Can yoga philosophy illuminate our habits so that there's more ability to tap into healing?
Can following certain principles usher us to a place where there is less suffering in our lives, even if there's pain?
Much of yogic philosophy is based around The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali and the Eight Limbs of Yoga. I have found this tremendously beneficial on how to live off the mat but particularly potent during a long period of recovery from many hurts.
During this series of blogs on healing, I am primarily focusing on the first out of the eight limbs; yama. These limbs have been like lanterns that enlighten a path during dark times to me and I trust they can be useful to you too
Yama is composed of 5 ethical principles which are, Ahimsa (non violence), Satya (truthfulness/honesty), Asteya (non-stealing), Brahmacharya (moderation or wise use/conservation of energy), Aparigraha (non-attachment). These serve as pointers/reminders on how to live and interact with the world around us in a harmonious way, though in this case, I am using the Yamas in relationship primarily with ourSelves when it comes to healing.
This blog is on the second yama, Satya and to me, it hold a key to healing.
The word ‘sat’ translates as ‘truth’. One of the characteristics of Truth is being unchangeable, and even though we are in essence that which is unchanging, we are often controlled by that which is constantly fluctuating and shifting: our thoughts, hopes, desires, likes and dislikes.
So, how can we live aligned with our truth if what makes up our truth seems to constantly change?
By cultivating a practice of inward listening, moment to moment. This allows us to acknowledge where/how we actually are (physically, emotionally, mentally, energetically) on any given day, and not where we feel we should be.
When healing, it is important to pause in order to get honest with ourselves, to notice what's revealed to us day by day; pain/discomfort levels, energy levels, emotional needs, etc. By doing so, we can make choices that reflect attuning to our bodily feedback rather than completely disregarding our communication system. As the saying goes “if we don't pay attention to the whispers (of our body/mind) we'll have no choice but to hear its screams.
A pre-requisite for getting honest is creating space for listening. I know this isn't easy to do, (especially in times where pain is present and there's so much stimulation coming from every corner) no one wants to feel pain and sit with it, everyone would do everything they can to control, fix or avoid it at all costs, but suppressing or ignoring the pain, will only make it stay longer...
"Pain is and has always been a symptom" Dr John Sarno
Pain is a message, we could even consider it a means of communication. Imagine you are living with someone and that person tells you something, if you don't hear the message the first time, you will be told the same message a second time, possibly even a third time, and the message will get louder and louder each time, until eventually the person will give up trying to communicate with you. Similarly, if we are oblivious to how our body communicates with us, we will keep ignoring the inner messages and aggravate whatever we are feeling. Unless we do something about it, like stop and listen to the inner feedback, things will get worse instead of better.
From experience, I can tell you that no matter how healthy you are or think you are, you will still experience ageing, sickness and death, they are part of life, so even when doing yoga regularly, meditating , eating vegan food and keeping my nervous system balanced, my body still had to deal with endometriosis, premature ovarian insufficiency (and early menopause), accidents that left me bed-ridden for a while. I choose to take all my experiences, however hard, as necessary for the evolution of my consciousness, necessary for my passion to learn more about mySelf in all dimensions and to tell you, that no pain is ever in vain if you learn something from it.
Pain is a powerful opportunity for learning. As long as there is pain, there will be passion on your willingness to understand about it or help make it better and your ability to learn will be amplified, don't waste this opportunity
Learn what? That's an answer that only you can discover (for yourSelf)
What is your truth right now? Not yesterday or 5 years ago, right now. Are you willing and able to listen?
~ ♡ ~
During times of healing/recovery/rehabilitation, there will be days where your truth is that you have no energy and mental capacity for much, and sometimes the best thing will be to rest and honour and respect your needs for ease and comfort. However, there will be days where even though you might not feel like doing anything, you'll have to honour the bigger truth which is unless you take some sort of action in the positive direction, nothing will change.
There were times during my rehabilitation process when I felt I was carrying a heavy blanket of sadness over ,e, and even then I still knew that I had to try move my toes, practice mobility exercises for my leg (if I was to move it again) and do some hard things. More often than not, we have to be stronger than our emotions and the stories we tell ourselves.
This is no way means overriding our truth, but listening to our deepest truth which is true healing, that's what every part of us wants including every cell in our bodies.
Since you are a human being, when connecting to your truth, there will be times grief, sadness, anger or any of their relatives will be present - and here, the more you are able to acknowledge this, listen to it and let it move through you (hopefully in ways that don't hurt/harm others) - the more space there will be for communication - Commune/ication holds the key to open the doors towards healing. The physical, emotional, mental and energetic are not separate and the best relationships are those in which there's honest communication, would you agree? A dialogue where one acknowledges the current situation and needs, without the expectations that get in the way.
I love how the word commun(e) partially makes up the word communication since this word means 'to converse or talk together, usually with profound intensity, intimacy' and this is what makes any relationship work - it is no different to you and your body - for truth becomes truer when we listen to it and honour it.
"God today spoke in flowers and I, who was waiting for words almost missed the conversation" Ingrid Goff-Maidoff.
The way I recognise my truth, one that is not clouded so much by my perception but is guided by my bodily wisdom usually feels like an expansion, a sense of this is 'right' right now, a homecoming, on the other hand, what does not feel like truth tends to have a quality of tension, apprehensiveness, uncertainty and confusion.
There's an Ayurvedic concept called Prajnaparadha which is described as “an offense against wisdom”, it is considered the root of all dis-ease. Acknowledging that there's wisdom in each of us, behind the veil of shoulds and coulds, we are able to feel/discern the changes or steps that will benefit us in all levels of being, and only then, we can take action that align with them.
This requires a willingness and a committed effort to create well-being, as for better or worse, it is not a given, but rather an exchange; I either give something or give something up in exchange for something better, healthier or more beneficial.
Gandhi said, “God is absolute truth. I am a human; I only understand relative truth. So, my understanding of truth can change from day to day. And my commitment must be to truth rather than consistency."
Choosing consistency is often easier than choosing something that is unfamiliar; than stepping into the unknown, but, are your choices in alignment with your truth?
Is there anything you're consistently doing that is harming rather than healing you?
What is my truth today, might not be the same tomorrow, cultivating sacred space for listening is what will open the doors to our deepest truth, moment to moment, day by day, and maybe, just maybe, this shall set us free...
In appreciation and yoga,
Amor
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