Greetings Yogis and
Yoginis,
This week in class
we will be exploring Abhyasa : effort, willpower, practice
and Vairagya : letting go, acceptance, detachment and how these concepts relate to the cultivation of
Love.
Love, all alike,
no season knows, nor clime,
Nor hours, days,
months, which are the rags of time.
–
John Donne
Loyalty is a
precious quality that we have almost lost sight of today. Instead of loyalty,
almost everyone talks about freedom, especially in relationships. The idea is
that if two people come together in freedom, each can walk out of the
arrangement. This is supposed to be a complete safeguard against unhappiness.
But even where both are free to walk out - where there are no obligations, no
bonds, not even any ties - they go on doing this over and over and do not
acquire the capacity to love. Without loyalty, it simply is not possible to
love deeply.
Words to Live By:
Inspiration for Every Day –
Eknath Easwaran
The homework is to consider how your Yoga practices can help foster the cultivation
of the capacity to love. The practices
of Yoga require a full commitment even when the practice does not go well. This commitment requires us to keep coming
back to the mat, back to the mat. This
coming back is without expectations and is with sincere effort and will
power.
This concept is
found in Yoga Sutra 1:12: “Abhyasa Vairagyabhyam Tannirodhah - Practice and
detachment are the means to still the movements of consciousness.” - Light on
the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali by B.K.S. Iyengar.
The concepts of Abhyasa : effort, willpower, practice and Vairagya :
letting go, acceptance, detachment are the keys to the development of a Yoga
practice.
How can these
concepts be applied to the cultivation of the capacity to love and to other
areas of life?
Blessings,
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
paul cheek
Rushing Water Yoga
info@rushingwateryoga.com
Serving Yoga to Camas, Washougal,
and Vancouver Washington
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