carefree attitude. So for me, the idea of concentration is two fold. We need to be flexible to enjoy more of the fruits of our labor.
7.) Dhyana: Meditation. Need I say more. With developed concentration we can rest in the flow of meditaion, listening to the inside of the inside of the inside of things. As we move into stillness, our mind softens, quiets down, and the sweet lullabyes of our true nature come forth. The inside can be quite volitle…not going to sugar coat it like so many teachers do… it can be filled with our ego voice which screams loudly, enraged by just the thought of who we are on this planet, but on the flip side, it can also be filled with a sweetness as the smell of a gardena, or jasmine (my favorite flowers. You can add your favorite flower here). Falling inlove with the inside is a journey that requires tenacity, patience, virtue, integrity as well as letting go of all of the things you thought you knew to be true. Meditaiton can be with movement through a yoga class, while cleaning, while doing the dishes, it can be in every moment of your lives as you place a sweet awareness on things. The Shadow side can be learning black magic. It’s good to know for protection purposes, so i’m not against it, however, I do not recommended using it to bully someone or to hurt someone in which has no intention to harm you. I steer clear of this, but i’m being truthful in this post in saying it is out there, real, and people use it in malace. It’s not something to be worried about if you lead with a good heart intention to love others with compassion in my opinion. Remember, this is only my opinion. I do not speak for a collective in any way.
8.) Samadhi: This is freedom from illusion. A knowing. This isn’t an ultimate goal as it is more a journey of sorts. As we peel back the layers of, ehem, bullshit (pun intended), we begin to see how silly we were to even be hankered by such a constricting thought concept. Do I feel our journey to liberation should be a horror movie, no. Do I feel it should be mean and nasty filled with worry, no. I feel it should be easy breezy with a few things here and there to open us up to destructive patterns or to life lessons. Only once in awhile. Really, we can do good. Build good karma by following the yamas and niyamas, and move into automatic spritiual alignment where we attract easy breeziness because we resonate at that frequency. We have done the work. It was not stolen. Apologizing, paying reparations are a great way to move your life back into balance. This is what they do in the 12 step program after all. Why? because being humble to those that we have hurt intentionally, softens our hearts. It softens the energetic chord of tension as well as disease that was created between you and the other. Softening those chords or cutting them, creates freedom, liberation. You feel more free, more whole, more in-line with the universe, more worthy, more alive, and more joyful. Your relationships to people are better. You feel… Samadhi.