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“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”  -Mohandas K. Gandhi

Relaxation is one of the primary benefits of a hatha yoga practice, as well as one of the sweet gifts of life itself. When our body and mind are relaxed and at ease, we can function optimally, allowing a balanced, calm and harmonious state throughout. However, a relaxed body and mind can be challenging for many to attain.

Relaxation Often Takes Practice

The practice of relaxation involves the ability to let go.  Often we only feel this experience from the state of sleeping, however this can be a conscious practice as well. In hatha yoga, and ayurveda, we practice active relaxation so that deep healing may occur naturally in the body-mind. The more we develop our ability to create a relaxed state in our hatha yoga practice, the more we begin to develop the skills to manage stressful situations off of our mats with clarity and ease. From the standpoint of being of service to our families, friends, and communities, the more relaxed we are, the more present and at ease we may be in their presence. When our cup is full we have more to give!

In honor of this month’s relaxation theme, we are challenging all Kunga students and teachers to take 10 minutes every day for the entire month to practice savasana in all Kunga yoga classes, at home on the couch, in the car with the seat reclined during lunch break-wherever you can!

“Tension is who you think you should be.  Relaxation is who you are.”  ~Chinese 

For Kunga teachers, this is a great opportunity to lead a longer guided savasana. Techniques you may wish to incorporate into your classes include:

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation
• Contraction & Release
• Creative Visualizations
• Affirmation Repetition
• Hypnotic Music
• 15 Minutes of total silence.

Students may wish to work at home with guided relaxation audio or simply find a quiet, well-ventilated room to enjoy silence, or to take in the sounds of your home while you lie resting. Try to let go of any attachments to sounds, feelings in the body, and thoughts, allowing your body and mind to relax into whatever may be present. Take note of how you feel, noticing if some days may be more difficult to lie still. You may wish to try journaling this month if you do not take a daily savasana, and at the end of the month, notice the gifts you have received by simplifying and doing nothing!

“For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.”  -Lily Tomlin

The intention of this month’s Kunga theme is to learn to express gratitude using the model for appreciation within the methods of “Nonviolent Communication”.  Nonviolent Communication was developed by psychologist Dr. Marshall Rosenberg. The NVC model is a concrete set of tools that help us to manifest mindfulness in our lives. Practicing Nonviolent Communication relates to our Kunga theme of yoga as service because the goal of Nonviolent Communication is to increase understanding, cooperation, and respect in relationships.

Excerpts from Marshall Rosenberg and Jeff Brown
Of Center for Non-Violent Communication
www.cnvc.org

Before beginning the practice, it is helpful to understand the NVC model’s definition of feelings and needs. Needs and/or values are considered things that we all universally want, for example:
– connection/acceptance
– peace/ease
– play/fun
– physical well – being – food, safety
– meaning – growth/integrity
– autonomy – choice

Feelings are categorized as fulfilled feelings or unfulfilled feelings. Examples of fulfilled feelings include feeling:
– Inspired
– engaged
– refreshed
– joyful
– exhilarated
– peaceful
– hopeful

Examples of unfulfilled feelings include feeling:
– afraid
– angry
– confused
– embarrassed
– tired
– tense
– disconnected

Now, let’s incorporate these feelings and needs into our Gratitude Practice from NVC:
The purpose of sharing appreciation in Nonviolent Communication is simply to celebrate when the actions of others have enriched our lives. We refrain from expressing appreciation to “reinforce” the actions of another.

Sharing an NVC appreciation has 3 components:
1. Observations – Sharing what actions another person took that made your life more wonderful.
2. Feelings – How you feel IN THIS MOMENT (not when it happened).
3. Need – The needs of yours that were met by the action.

Practice Exercise:
1. Recall something that another person did about which you feel grateful. Imagine you are speaking to them right now, and begin by making an OBSERVATION. Ex: “John, When I recall you doing/saying ________”
2. Then reflect or write down your feelings in this moment Ex: “I feel very ________ (your present feeling about what they did or said)
3. Last, identify the needs of yours that were met by this person’s action. “Because it met my needs for ____________________”
Ex: John, when I think about how you repaired my broken front door while I was at work, I feel very grateful and happy because you met my need for safety and support.
For teachers:
Three options for guiding your students at the end of your class through this exercise are listed below:

1. Ask your students to come into silent meditation, as you guide them through reflection of the above questions and actions, allowing 1 – 2 minutes of silence between each question.
2. Journaling – Guide your students through the above fill in the blank questions and actions, allowing 1 – 2 minutes of silent writing time between each question.
3. Role Play Co – listening. Ask your students to try sharing what they wrote with one another if they choose, role-playing their gratitude. Guide the following actions for the first participant to speak about, as the listener sits quietly without responding, and then switch.
4. Encourage students to try this exercise if they celebrate Thanksgiving with their family.
5. Pass out handouts from the CNVC website on gratitude as take-aways.

