Yoga is a discipline of the mind and body. Yoga can be practiced both on the mat and in everyday life. You can learn to Live Your Yoga. What is “Living Your Yoga”. When you live your yoga you learn to bring the mindfulness of your yoga practice to everyday life. You learn to practice yoga in every event and activity of every day. For example, as we go through daily life we have thoughts about the way things should be. When you go to the market you “should” be able to buy your favorite meal. Well what if one day your favorite meal is not there. This will cause you to react. It is your choice how you react. You may get very frustrated and therefore, not enjoy whatever you had to purchase and eat. Getting caught up in the attachment of your favorite meal, in this case, interfered with the ability to experience things as they are. Even when things do not go the way that you want them to go it is important to experience them as they occur. Recognize the attachment or the “should be” thought and then experience things for what they are. You never know, you may find another fabulous food to enjoy.
Another example of living your yoga is the concept of “control”. We tend to want to control everything in our lives. To control things people often act in manipulative or demanding manners. This actually makes life even more complex and difficult and still does not give us the balance that we are looking for. We need to realize that the only thing we have control over is our own words and actions. The best thing you can do is use the power of your words and actions. Be as clear and truthful in your words and actions and allow everything else to unfold. We cannot control the behavior of others. We can only control our own behavior and actions. Attempts to control other people’s behavior often backfires, creating more stress and disharmony. A mantra to say to yourself on a daily basis is, “The only real control I have is the choice of my own thoughts, my own words, and my own actions.”
A powerful book on this topic that everyone should read is, “Living Your Yoga,” by Judith Lasater, PhD, PT. She provides life experiences, daily exercises and mantras for daily living. Topics that she covers includes: spiritual seeking, discipline, letting go, self-judgement, faith, perspective, courage, compassion, control, fear, patience, attachment and aversion, suffering, impermanence, greed, service, connection, truth, success, nonviolence and love. This is one of my favorite books. I have read it numerous times and will read it many more times. Each time I read it I incorporate more things into my daily life. It makes me reflect on choices I have made in my life and helps me make better choices in the future.
Another wonderful book is, “Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga,” by Rolf Gates and Katrina Kenison. They provide 365 meditations that offer a way to integrate the mindfulness that yoga teaches into everyday life.
Check out the website, www.dailyom.com. It provides you with daily inspirations for life. I love reading these every morning. They give me positive words and thoughts to reflect on each day.
There are many ways that you can live your yoga. The important thing for you to do is start being mindful about how you live your life and how your actions and thoughts create your life. Start creating the life you want to live by Living Your Yoga.
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