In yoga teacher training (which is going wonderfully, by the way) we're learning about the yamas and niyamas - the first two steps in the eight limbs of yoga - and in an effort to live a more intentional, mindful life I'm in the practice of bringing what I'm learning off of my mat into my every day.
After rocking out a goal session with Jacki Carr while I was in Denver this past weekend, I decided to get really clear about what I want to accomplish while I'm home for the next few months. What I decided on was: thrive, ground and last but not least, simplify, which is what I want to talk about right meow.
Aparigraha (the final yama, or constraint) is the idea of non-grasping or non-hoarding, which just happens to fall perfectly under the umbrella of simplify. Saucha (the first niyama, or observance) refers to cleanliness in all aspects of one's life. Combining these two yogic concepts in my life translates to cleaning house, AKA getting rid of all my shit. For those of you who have ever seen my closet, you know all too well that this is no small feat. Not even kind of.
Ohhh boy. At first, this was not easy for me. As I was forced to pick and choose until my once prodigious amount of clothing was slowly whittled down to, well, a normal amount of clothing, some interesting things came up for me. I found I had an emotional attachment to a concerning amount of things. An EMOTIONAL attachment to CLOTHES - I know, I know. #retailproblems
Had my mom not been with me forcing me to choose a select few things to keep, I would have kept every damn thing. I mean, I argued with her about letting go of things that I had never worn before, hadn't worn in the last 12+ months or never even liked in the first place. Talk about letting your possessions possess you, am I right? I don't believe I'm a materialistic person - at least in the traditional sense of the word. I don't look at my material possessions as a sign of status, but rather as a part of how I express myself, as an extension of who I am. My personal style has been a huge part of my identity for nearly a decade. In a way, each time I was forced to let something go, I felt that I was letting a part of who I am slip through my fingers. Does anyone know what I'm talking about, or am I just bat shit crazy?
Well, as you could have guessed, all said and done I feel pretty dang good about it all. Actually, I feel fantastic. I quite literally feel like I'm lighter - there's just one less thing (heap of clothing) holding me down. I mean, why do you need 51 pairs of the same stretchy pants? YOU DON'T. But you also don't need three flavors of Ben & Jerry's in the freezer at the same time, but that didn't stop me...
This was a huge step in my quest for simplifying, no doubt. It turned out to be a huge lesson in letting go. But there is still a lot of work to be done. Now, I'm ready to dive inwards and work on cleaning out my mental and spiritual spaces. I'm curious, what are some things you guys have done in a quest to clear your own space, be it physically, mentally or spiritually? I'm all ears. Feel free to comment here, PM me or shoot me an email! I'd love to hear.
Namaste, bitches. xx