March: Asteya

We continue our study of yoga's yamas and niyamas this month with Asteya - nonstealing.  
​Please see below after this month's News!

News:

Several announcements for March!

March Specialty Classes:

Functional Movement:  Great news!  I will be teaching my rescheduled Therapeutic Yoga for Shoulders and Hips on Saturday, March 12th, 2:30-4:00 pm, at Body Grace Fitness and Yoga in Vienna, VA. 
 
This class is a terrific way to become more deeply attuned to your body's inner messages, particularly if you tend to experience limitation through your shoulders and hips.  Through small, mindful and gentle yoga-inspired therapeutic movements (seated, standing and supine) and a connection to natural breath, participants can quiet tension and nurture calm in both muscle and mind as they explore their optimal range of motion and then apply this knowledge to yoga poses.  
 
Please reserve a spot with Jan at [email protected].

Amy Weintraub visiting McLean, VA this month!  Amy Weintraub, author of Yoga for Depression, will be visiting McLean, VA to conduct a LifeForce Yoga to Manage Your Mood: Depression and Anxiety workshop on Sunday, March 20, 2016 from 1:00-5:30 pm at the Dream Yoga Studio and Wellness Center.  I am excited that I will be there assisting!  Visit yogafordepression.com for more information.

Practicum continuing through Spring!  My practicum in functional movement continues through this spring.  Contact me to take advantage of the special one-on-one, 5-session rate and help yourself find a path to greater ease, fluidity and flexibility in your body.  As my teacher Susi Hately says, “Your body doesn’t lie.”  Book a private session for a personalized approach to cultivating your awareness and ability to listen to your body's messages and learn how to relax and improve your stability and strength at the same time.  Give yourself the path to greater health and healing this year!  

Cancer care recovery - My functional movement teacher, Susi Hately has a free 8-week series running now as part of her Calm.Steady.Strong program that offers tips for people recovering from cancer who are seeking ways to feel better and be more healthy.  These tips can come straight into your mailbox simply emailing [email protected].  For more information also see www.functionalsynergy.com.


March: Asteya
 
It is March!  We have traveled down the path exploring yoga’s ethical principles, with stops studying non-harm and truthfulness.  This month we go further with our study of the Yamas and Niyamas as we reach asteya - Sanskrit for nonstealing.
 
Nonstealing! 
 
This is how the conversation goes on in my head:

 
Ego:  Nonstealing!  No problem!  I don’t steal.  I’ve got this one covered.  I’m good on this one.  Particularly on my mat!  I never ever steal anyone’s stuff on my mat.  Ok, occasionally I borrow a prop to illustrate when I’m teaching. But I never, ever steal.  I’m good.
 
Wisdom:  Ok. You don’t steal props. But consider this: 
 
Do you ever steal the present moment from yourself? (And, by the way dear Ego, the point is to take these practices ‘off’ your mat as well into your day-to-day living.)
 
Do you ever compare yourself to others?
 
Do negative thoughts, judgments and expectations ever steal from your ability to realize and appreciate with full gratitude the essence and beauty of your own precious being? 
 
Ego:  Ummm . . . Maybe there are some things to work on here after all. 
 
 
Deborah Adele’s examination of asteya in her book The Yamas and Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice helps us see how there are many ways we can steal from others, the earth, the future, and ourselves. 
 
For example, she points out that when we compare ourselves to others and find ourselves lacking or superior, it can be the ego’s attempt to control the situation at hand, manage others, or boost ourselves up.  For some of these same reasons, we also can steal when we discount another’s experience or draw attention away from another person.  
 
Stealing from the future can happen when we fail to practice gratitude for the abundance already present in our lives. Or, as Adele says, when we practice ‘self-sabotage, lack of belief in ourselves  . . .all forms of self-abuse in which we destroy the very essence of our vitality.’
 
Adele tells us, ‘All the ways that we live in the past or the future steal from ourselves.’ These are barriers that can ‘steal from the full expansion of our lives.’
 
Ego:  Ummmm. 
 
Luckily, Adele points out a path.  She shares that we can celebrate the possibilities of our own life, our own growth, and the joy and challenges of being and building ourselves.  She describes this as building our competency around our values and growth with joy and appreciation.  Put simply, she states ‘When we are engaged in the joy and challenge of building ourselves, we automatically serve the world rather than steal from it.’
 
So as I gaze at asteya, I realize that self-care with respect to nonstealing ties back to our January topic of ahimsa -- non-harm -- and our February topic of satya -- truthfulness.  We practice nonstealing when we allow ourselves to compassionately honor and be with what is present in this moment. 
 
So this month, just take time to notice, and do so with compassion.
 
Notice the drift of thoughts to the past and to the future, away from the present moment.  When this occurs, see if you can mindfully bring yourself back to the present moment, feeling it fully with all of your 5 senses. 
 
Give the present moment back to yourself. 
 
Notice when you are comparing yourself to others in a judgmental way.  When this occurs, allow and practice gratitude for the whole, unique, and precious being that you already are right now.  Appreciate your own path, your own growth, and your own competency.
 
Give your vitality back to yourself.   
 
With light and love,
 
Carolyn