So I'm still working on embracing the yamas this month. Thought I'd give a quick update on how I'm doing... embodying these philosophies is harder than I thought. It definitely takes mindful practice to keep myself in check. But I have already started seeing the positive effects in my life.
For one, aparigraha has been super influential for me. I'm not going to lie. I've spent countless hours being jealous of people. Jealous of those with no anxious feelings, jealous of those that seem to have it easy... I'm sure you know the feeling. It's almost impossible to go through life never feeling jealous. Aparigraha (the practice of non-greed) means not being greedy with your things and time and I also interpret it as practicing non-jealousy. After taking time to keep jealousy in check, I've realized that I wasn't really jealous of other people, I was just really frustrated with certain things in my life. Now if I find myself leaning towards jealousy, I back up and take a look at what's going on with me to make me want what someone else has. It usually works and is a strong wake up call for me to hit another direction! I use people as inspiration for change. I also embrace non-greed. I have an application for a volunteering opportunity because right now I have the time to volunteer and this has been the push I needed to finally put that application in the mail!
Brahmacarya is also super important for me to remember. I interlace this into my life in the form of moderation. When it comes to working out, eating junk food, working or playing I have to bring awareness to moderation. I've always had the tendency to kind of grab something and run with it and become guilty of overindulging. But overindulgence isn't good with anything! I remember when I first really started to practice yoga I went overboard and practiced constantly... and I totally messed up my back for almost 6 days! It was terrible! I'm the girl that pulls muscles because I don't take a break from working out, I'm the one that gets the stomachache because I inhaled 4 slices of pizza and I'm the person that finds herself with a headache because she's been staring at the computer screen working for the past 10 hours straight. Everything in moderation girls and boys!! Most important lesson I could learn in my life. Embrace brahmacarya - you won't regret it!
So there's another glance into how the month of yamas is going. Let me tell you... living these philosophies is one of the best ways in the world to understand them and learn them. And each one offers me another way to look into my life and know how to change it for the better.
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