Tag: #insight

A Heart-Centered Life

On By theyogagoatLeave a comment
Photo by Michelle Leman on Pexels.com

The heart is considered to be the seat of the mind. Yoga Sutra 3.35

The Yoga Sutras by Patanjali are considered the companion text to the practice of yoga asana (poses). There are 196 sutras, which translates from Sanskrit to mean threads or discourses. They have been passed down through the generations, at first orally and then at some point committed to written word. There are many interpretations available today and I have four in my own personal library.

As Valentine’s day approaches, I have been pondering what it is like to live a heart-centered life. My definition of what this looks like may be completely different from yours. But I think we can all agree that a life that has love at its core is one worth striving for. I decided to take a deep dive into Patanjali’s wisdom for some advice.

By cultivating attitudes of friendliness toward the happy, compassion for the unhappy, delight in the virtuous and disregard toward the wicked, the mind-stuff retains its undisturbed calmness. Yoga Sutra 1.33

Here is Patanjali’s wisdom on how to live a life that is heart-centered. He believed that living this way creates a mind that is more calm. As I mentioned above, these translations from ancient texts can be interpreted many ways. In general, this sutra describes four keys or attitudes to help us deal with others in a compassionate way.

The first is “attitudes of friendliness to the happy.” Is it a challenge for you to be happy when you see others leading a happy life? In this day of social media, it seems that everyone is happy. It’s human nature to want to show the world that life is good. We love to post pictures of brunch with girlfriends and pretty new shoes. We are less likely to post about the coffee that got spilled at that brunch or how you left your shoes out and the dog chewed them up. It’s easy to become jealous of all that is going right for those that are happy. Patanjali asks us to take a step back and notice how hard someone worked to have their success. Or how much sorrow that person went through earlier in life that they have now worked through. Happy people in general make other people happy. Make these happy people your friends.

The second key is “compassion for the unhappy.” Most of us encounter unhappy people, hopefully only occasionally. Rather than react to them with anger or ambivalence, is it possible to react with kindness? You never know what a kind word or two can do for someone else.

The third key is “delighting in the virtuous.” These are people that we should try to emulate rather than take down. What are they doing in their daily lives that you could emulate? Try to learn from their wisdom. Then do your best to celebrate the people that live an admirable life.

The fourth key is “disregard for the wicked.” There are going to be those that are beyond our help or compassion. The trick is to not allow their negative energy to bring you down to their level. And don’t bother trying to advise these people, they are not open to hearing you at this point in their lives. By not allowing them to disturb you, you are able to maintain your own peace.

So there it is, a heart-centered life broken down into four steps. Friendliness, compassion, delight and disregard. It seems simple enough. And amazing that it still holds true all these thousands of years later. Putting this into practice is not easy, and could actually be the challenge of a lifetime. The next time you find yourself reacting in your old pattern of criticism or negativity, I hope you catch yourself and remember these heart-centered keys.

Let Go

On By theyogagoat4 Comments
“Holding on is believing that there’s only a past, letting go is knowing there’s a future.”
~ Daphne Rise Kingma

This simple phrase is loaded with meaning. I am of a certain age, with an empty nest, and I have done quite a bit of letting go. I have written before about selling most of our household items and moving to an apartment in a new state. I continue to enjoy my minimalist lifestyle, and letting go of those items helps me feel light and unencumbered.

As we get older, I realize how much of life involves letting go. As we watch our daughter’s new family grow, I am reminded of our time as new parents. Infants are completely dependent on their caretakers. Yet with each new milestone, that baby is making his way to independence, and so begins the process of letting them go. The reward is seeing our children become independent adults. Now our role is supporter and cheerleader. We do our best to only offer advice when asked (easier said than done).

I have also been thinking lately about being too emotionally attached to “things.” For example, when we lose someone close to us, it’s obviously heartbreaking. But as the grieving eases, we sometimes find ourselves clinging to items they have left behind. There is true comfort in treasures from a loved one. They can be touchstones in the grieving process. But clinging to them can be unhealthy. I have small remembrances from my great grandmother, my grandparents, my dad, my brother, and my mother. These tokens do not bring back their love for me. That is stored in my heart and never, ever leaves me. Do I need every sweater, every piece of jewelry, every item that reminds me of them? No. I choose to let go instead.

So let’s let go:

  • Let go of the story of your past. Let the present moment define who you are.
  • Let go of material items that no longer serve you. Less clutter, less to dust.
  • Let go of people that are too much work. You will know who they are if they deplete your energy rather than bring you joy.
  • Let go of habits that have become ingrained simply because of repetition, not because they actually make you better.
  • Let go of lingering hurt and hostilities. Holding on to these feelings only causes you harm.
  • Let go of long held grief. Some losses are too big to ever get over, but consider trying to pivot to a place of gratitude for what that person brought to your life.
  • Let go of the idea that you can control your future. Worrying about the future is the root cause of anxiety. When has worry every changed an outcome? Life does not happen in a predictable way. Never has and never will.

The heart yearns to feel light. Let go to make room for whatever is coming next. Most likely it is bigger and better than you can even imagine.

“You can’t reach what’s in from of you until you let go of what’s behind you.” ~Unknown