Embrace Love – Release Fear

The Beatles’ tune All You Need Is Love has been in my mind and heart lately. It has been the background vibration shining a light on how to move forward in these wild times. I’ve been humbled by the way this invitation is rocking my world – it’s radically changing the way I see others, myself and the world at large. Love is a universal human desire and in my experience there is so much mystery and confusion about what love is. I’m beginning to understand that at the core, Yoga is a love curriculum and I’m in awe of the practical and mystical guidance it offers. The Yamas and Niyamas – the first 2 limbs of the eightfold path of Ashtanga yoga – teach us how to treat each other and ourselves so we can live love. The Yamas, which translate as restraints, include Ahimsa (non-violence or non-harming), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (nonstealing), Brahmacharya (nonexcess) and Aparigraha (nonpossessiveness). These teachings support peace and ease in our relationship to ourselves, others and our world. The Niyamas, or observances, include Saucha (purity), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (self-discipline), Svadhyaya (self-study) and Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender). The Niyamas guide us to cultivate a loving inner world that is a fertile foundation for being love.

I remember studying these teachings over 20 years ago and thinking, I’m good…I don’t really harm, lie, steal, grasp or misuse my energy. One of the things I cherish is how Yoga has a magical way to meet us where we are. I’m so grateful for how far I’ve come, and as my defenses soften I can see how much I have to learn about these profound teachings. We’re living in very potent times and the potential for radical change is here and waiting for us to say yes to love and release fear. This has inspired me to invite our community to dive into the Yamas and Niyamas one month at a time so we can savor and embrace all that they have to offer.

This month we’ll be exploring Ahimsa or non-harming. This guideline is at the core of all yogic philosophy and practice; all the teachings stem from this one principle. For inspiration, I returned to Deborah Adele’s book The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice. I’ve read this book several times but her words landed with such fresh insight it felt like I was reading it for the first time. The Yamas are defined as restraints and instruct us on actions or ways of being that we should refrain from. However, reading about them this time there was so much clarity about what to do and how to meet life's challenges with a deeper and more universal love. Deborah shares that fear is the root cause of violence. “We must learn to discern the difference between fears that keep us alive and fears that keep us from living. The first kind of fear is instinctual and built in us for survival. The second kind of fear is of the unfamiliar.” She invites us to find the courage to turn towards people, experiences and feelings that are uncomfortable so we can grow our hearts and minds. “Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to be afraid without being paralyzed. From this more open expanded place we won’t need the kind of protection that leads to violence, whether it’s in the form of thoughts, words or actions. Her other teaching that really hit home for me was the role that courage plays in creating balance. “Courage demands our best self and that is a self in balance.” When we’re exhausted, ‘hangry’ or overwhelmed, reactivity is almost unstoppable. Unfortunately we don’t live in a culture that values spaciousness and ease. We are bombarded with stimulation and pushed to be unreasonably productive. Sadly, this creates a culture of dis-ease. So often it takes illness or tragedy to get us to embrace rest and self-care. Making time for rest, joy and imagination leads to a life of non-violence for ourselves and those around us. It takes courage to choose a path that is not the cultural norm and choosing rest can feel radical. What would our life be like if we had rest breaks in our calendar, or self-care reminders in our schedule? Creating these new habits is a bit like swimming upstream in our world and takes discipline and intentionality. My intention is to take time each day to reflect on how I made or didn’t make non-harming choices in my thoughts, words and actions that day. Remembering to celebrate the successes as much if not more than putting my attention on where I’ve missed the mark as a step towards non-harming. I invite you to take time to explore how to welcome more courage and balance into your life.

Much love,
Sue