What Are You Holding Onto Too Tightly?

Yoga Studio Calgary • February 13, 2018

and how to let it go

What Are You Holding Onto Too Tightly?

There is a practice that exists off your yoga mat. It is a practice of life, a practice to know happiness, contentment, joy, and peace. A practice
to experience fulfillment and adventure, to reach freedom and hear wisdom. This practice happens through direction from Patanjali's Yoga
Sutras and specifically, the Yamas and Niyamas. Personal restraints and personal practices.

Exploring these one by one, we grow to recognize the patterns that show up in our lives. We start to see the roadblocks and self sabotaging we set up.

We strive to establish a life where we are "in the flow". In this place, life feels easeful and joyous. The Yamas and Niyamas are your life road map to this place. Although we do not arrive there by striving, we arrive there by witnessing our lives unfolding and noticing how we are being guided.

Aparigraha (non-possessiveness) is one of the Yamas we invite into our lives to find freedom from the things and thoughts that hold us back, tie us down, weigh us down, wear us out, leave us longing and pleading. As Deborah Adele describes it; Aparigraha teaches us how to "pack lightly for our journey".

Ask yourself, do you feel worn out? Do you feel you own your things and your thoughts, or do your things and your thoughts own you?
Maybe now is the time to start unpacking that overstuffed and cluttered suitcase.

What are you holding onto too tightly?

How easy is it to become attached to things or ideas, opinions or judgments?

Our life suitcases are full of expectations, judgements, desires attachments, criticism and opinions. These are all heavy and often negative.

Our suitcases are also full of clinging onto good memories and craving to experience these times again and again.

Spend some time over the next few days evaluating what can be unloaded from your suitcase. Material things that take up space in your home and environment that serve no purpose in your life, can they go?

Thoughts, ideas, opinions, emotions that take up space in your mind and your soul, can they go? Release the maintenance routine that is
attached to caring for the needs of these things and thoughts so you can feel what freedom feels like, even if it is only from a brief moment, be in that moment fully.

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