Vairagya

As we move into June and restrictions ease up, we can’t help but notice a new normal emerging. Many of us are getting used to working from home. We’ve learned to expand our personal space from two feet to six feet, we’re using our video chat technology more than ever, and on top of remembering to grab our wallet, phone, and keys, we grab our mask as we leave the house to run a simple errand. These are just some of the adjustments we’ve had to make. Take a moment to consider how you are adapting and adjusting to change. How are you handling the new normal? Have you been resisting or have you been taking it in stride? Wherever you fall along this spectrum on any given day, the teaching from the practice is the same: vairagya.  Vairagya is Sanskrit for “non-attachment”. People often mistake vairagya for not caring or apathy. This is a misunderstanding of the true meaning and practice of the teaching. In my experience, vairagya is a combination of satya (truthfulness), compassion, flexibility and adaptability. Put into practice, vairagya requires that we recognize the truth of our situation or feelings, have compassion for ourselves and others involved and exercise our mental flexibility so that we can adapt in the best way possible. Clinging to old ways of being keeps you stuck in the past and hinders your ability to grow and evolve. When you are unable to let go of people, things, experiences or a way of being, you diminish your chance to experience your higher Self and its limitless capacity.  Our lives are changing. Our world is changing. Change is the constant. At GROW, we recognize this truth and we know that change can be tricky to navigate at times. We encourage you to put vairagya into practice by not being attached to how things were and finding ways to embrace this new way of living and being. As the restrictions ease, our studio continues to adapt and we are opening to different ways of keeping our community together and maintaining this invaluable practice of yoga. When you roll out your mat and check in with yourself, be truthful about how you’re feeling mentally and emotionally. Have compassion for yourself if you find your emotional or mental state is less than ideal, and let the practice guide you into a higher awareness, a lighter state of being. When you fold forward to reach for your toes, extend that flexibility to your mind and have the intention to create a new perspective. And when you hold onto your blocks in a lunge, or when you prop your hips up on your yoga blanket or bring your knees down in a plank, let those adaptations on the mat be a reminder to be adaptable off the mat. Vairagya is the gateway to freedom that is independent of circumstance, and you can access it. Freedom, after all, is what we’ve been waiting for, right?