#HappyDay

Hi everyone,

“The yoga mat is a good place to turn to when talk therapy and antidepressants aren’t enough”

- Amy Weintraub -

Today is the #InternationalDayOfHappiness, I’m sure you have all seen the hashtag trending on twitter. I wanted to talk today about how yoga is relevant on this day. Last week, something happened that I had no control over and it filled me with negative thoughts, I tried Asana practice, Pranayama exercises and Meditation or Dhyana to try and overcome those negative thoughts, but nothing seemed to work. I decided I should try to distract myself and started working on my YTT work ready for the weekend. I began writing up about the Eight Limbs of Yoga:

• Yama (Conduct towards others/Social discipline): Ahimsa (Non-violence/not harming), Satya (Truthfulness/Sincerity/Genuineness), Asteya (Not stealing), Brahmacharya (Avoiding indulgence or exploitation, especially sexual), Aparigraha (Not indulging in greed).

• Niyama (Conduct towards oneself/Individual discipline): Sauca (Cleanliness), Santosa (Contentment), Tapas (Austerity), Svadhyaya (Self study), Isvrapranidhana (Dedication to the one who inspires).

• Asana (The practice of physical postures)

• Pranayama (Breath control for mental discipline)

• Pratyahara (Withdrawal or discipline of the senses)

• Dharana (Concentration/Intense focus)

• Dhyana (Meditation)

• Samadhi (Self realisation)

Whilst doing my coursework I had an idea for something that might help me to focus better and overcome the negative thoughts occupying my mind. I decided to make a list of all the things that make me happy. Sounds simple, and I am sure that some of you might seem a little skeptic. How will this help? What does this have to do with yoga? I get it, I wasn’t sure if it would work either. And it wasn’t until this weekend that I realised just how much this seemingly simple task has to do with yoga.

So let me explain why this task helped me. First of all, I have a bullet journal and I find that setting aside time to create collections for it, is a very relaxing task for me. I research for some ideas (I love research) and then decide how I want to go from there. I did mine in different shades of blue and green, as they are some of my favourite colours to look at. Taking the time to think of all the little things in your life that puts a smile on your face is really therapeutic. I would highly recommend it. I started out with things like: family, friends, yoga, dance. Then towards the end I had things more specific to certain people or memories. I’m sure I could’ve gone on much further, but I ran out of room on my page and it got a little bit late… ohhps!

Now, how does this journaling exercise link to yoga? Well, if you look back at the eight limbs, there are a couple of aspects of the first two limbs that this links to. Ahimsa and Tapas are the two it relates to most in my mind. Negative thoughts can have a harmful effect on your mind, ahimsa is about demonstrating respect for others. The concept of non violence includes having no aggression, i.e. Negative thoughts. Tapas is the conquest of all desires. To achieve tapas, you should practice purity in thoughts, actions and speech. Tapas also means burn, therefore through the practice of purity in thoughts, actions and speech we allow our minds to burn/purify our negative feelings and we will become pure.

A lot of philosophy there, in short yoga is not just asanas, breathing and meditation. Yoga is a way of life. In the words of Sharon Gannon: “You cannot do yoga. Yoga is your natural state. What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.” I completely understand why people think yoga is a religion, people who practice yoga tend to embody it. They often live by the eight limbs of yoga, whether that is intentional or otherwise. And in my eyes, why not? It seems like a good system, if everyone did selfless actions without expecting anything in return, the world would be a much better place to live.

My challenge for you: Try practising one of the limbs of yoga. That can be something simple like holding the door open for someone, telling a stranger they have a nice smile, or writing down a list of what makes you happy. Or go big and treat everyone you meet with kindness, try and only say kind things about others, or quite possibly the trickiest - try not to say or think anything bad about yourself.

“Healthy plants and trees yield abundant flowers and fruits. Similarly, from a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like rays of the sun.”

- B.K.S. Iyengar -

Speak soon,

Clarissa