Center for Nonviolent Communication website:

www.cnvc.org

The Kunga Yoga Inspiration of the month is volunteering. The heart of Kunga Yoga lies in approaching yoga as a path of service, with opportunities to view our personal practice as a time for self-inquiry and growth, so that we are more available to then serve others. All Kunga Yoga programs work to raise awareness for orphanages in developing countries.

The healing power of service

Please enjoy the following reading on the benefits of service, written by Edward V. Brown, published on www.SelfGrowth.com. Please also see below for information on Kunga Journeys India, and contact your Wilmington Yoga teacher for volunteer opportunities in your local area.

The healing power of service
By Edward V. Brown

A few years ago in a small rural town in Oregon, USA, a teenage boy died in a drowning accident. In all likelihood his death could have been prevented if an ambulance and trained medical personnel had been available. However, this small town was too poor to afford these services.

The boy’s mother grieved for the loss of her son, but she also transformed her grief into a service to her community. While she could not regain her son, she worked to prevent a similar tragedy. This woman trained and became an Emergency Medical Technician. After completing her training she raised money to purchase an ambulance and trained volunteers to help her. It is estimated that this volunteer ambulance service has saved the lives of over 100 people that might have died, as her son did, due to a lack of emergency care. When interviewed, this woman said, “It’s easier to forget your own loss when you are busy helping others.”

The Physical + Psychological Benefits of Volunteering

Medical scientists are beginning to discover what this woman already knows: that there is healing power in helping others. This new field of specialization, psychoneuroimmunology or PNI for short, researches the power of the mind to influence health and healing. This research has produced some startling results. IgA is an antibody that helps the body defend itself from infection. Harvard psychologist David McClelland measured this antibody in students before and after watching a film on Mother Teresa, the Nobel Prize laureate, for her work helping the homeless. Dr McClelland found that merely watching a film on selfless service strengthened the immune response in the students.

While Chinese and Indian medicine have long considered the mind and the body as inseparable, Western science since the time of Descartes has viewed the mind and body as separate unrelated entities. The PNI research is providing concrete evidence that this separation is artificial and erroneous. Studies have traced direct neurological pathways between the brain and the immune system. This research shows that the immune system, consisting primarily of several types of white blood cells, is controlled by the nervous system and that the white blood cells in turn are capable of transmitting chemical messages back to the brain.

Many health statistics demonstrate that the mind can influence the body. Stressful life events such as the death of a spouse, divorce, or loss of employment greatly increase your risk of becoming ill. In the words of Hans Selye MD, “What we call ageing is nothing more than the sum total of all the scars left by the stress of life”.

The so-called Type A personality is an example of how the way we think and act affects our health. Type A individuals tend to move and react quickly. They may do two things at the same time and find it difficult to relax. These hard driving, hurried, and competitive individuals have increased risk of heart attack and stroke. Newer research suggests that the tendency to become angry or irritated is the most damaging aspect of Type A behavior.

Fight or flight

Events that are perceived as stressful evoke what is referred to as the “fight or flight” response. In response to danger, the body secretes hormones that cause the heart and lungs to work faster, blood pressure goes up, skeletal muscles tighten, and digestive processes slow down. All of these changes are to prepare the body for physical exertion. In today’s high stress society, most of our threats do not involve physical danger. However, the mind’s imagination is so powerful that a perceived stress elicits the same fight or flight response that a physical stress evokes. When our body is primed for physical activity by the stress response and we continue with our sedentary activity, this imposes an added burden on the body, somewhat like stepping on the accelerator in your automobile while at the same time holding down the brake pedal.

Cancer is a disease that is influenced by the stress response. One researcher found that the majority of cancer patients had a severe emotional trauma early in life, such as the loss of a parent. Other research suggests that cancer patients have difficulty expressing their emotions. One can speculate that pent-up emotional energy finds its outlet in the manifestation of cancer.

