You can determine if your Yoga practice is bringing the desired results by evaluating the quality of your relationships, and how you live your life. (DKV Desikachar). Our Yoga practice should assist us in feeling contented and balanced, being able to love ourselves, knowing and respecting our being, as well as allowing us to strive for emotional growth. We want to nourish our connections with people and not end up feeling alone, unable to form and sustain relationships, or feeling unloved. It is part of our humanity to engage in loving relationships, to surround ourselves with friends and community. People who like/love us and support us, and to be able to relate to our ‘family’ in a healthy way.
Do we have the patience, openness and the compassion to be comfortable with what we discover when we investigate our own being, or look inward very closely, to discover why we ‘act’ in certain ways, to question our motives? It all begins with the way we relate to ourselves. It is only when we feel in harmony with and within ourselves, that we can experience true connectedness with others.
The first limb of Yoga – the five Yamas as outlined by Patanjali – gives us guidelines as to how to relate to others. Patanjali acknowledges the angry – sometimes violent – streak within us, and suggests we practice being peaceful, kind and considerate. This forms the basis for the remaining Yamas; being honest, honouring other’s belongings, time and energy, leading a responsible sexual life, and to not hoard, but live simply. It is surprising how following these simple ideas can free our mind, and teach us some basic, but very effective ways to improve the way we live our lives, to connect with ourselves and others healthily.
Through the practice of postures, pranayama and meditation, we have the opportunity to spend time with ourselves without any distractions, and observe and recognise our tendencies according to the Yamas. The practice leaves us in a more peaceful state, feeling so much better all round and with considerably more mental clarity. Over time things will fall into place, and life becomes far more harmonious and stable.
OM Shanti, Angelika
Can Yoga help strengthen your Relationship?