It was great to share yoga on Diwali light last Sunday with a lovely group, so I thought I'd share a bit more of the experience here.
The reason I set up the free class was because it was 'World Kindness Day' and as I did last year it was another opportunity to give a little back to those who have supported me this last year.
I feel as a yogi it's important to be generous and give something to others. Which sits neatly on the back of my last blog about the unconditional love I had from my dog Bono.
As humans we are conditioned to give and in doing so this makes us feel good about ourselves and others. It's about non attachment to things and stuff and being more present to the way we live our lives and look after our environment. This is aparigraha - one of the yamas in the yoga tradition. Here's a nice little summary https://yogainternational.com/article/view/7-ways-to-practice-aparigraha-non-possessiveness/
Zooming out of ourselves to see the bigger picture and work out what makes us happy and bring joy. Ultimately about feeling light.
In Auveyda and other traditions this is also a big theme. It's about balance. If something is out of balance physically, energetically, emotionally and mentally this can makes us feel unwell.
In todays society we can be triggered by constant stresses, feel burdened and heavy and this can lead to all sorts of medical problems.
I'm sure you're all aware of seasonal adjustment disorder (SAD), moving into the darker winter months can have an effect too.
Diwali is a festival to celebrate light and there are lots of thoughts around creating light from within the darkness and darkness being intertwined with light. There is more complex philosophy about how we can tune into our inner light (ultimate concsiousness) through the physical practice of yoga, breathing techniques and meditations. For a bit more information here's another link. Some of this is difficult stuff to get your head round though. https://yogauonline.com/yoga-practice-teaching-tips/yoga-practice-tips/light-in-yoga-light-in-you-12-sanskrit-words-for-winter-meditations/
In summary we all have an inner light within us but sometimes it can be hard to find. If we practice certain thing like exercise, breathing techniques and meditation it can all help but what we did on Sunday tapped into a bit more than that.
Not only do we need to feel conneceted to our bodies to spark that inner flame and light but we need to connect to each other in our spirits and hearts. So finding your people, finding things you share and bring you joy is important too.
That maybe supporting each other in a circle in tree pose, or going for a coffee and chat after class, even making a wreath in my kitchen. These things remind us of the things which make us feel connected and ultimately lighter.
Namaste.
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