Fall Shifts in Perspective

I often read from the Yoga Sutras to my Tuesday 8am Yoga class. We study more than just yoga poses; we include the rest of the 8 limbs of yoga in our practice. Among them are the yamas, the way of right living. One of them is aparigraha, or non-attachment, which can encourage us to relinquish old patterns, negative thinking or unhealthy attachments that can keep us from taking necessary actions. It seems so appropriate in 2020 as many of us have had some type of awakening to the truth of the world around us.

Yoga Sutra 2:39 says:
“A Yogi established in non-attachment understands and sees the truth of rebirth."

In the context of social justice, non- attachment is necessary as we begin to unlearn the constructs of our society that have been silently taught to us throughout our lives. We begin to learn that we are cheating ourselves of different perspectives when we stay in our unconscious patterns. We can begin to unlearn some of the rose colored history we learned in school and relearn the realities of things like the middle passage, the racism behind holidays like the 4th of July and the racist history behind tax codes created long ago and still in place today. We practice aparigraha by letting go, unattached to these wrong teachings. Perhaps this includes the way we are biased against those that are different from us. Maybe it’s asking ourselves quietly why our social circles include mostly people that look like us, or why we take our business to places owned by people just like us. Or asking questions of ourselves such as how we react to the Black Lives Matter Movement and we begin to notice that it’s easy for white people to ignore these causes and slip back into the ease of everyday life while others are hurting. We begin to learn that we are cheating ourselves of different perspectives when we stay in our unconscious patterns, and we notice that rebirth is necessary. Once we become aware, we can choose to unlearn. As we unlearn, or let go of old attachments, we are practicing the ancient yoga practice of aparigraha.

Again, sutra 2:39 says “A Yogi established in non-attachment understands and sees the truth of rebirth.”

The change of the season seems like a good time to endeavor into something new. So let’s continue to unlearn and experience rebirth as we let go and re-learn! What have you learned, un-learned and/or re-learned this year? Let me know- I'd love to hear from you!