I re-read a few pages this morning from my yoga manual, and remembered among other things, just how amazingly Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras illustrates “how to live” in alignment with your True Self. Pantajali was a sage in and around the 2nd or 3rd century who birthed many of the philosophies behind yoga. Sutra means “thread” in Sanskrit, which is another connection I love to make as I envision the threads holding us all together, or the thread drawing from the Earth up through our bodies, specifically through the spinal column passing through our energetic sources (the Chakras) and up toward the “everything else” hovering above the crown of our heads and beyond. But I digress.
Yogis often call the Yoga Sutras in addition to other scriptures and concepts “Yoga off the mat” or Raja yoga (royal yoga). The Sutras illustrate how to utilize yoga in your day-to-day to not only move through the trials and tribulations of life, but also to grow.
Yoga Sutra 1.3: “The Seer abides in itself, resting in its True Nature, which is called Self Realization.”
The #1 reason that I am a coach is that I want to help people achieve True Self-realization. My hope is for you to all is to live a fulfilled life according to your True Nature, the REAL YOU. This is involves letting go of the “fluctuations of the mind” caused by many distractions and false beliefs. Another explanation describes one of the many goals of the Yoga Sutras as a way of “un-coloring thoughts” - unlearning ideas about the world by letting go of beliefs systems that do not serve us in order to fully embody our Truth. As we do so, we can live a fulfilled life that is aligned with our true passion and calling, as opposed to conforming to the demands of society.
This doesn’t happen overnight; and when it does happen, it’s never permanent. The goal is not to perfectly hone the ability to stay true to yourself in every situation. The Practice of yoga is a continuous effort. We are quite literally PRACTICING our ability to tune in and re-align over and over again. We come back to the practice every day. We reboot and try again. But the more we practice, the more we improve at practicing. And as in a race or game of football, the direction and guidance of a coach and even better yet encouragement from cheerleaders, will only help you stay on track in your journey toward self-realization and ultimately to happiness.
