We all agreed that we've got to be more gentle with the words we say to ourself about ourselves. One of the quotes from the Adele book we highlighted was “I excite myself with my incompetencies.” Meaning that whenever we find something that about ourselves that we aren’t good at (I used the example of consistently losing my keys) that instead of beating ourselves up over it, we can use that as an amazing opportunity to explore why it is so, and maybe make some space to support ourselves with kindness. (Like giving myself permission to take my time coming into the house and stop rushing around.) Ahimsa to the self.
One thing that we all found tough as a group was to take the idea of ahimsa onto the mat. The challenge of discerning between what we should ‘work through’ and what we should just notice is a tough one. I think the work is really getting to a place where we can even consider getting that discernment. That is the practice of yoga, and with ahimsa toward oneself (finding balance, finding love for oneself that is forgiving and lenient, and having courage to sit with fear) we can work toward that discernment in asana.
Ahimsa toward others can be expressed in not only not being physically violent, but also in trusting in someone else’s ability to move through their own life in a way that is best for them. We don’t have to fix other people, or even worry about them. To do so is its own act of violence. Further, we don’t even have a right to decide for them what they think of us. It’s not even up to us to decide how other people see us. To presume to know that or decide that for someone is also its own act of violence toward another. To let someone have their own experience, in its truth, no matter what we think of it, is practicing ahimsa toward others.
As a take away from the discussion, we decided that we’d play around with the idea of pretending for a time that we’re already complete, and try to practice it for periods during the next week. Deborah Adele suggests: “There is no need to expect anything from yourself , or criticize or judge anything about you. No need to compete with anyone, no need to be more than you are (or less than you are). Note your experience. Notice how much pleasure, kindness, and patience you can allow yourself to have with yourself.” This is like the idea of ‘falling in love’ with yourself, where the object of your love (you) can do no wrong, are perfect just as you are.
I say all the time in classes that everything is already ok – we don’t need to fix ourselves; we’re already perfect. I mean it. (More ahimsa to oneself.)
What do you think? How do you see ahimsa on and off the mat?
No comments:
Post a Comment