A note before I begin: I nearly always write my posts the night before they go up. Today I am especially grateful for doing so as I woke with a nauseous migraine, something I’ve suffered with since I was about 13 years old. So herewith today’s post. I will be in a darkened room with an ice pack. To cheer me though I did get an email this morning letting me know I was on a new list “100 Incredible Yoga Teachers Who Blog”. I’m there under therapeutic yoga, which is rather a compliment as I never particularly see this blog as specialising. Anyway, back to bed with me….
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So Lent officially finished on Sunday. Did those of you with Lenten resolutions see them through?
You may remember I decided to spend the 40 days of Lent working on Ahimsa and now is the time to look back on what that meant to me.
Ahimsa, the first of the Yamas or Moral Restraints in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is often translated as non-violence.
Being firmly grounded in non-violence creates
an atmosphere in which others can let go of their hostility.
Yoga Sutra 2:35
Rather than looking at is as a lack of violence, I prefer to see Ahimsa as a cultivation of loving kindness towards all beings. Once we start to focus on loving kindness we often realise how many of our thoughts are unloving and unkind. I am often seen to get increasingly impatient in the supermarket queue behind that old lady who just will not stop talking to the cashier and get on with packing her bags, and I am afraid to say there has been more than one incident of flipping the bird at a passing motorist who cuts me up when I’m on my bike. By being mindful of these things, however, and noticing when they are happening I can take a breath, open my heart…..and react in a different way. Let it go. Loving kindness.
(Don’t for a minute think this is easy for me. It just isn’t. But like so much in life, it’s all about baby steps.)
As Darren Main says in his book Yoga and the Path of the Urban Mystic:-
By simultaneously refraining from violent acts and looking at the unconscious thought patterns that inspire them, we become more peaceful, and our natural reaction to adversity will be peace rather than attack. (page 81).
Ultimately though, to make this search for Ahimsa more personal to me, I wanted to work especially on loving kindness towards myself. Too often we get so caught up in our work, our families, the chores, the needs and wants of others, we forget about ourselves, our own wellbeing. For the last 40 days then I have taken some time out each week for me, to do things I want to do — write, read, watch rubbish TV, take a nap, go to a yoga class.
I truly believe that if we don’t take care of ourselves, our ability to take care of others diminishes. By looking after myself I am surprised by how much more compassion I have towards those around me.
Today’s question, dear readers, how to you look after yourselves?
Congrats on the list! It was so great to see so many of my virtual ‘friends’ there.
YES, YES, YES to lovingkindness.
And yes, it starts at home.
My personal yoga practice is my lovingkindness,,, along with homemade soup, restorative yoga on moon days, and my blog!
Being good to ourselves should always be a priority – but it’s hard. I am having my wisdom teeth out this Friday, and instead of dreading it, I’m looking at it as an opportunity to slow down. I’ll take three days off of housework and being productive, favoring sleeping, reading, being taken care of by my husband. And I have a feeling the house will still be standing afterwards : )
PS Hope you feel better! Migraines are the worst.
Thank you for this, a lovely post. I need to get back to nourishing myself again. I’ve been a bit lost these last few weeks. Thanks!
I’m starting a new phase of looking after myself this week by joining a gym! Don’t worry, I’m making sure it is one that not only offers all of the cardio and strength machinese I’m looking for, but also Yoga, Pilates and aerobic classes! Continuing my Yoga practice in a classroom setting is crucial for me.
Congrats on making the list!
One of my favourite ways of looking after myself (apart from my yoga practice of course) is going for a walk alone early in the morning – I use it as a time for gratitude, a moving meditation, it clears my mind, energises my body and generally makes me a nicer person to be around for the rest of the day
Take care of yourself and feel better soon!
Ok, I could definitely get better at self-care, but I’d say I do it through reading (bookworm!), my recent Kundalini practice (incredibly clearing and moving), and by working on my breath/patience/openess.
Congrats re: the list! Awesome!!
Gaah – “openness”. Perhaps I need some self-care now – brain is fried.
Beautiful blog! I’m a firm believer of loving myself first and foremost because we can’t give what we don’t have.