Skill in Action

In Bhagavad Gita it says “yoga is skill in action`

It is not about whether you do a yoga pose the way it is shown in yoga books , or how much better or worse you do the pose compared to your neighbor. It is about how you do them; the intention you have while you are doing them

It is the same way in life. We may not get the results we want in every attempt we make in life, but the important thing is to have made the attempt with the right intentions, and using the best of our knowledge.

During your asana practice use the skills that you have learned, but don’t try to push yourself to what you think the pose should look like. Just keep the integrity of the pose. We are students on this path to Yoga and it is only natural that we have room for improvement. So, if you can’t go all the way down in hanumanasana, that’s fine. Go only as much as you can, and maybe you’ll stay off of the floor, and that’s fine. Try to keep your hips square at the same level, facing forward, and your upper body straight and you’ll be staying true to the pose and to yourself. It is much better to do that than trying to stretch your legs, and bring yourself to the floor and then hurting yourself because you couldn’t accept where you were.

Be faithful to which exists within you. And let it guide you, and if it tells you to stop at a certain point, keep your ego silent, and let your heart speak louder. That will help you to accept where you are and actually be content with it. 

So draw your awareness within, and listen to your body

Don’t hold back from what you are capable of, but beware when you know it is the place for you to practice acceptance than to practice the asana...

Do your best, and then let go

Nishkama Karma is the Gandhi’s summarization of Gita’s message about freedom through renunciation. It means “work that is without kama, that is, without selfish desire.”

When one is acting most of the time one acts for the rewards, either physical or psychological rewards, s/he will get at the end of act. These feed our ego. We become attached to the feelings we get after engaging in certain actions or activities. Acting out of self-gratification and urge to satisfy our desires emphasize the ego, I, and make the person feel separate from the rest of the world. Nishkama Karma is about freeing yourself from the attachment you feel to the output of your actions, and also engaging in actions from that others may benefit, but necessarily yourself, the doer. However, this doesn’t mean that one should be indifferent to the results of their actions. One should consider the output that may result due to engaging in the action. Thus, someone who is “renouncing the fruits of their actions” is a person who is 1) acting with pure heart and good intentions (intention), 2) with the knowledge of the result that is expected to follow (knowledge/alignment of knowledge to the act), 3) committing to the act and performing the task using full capacity (action), but having no set expectations or desires for the outcome, leaving the rest to the universe. Acting without a set of expectations, and attachments to the results, and acting in a way that may benefit others, but not necessarily benefit you.

We can’t always control what happens even if we work to the best of our ability on a certain task. There are many different elements that play a part in the happening of things. Our intentions and actions are only one of those factors. So, we need to put our best intention out there, and do the best we can to our ability, but do not associate ourselves with the results, whether it is pleasure or pain, because we are not the ultimate reason for those results. Don’t define yourself with the results of your actions. Do your best, but don’t assume it is all you that created the outcome. You are only one of the many elements that make things happen. Thus, don’t be proud when something happens, and succeeds, and don’t feel like a loser when something fails. Associating ourselves with the output of those actions, would be feeding the ego, by praising or degrading ourselves. Detaching ourselves from the output is accepting the workings of the universe. This is the way to true joy and happiness in life.

Speak From Your Heart

I used to think twice or three times before I talked because I was afraid I would say something wrong, or hurtful to others. I was afraid I would offend others. However, I realized recently that when you speak from your heart, you can speak your mind, because you have no reason to fear what you might say. You can only say what is pure, and real. Reality can be hurtful at times but it wouldn’t if it is coming from your heart, because the purity that would accompany it will soften it, and help others to relate. Others will sense that those words are not spoken out of vengeance or anything negative. They are pure feelings, coming from your heart.

Put your heart and intentions in the right place, and then you can leave aside worrying. You can’t hurt others or say inappropriate things, if you have your intentions in the right place and let your heart speak for you. Because even the harsh reality gets softened with the softness, goodness and purity of your heart.

Close your eyes, hands in front of your chest, palms facing together in Anjali Mudra. Take a few deep breaths, and bow to your heart… quiet down all the other voices in your head, and listen to your heart carefully… then let it speak for you.