Another aspect of cancer-prone personalities is their rigid way of looking at the world. They perceive self-imposed ‘rules’ by which they must live. When life situations develop that do not conform to the rules, there is a feeling of helplessness. They see themselves as victims of circumstances beyond their control and give up. This mental surrender leads to a weakening of immune function. Considering the direct links between the brain and the immune system, this is not surprising. It appears that mentally giving up does not cause cancer so much as it allows cancer to develop.

While the mind-body connection has been known for years, modern medicine has had difficulty translating this information into viable treatment alternatives. What are the medical implications of these new discoveries and how can we use this information to facilitate health and healing? If mental and emotional states influence our susceptibility to disease, can we not also use the power of the mind to strengthen our healing response?

Dr Herbert Benson of Harvard University, author of The Relaxation Response teaches his patients a form of meditation. He finds that the use of this technique for 20 minutes twice a day aids a whole host of measurable clinical factors, such as lowered blood pressure, lowered heart and breathing rate, decreased oxygen consumption, and profound muscle relaxation. Dr Benson has further refined the technique by adding the element of prayer to the meditative technique. He has the person pick a word or phrase that has religious or philosophical meaning in their personal belief system. He finds that adding the ‘faith factor’ to the relaxation response increases its effectiveness.

Dr Carl Simonton, a cancer specialist, in his book Getting Well Again, outlines visualization techniques to strengthen the healing response. He has the patient mentally image the white blood cells fighting and destroying the cancer cells. He finds that the ability to image a positive outcome is essential if the disease process is to reverse. When patients have difficulty with the visualization and has a negative expectation about their treatment, invariably the outcome is poor. However, when patients are successful in turning around a negative self-attitude with creative visualization the results can be remarkable.

Dr Bernie Siegel in Love, Medicine & Miracles urges the person to become an “exceptional patient”. By exceptional he means for the patients to become an active partner in their recovery. Exceptional patients are sometimes viewed as being difficult by traditional medicine. They may question their doctor’s advice or even defy their recommendations rather than being a passive recipient of treatment. However, it is precisely this active interest in the course of treatment and outcome that is required to marshal the enhanced immune response.

The power of the mind to influence the body is beyond question; a negative mental attitude can threaten one’s health, and a positive mental attitude will trigger changes within the body that promote health and healing. Thus, while research shows that social isolation is a major health risk factor, it also shows that people who do volunteer work are much less likely to suffer illness. The close interpersonal relationships and community involvement that occur with volunteer service are tailor-made to enhance the healing process.

Dr Albert Schweitzer, the medical missionary, commented: “The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve”. Considering the implications of the PNI research, we might extend this to include altruistic service of some kind as an essential element of becoming truly healthy.
Author’s Bio

Edward V. Brown is a chiropractic doctor in Oregon, USA, with special interests in holistic health and computer-aided diagnosis. More articles from Share International on Health and healing: http://www.shareintl.org/archives/health-healing/

Source URL: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/brown.html

For Kunga Yoga teachers around the state & country, please organize a volunteer event of your choice with your students and support your local non-profits!

Our Kunga Yoga theme for this month is the power of positive thinking=optimism!

Inspiration for this month’s theme is rooted in the motto of the Special Olympics: “It’s all about attitude!”

Over 50 years ago, a book called The Power of Positive Thinking became an immediate best-seller. The author Dr. Normal Vincent Peale, offered a variety of psychological practices to support the individual in developing a daily optimistic mindset for viewing life’s challenges as opportunities.

Please enjoy the following quotes and excerpts from The Power of Positive Thinking, and perhaps reflect on these principles in your yoga and meditation practice.

1. Formulate and stamp indelibly on you mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. And hold this picture tenaciously. You can’t ever permit it to fade. Over time your mind will develop this picture, brighten the detail. Never doubt the reality of the mental image, because doing so is dangerous. The mind also tries to complete what it pictures. So always picture “success” no matter how badly things seem to be going at the moment.

2. Whenever a negative thought concerning your personal powers come into mind, deliberately voice a positive thought to cancel it out.

3. Do not build up obstacles in your imagination. Minimize every so-called obstacle. Difficulties must be studied and efficiently dealt with to be eliminated, but they must be seen only for what they are. They must not be inflated by fear thoughts.

