Self Talk: 365 D8
Happy Yoga Sutra Friday!
1.13: tatra sthhi-thau yatno ‘bhyaasa ha – The effort to stay there is called practice. “Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”
We all want peaceful and calm moments, hours and days. In yoga and meditation, we learn how to sit with ourselves, sit without thoughts, we learn, how to just be there and experience the moment. I will never claim this as being easy, but now that I’m all in, I long for the moments of just being, I cannot wait to get back to my mat or quietness of nature.
The effort to stay there is called Practice. Self effort; to do this yourself, there; a higher goal or purpose in our lives.
Ikigai, I love this word, (生き甲斐, pronounced [ikiɡai]) (ee-kee-gah-ee) is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being.” It is similar to the French phrase Raison d’être. Everyone, according toJapanese culture, has an ikigai. Finding it requires a deep and often lengthy search of self.
Higher goal or purpose; some of us know our next thing and always have but sometimes in our lives we change or circumstances change and the original goal or purpose just does not feel right. This is okay, we do not always have to have the answers. Being able to still the mind in this beautiful practice is a wonderful tool to help us find our way. For me, the word Value showed up several times. Value is a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.
So is it possible for our values to change? I believe they do. I believe we need to keep a constant check on them. This is part of the practice, not to wander aimlessly but to have purpose.
If we do not want to wander aimlessly, we have to know our values, I believe this is what keeps our purpose clear in our mind, keeps it in focus so we know exactly what to do next with each opportunity or any setbacks. Knowing our values will allow our practice to be so much sweeter, on and off the mat.
Something to think about beautifully blessed, plentifully shining light!
tatra – there
sthitita – ‘sthiti’ – conviction, position, steadiness
‘sthitita’ – stability, firm position
yatnah – effort, work, pains, exertions, energy, performance
abhyasa – habit, practice, permanent practice
