Aparigraha

Reading from Tuesday and Wednesday, February 10 and 11, 2015 yoga class

From the book "Guiding Yoga's Light"

Aparigraha, non-possessiveness, is the fifth and last yama.  From a yogic perspective, possessiveness and greed are signs of a vacant search for happiness. The desire to buy or accept more than is necessary clouds the mind and keeps us from understanding the deeper motivations and reasons of life.

So what is truly appropriate and necessary for us to be healthy, happy, and fulfilled?  Ask yourself if you really need all the clothes, toys, or trinkets in your house.  How much of it has become clutter?  The more possessions we have, the more attached we become to our things, the more our environments and minds become muddled and busy.  You can see how easy it is to lose your perspective and connection to what is truly important in life.

We can be possessive with our thoughts.  We hold onto our ideas, our principles, and our ways of doing things.  We become set in our ways.  This is a state of inflexibility that can transfer to our muscles and tissues.

The key to aparigraha is to learn to let go of attachment to possessions, people, thoughts or ways of doing things.

Possessiveness often show up in asana practice.  Some people are attached to doing a perfect pose or to doing a pose a certain way.  Others may be attached to a particular spot in the classroom.  To detach emotionally from the posture, from the outcome, from what you think you are.  This way, you can let the possibilities flourish.

Aparigraha invites us to let go and pack lightly for our journey through life, all the while caring deeply and enjoying fully.

What if we could trust life like we trust the breath?  What if we could take in all the nourishment of the moment and then let go fully, trusting that more nourishment will come?

How many suitcases full of expectations, tasks, plans, resentments, and unforgiven moments are you carrying around with you everyday?

Do you have too much stuff?  Do you tend to overeat?  Are you so attached to your partner or child that you constantly worry about them?  Are you envious of your neighbors?  What happens when you don't get what you want?

Krishna Das makes the observation that in our country we have a muscle in the mind that we forget is there.  He calls it the "letting go" muscle.  We have developed a strong "holding on" muscle in the mind, but the "letting go" muscle is undeveloped.  Notice when you cling to experiences, emotions, thoughts, habits and beliefs.  Give your "letting go" muscle some exercise and begin to let go.