At the end of January – the first month of 2015 coming to a close. How are you feeling? How was your month? How did you get on with that very long list of things you were going to do this month? You know the one that goes something like:
Must Do . . . More Yoga . . . I shouldn’t be so stressed
Must Drink . . . Green Tea/Green Juice . . . I shouldn’t be so unhealthy
Must Not Drink . . . Alcohol . . . I shouldn’t have drunk so much
Must Go to . . . The Gym/For a Run . . . I shouldn’t be so unfit
Must Start . . . Meditation Daily . . . I shouldn’t be so impatient/grumpy/stressed
Blah, Blah, Blah!! Don’t get me wrong, all of the above and many more variations are great things to do for our health and well being and I commit to them regularly (except for the no alcohol – the occasional Gin & Tonic balances out my Green Juice) but where are these pledges coming from? It is the beliefs we hold about ourselves, the critical and judgemental inner monologues we have that make me sad. Yoga Philosophy introduces us a different approach: balance Santosha and Tapas. Santosha means contentment and Tapas is a fiery discipline of change. Through the practise of Santosha we learn to love ourselves just as we are, to recognise and accept our imperfections, our limitations and our shadow side (that’s the grumpy version of you) and through this love of ourselves and our life we draw the strength and energy for Tapas and its disciplined commitment to change, to self development. To live the best life we can because we honour ourselves and our life too much to waste it. I drink green juice not because I think I should but because it gives me so much energy it is like I’ve swallowed a Duracell battery and that energy motivates me through living my days.
Nobody has everything nailed, nobody is perfect. Forget doing anything that includes the word ‘should or should not’. Let go of expectations, your life is too precious, let go of things that don’t serve you, that don’t help you to grow or make you happy. I’d love to see resolutions and to do list that look like this: (This was written on the clothing label of a top I got yesterday from EKO):
Live Simply
Go Explore
Dream Big
Be Grateful
Stay Humble
Give Love
Laugh Lots