4. Do not be awestruck by other people and try to copy them. Nobody can be you as efficiently as YOU can. Remember also that most people, despite their confident appearance and demeanor, are often as scared as you are and as doubtful of themselves.

5. Gain self-knowledge. Learn the origin of your inferiority and self-doubts, which often begin in childhood. If necessary, get a competent counselor to help you understand why you do what you do.

6. Make a true estimate of your own ability — then raise it 10 percent. Resist becoming egotistical, but develop a wholesome self-respect. Believe in your own powers.
-Dr. Norman Vincent Peale

Suggestions for Teachers in Kunga Classes:

Work on one suggestion above each week, choosing a different focus weekly.

• Encourage students to try a difficult posture that they may have fears around, strictly for the exercise of watching the mind and testing its ability to turn the challenge into an opportunity. Ex: Have the students stand in meditation and first confidently visualize themselves achieving the pose, before even trying. This visualization technique is a common practice of Olympians and world class athletes.
• Print small strips of paper with one of the above tips for students to take home and practice for the month.
• Encourage conversation at the end of your class: “Would anyone like to share an example of how you have applied this months Kunga Theme of Turning Adversity into Opportunity?”
• Throughout entire class practice, encourage students to practice positive self talk with one simple inner phrase such as: “I am strong”, “I am relaxed”, “I am confident”, “I am optimistic!”
• Share brief readings from books on the power of positivity, such as “Man’s Search for Meaning”, Victor Frankl’s story of surviving the holocaust, or “Left to Tell”, Immaculee Ilibagiza’s story of surviving the Rwandan genocide.
• Share additional readings from books on optimism written by authors such as Zig Ziglar, Dr. Andrew Weil, Tony Robbins, Norman Vincent Peale, Mark Stevenson

Back To School!

As yoga practitioners in the west, we learn much about asana, the spine, the benefits of the physical practice to our cardiovascular, respiratory, & nervous systems. As we work to learn, integrate and share the benefits of our practice off the mat, from a spiritual heart – one of service – it can be helpful to review these simple ABC’s of yoga. You may wish to choose just one work to focus on in your meditation each week, or perhaps one in particular for the entire month.

Acceptance
“Through practice, I’ve come to see that the deepest source of my misery is not wanting things to be the way they are. Not wanting myself to be the way I am. Not wanting the world to be the way it is. Not wanting others to be the way they are. Whenever I’m suffering, I find this ‘war with reality’ to be at the heart of the problem.” – Stephen Cope

Yoga teaches us that certain postures will never be possible anatomically within our bodies. When we embrace & accept this, not only does our practice become much more effortless, but we also learn to more easily accept the conditions, actions, and realities or situations and people around us.

Balance
The heart of the sister sciences of yoga and ayurveda is the recognition of the principle of balance in the natural world. Nature as our teacher give us the opportunity to reflect on and cultivate this principle actively in our yoga asana practice, relationships, food choices, activities, and physical/mental/spiritual lives. It may be helpful when offering your sankalpa/intention at the beginning of your practice & meditation, “How can I more fully achieve balance and how can I support balance for others within my community?”

Connection
If the heart, breadth, and depth of yoga is about uniting – within ourselves, and with each other, why is that we sometimes hesitate to shift our mat when a latecomer joins in? Although we may enjoy thinking of ourselves as intensely independent, we are fundamentally social organisms; dependent mammals. For survival, as infants we must instantly engage our parents in protective behavior, and our parents must care enough about us to nurture, feed, and protect us. Compared physically to other mammals, we do not necessarily have an advantage, as other animals can fight better, run faster, and smell, see, and hear better than we can. However, our mind’s ability to plan, communicate, and work together is our major evolutionary advantage. Our happiness, our quality of life, our health and our very survival all depends upon us using this ability to form connections: to sustain long term relationships, and to work with one another collectively, not from our individual might. Judith Lasater writes in her book Living Your Yoga:
“Connection is that process of knowing our importance to the Whole, as well as comprehending that others share this importance with us. When we do so, we are less likely to hate or fear. We can rest, secure in the knowledge that we are all eternal threads in the grand design.”

Teaching Tips:
Teachers may wish to work with one theme per month, and tie all three together during the fourth week of the month. Another way of integrating the theme is to work with finding all three concepts when working in a long hold of a posture. Finally, readings during opening or closing meditation that represent one of the three themes can help to provide a foundation for the beginning of a practice, or a nice closing at the end of a practice.

