I've been thinking more and more about my intentions with this blog and with my own wellness path, pondering how I can incorporate yoga into my everyday life. One could start with the yamas and niyamas - but before we dive into all that (which, I may not get to for a while because I don't fully understand it all myself) let's talk about our little buddy aparigraha. It means non-posessiveness, non-attachment, avoiding greed and jealousy.
How on earth do we avoid greed and needing, given the world we live today where more is more and less is sad (or cool if you're into minimalism and KonMari) and we must all BUY BUY BUY and LOOK IT'S BRAND NEW AND LIMITED RELEASE AND YOU NEED THIS OTHERWISE YOU'RE NOT COOL! Yuck.
We've talked a bit about that before, buying quality over quantity and keeping in mind exactly what goes into making the clothes, food, products we buy, etc. But there's another part of aparigraha - avoiding jealousy or feelings of inadequacy. This article from YogaJournal sums it up quite well: "Aparigraha, in its essence, helps us discover our own selves so that we no longer feel the need to covet what someone else has, or be what someone else is."
Think about this for a second and reflect: in that moment, what is it that you feel?
Likely, it's that feeling of not being enough, of "I wish...", of jealousy maybe, of a lack of contentment...wanting to be something we are not, or somewhere we are not, with things we may not have. What purpose does this feeling serve? Sure, it can be motivating, but it also takes a toll on our mental health and well-being. Life is too short to be our own worst enemy.
It's OK and 'normal' to have these kinds of self-doubting thoughts, just don't let them take over the forefront of your mind. Today, when you scroll through your social media platforms or start to think less of yourself, remember our buddy aparigraha:
Let go of that feeling of not being enough.
Remind yourself of all of your beautiful qualities that make you uniquely you.
Remind yourself of what you have to offer the world - your incredible strengths.
Practice non-attachment to your emotions - they are fleeting and temporary.
- S