Ahimsa

I made it through the Sunday 4 hour training class. The theme, coinciding with our training topic, was ahimsa or non-harming. This includes compassion, not only toward ourself but to all those around us. When you think about this it is pretty overwhelming, at least it is to me. It means being compassionate to all persons you come in contact with, it means not saying unpleasant things to all persons [family members, co-workers, people at the grocery store, anyone you interact with]. It also means that one stops the negative self-chatter going on in our brain which can be so destructive.

In the physical sense, it means that you do not engage in acts or behaviors which can be harmful to yourself. Things like, alcohol, smoking, eating meat, all those things which we enjoy. It means taking care of yourself and not engaging in anything which can harm our psyche or physical being. This is intense; everything we do, all those around us, we must treat in a non-harming, compassionate manner. Think about this for a minute: how many people did you interact with today? How many of those times did you interact with ahimsa? Hmmmmmm, not as many as you think.

How ironic that during the asana period on Sunday, I popped my shoulder. Was I giving into the negative self-talk that I'm not good enough, I too short, too heavy, not flexible enough to do yoga? I was working on going from down dog into chaturanga and was trying to get my elbows into the right angle when my hands didn't move but my body did and then it happened. Hello, ahimsa, was what I said to myself. What was I thinking??? I can't do this at home, why would I think I could do it in class?? Because the self-chatter prodded me along and I fell into the trap.

Hello, ahimsa!!! compassion!! acceptance of me and where I am.

Yoga is about where you are, it is not about getting further, holding longer, reaching higher. It is about where you are, a journey into yourself and acceptance. For me this is the hardest part. I read a line in one of my assignments, it goes like this: "going further is the ego, this is not yoga". Does this sum it up or what???

Just remember: "Ahimsa is not causing pain to any living being at any time through the actions of one's mind, speech or body" Atharva Veda, Shandilya Upanishad, 1.3. UPA, P. 173.

See, it is intense.

Along with ahimsa is satya, or truthfulness, internal and external. OWWW that is scarier than ahimsa. This includes refraining from lying to ourselves, to others and betraying promises. This is our next topic...more on that later.

Right now I have to go do some reading...

Namaste