“If you have even a little mastery over the five elements within you, life will happen the way you want it to.”
~Sadhguru Jaggi Vasuder
So, what is it that you want to happen?
What are your expectations for the “new year, new you”?
What are your “big plans” for 2019?
I know you have them…. plans, dreams, aspirations, expectations, longings, resolutions, vows, pledges… whatever you call them.
This year I invite you to ditch the resolutions. To resolve means to find a solution to a problem, and you my friend are not a problem. Instead, I invite you to create an Intention to BEGIN. A positive call to shift. From right here, right now. To rewrite the future. Nothing can be changed about the past and you should not want to change it. It brought you to Now. Just as you are. Perfectly, imperfect in all your glory. And you have the power to rewrite, to BEGIN, from Now, forward.
But, we can learn from the past, we can reflect and grow. Samskara is a Sanskrit word that translates loosely to our habits and patterns; our mental & emotional conditioning or programming. It is derived from the words sam (complete or joined together) and kara (action, cause, or doing). So a samskara is an idea, a thought, an action or way of doing that is engrained in us over the course of our life. And it can be both positive and negative. And the more it is reinforced, the stronger it gets, and the harder to resist. Thus, we become “creatures of habit”. Positive or negative.
Let’s back up. The universe as well as our bodies are comprised of the five elements, or Transformations as they are known in Chinese medicine, and Bhutas in Ayurveda. These elements represent the manifestation of a polarity, Yin and Yang, as expressed in expanding and contracting energies. The elements give rise to the three Ayurvedic Doshas or body/mind types. Each person is born with a unique combination of the five elements and the three doshas that make you who you are. And Ayurveda views illness or disease as a symptom of and imbalance amongst them. Maintaining balance of these energies in the body is any practitioners goal to find a state of swastha, established in the Self. A state of health.
Health is defined in Ayurveda as an integration of the mind, emotions, soul, spirit, physical body, and purpose in life. If one of these is out of balance, they all are. Any change must BEGIN with the acknowledgement of the samskara or the behavior that is the root cause of the imbalance. Whether it is physical or emotional, or involves the body or mind. Then it must be accepted – just as it is. Then forgiven. And finally, let go. The Buddha said: anger is like a hot coal that you carry around waiting to throw at someone. It burns you while you carry it around! Get it?
As you create your new vision, your Intention for 2019, it must be stronger and more vital than the old samskara. So feel it, resonate with it, make it real. What does it feel like? What does it look like? Visualize the new pattern or habit and practice with it. Transformation cannot happen overnight, but it can happen one step at a time. BEGIN, so you can See Your SELF, Clearly.
“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
~Aristotle
Where am I?
Join me at Pacific Yew Yoga this month as we delve deeper into recognizing our samskaras through a day of Self-study, vision boarding, and ultimately creating & setting your Intention, your word, to See Your SELF Clearly:
January 6th, 2019 11am-4pm
And then come to back Pacific Yew Yoga and start the year of Self-study off by learning about The Bhutas (The Five Elements) and The Indriyas (The Five Senses) and how they apply to yoga, Ayurveda, and your best SELF:
January 27th, 2019 9am-5pm
All Levels Yoga at the Vineyard at Willamette Valley Vineyards:
Saturdays from 10-11am – January 5th & January 19th
Regular class schedule at Pacific Yew Yoga:
Mondays 9:14-10:15am Yin Yang Yoga
Thursdays 6-7pm Yin Yang Yoga