– kristin cooper-gulak

Wilmington Yoga Center’s Kunga theme of the month is 10 Minutes of Pranayama!

Controlling the power of the breath is the technique of pranayama. ”Prana” is the Sanskrit word for life force. This is the energy that exists everywhere and is manifested in each of us through the breath, but prana isn’t exactly the same thing as breath or oxygen. Prana exists in all living things. It is pure energy. Every cell in our body is controlled by prana. Prana equals life. “Ayama” means a lengthening or restraining. So, putting the words together gives us “pranayama”, with means to master the life force. Pranayama techniques have been practiced for thousands of years, and you will find prana referenced in the Upanishads, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, and many other yogic texts.

I often use pranayama for centering, to ground me when I’m feeling out of sorts, and the world feels like it’s moving a little too fast. It also reminds me of how lucky we are to have this life, to recognize that each inhale is a gift. Pranayama brings us back to peacefulness, to the simplicity of life within stillness, and the beauty of each moment. It can become very easy in our modern lifestyles to expend our life force through indulgence and stress. This can make our prana become very weak. Generally this is when we may begin to feel a sense of apathy, sluggishness , or sadness. Everyday living becomes mundane, as if we are merely going through the motions, rather than truly living. Yoga teaches us to live a simple life that minimizes our expenditure of prana. Through practices such as meditation, pranayama, and posture work, we raise our level of prana, or life force. We become more connected to the gift of life, the gift of each single breath within us. With strong prana it is easy to connect with our inner wisdom, easy to connect with Spirit, and easier to connect with each other – – thus, our practice of pranayama becomes a service. . As teachers, pranayama is a one of the most beautiful tools that you can share with your students; as the body/breath awareness is a technique that they can take with them 24 hours a day, in every situation, relationship, and activity.

Why Practice Pranayama?

Ancient yogic texts taught that practicing pranayama purifies the “nadis” or energy channels of the body, and allows prana to flow in “sushumna”, the “central highway” of the body. The sages taught that prana, the life force circulating in and around us, could be channeled through the nadis through a series of breathing practices, as a means of mental purification (citta suddhi) and Self-realization. As modern practitioners, we have heard and seen again and again in mainstream health-related media the importance of “taking a deep breath” to relax the body, control anger, lower blood pressure, etc…The first thing that we do as we enter the world is to inhale. Our last act upon leaving the physical body is to exhale. The breath is a metaphor for life energy. In yoga, and in Ayurveda, we seek to sustain and evolve the life force as much as possible – absorbing prana through breath, food, visual surroundings, sound, all our senses as much as possible. Breathing is one of the few functions of the body that we may control (although more experienced yogis and yoginis may control heart rate, blood pressure, skin temperature, etc). The breath/prana is viewed as link between our body, mind, and spirit – moving from the physical body-mind to the spiritual.

Benefits of Pranayama:

• Increases the rate of metabolism (to aid with weight loss)
• Increases Agni, the digestive fire, is extremely important in Ayurveda
• Strengthens the immune system
• Certain Nostril Techniques can stimulate the calming centers of the brain.
• Calms and steadies the mind
• Improves focus and concentration
• Can raise or lower blood pressure, depending upon the technique chosen
• Increases VO2 Max
• Increases lung capacity

Suggestions for 10 Minutes of Pranayama:

– Guide/Practice One Form of Pranayama for 5 minutes, and allow the last five minutes to be practiced in silence with a timer.
– Practice two forms of Pranayama for 5 minutes each.

Kunga theme of the month is Motivation to Serve!

Motivation is a powerful tool for creating lasting personal change and for serving others. The extent to which we can sustain our motivation determines whether or not we realize our life goals for ourselves, and our goals for serving our family, our community, our planet, etc. Yoga teaches that there are three “gunas” or three basic energies that run through the natural world: the energy of rajas – passion & drive, energy of tamas – passivity & inertia, and the energy of sattva – clarity and peacefulness. When “tamasic” energy is high, we often lack motivation, feel stuck, resist change, etc and therefore lose our motivation. In order to cultivate balance for this dulling energy, we work to incorporate more “rajasic” practices, foods, activities in our life so that the drive to create positive change resurges as motivation to serve ourselves and each other. The benefits of motivation are infinite, and can change our lives and the lives around us.

According to motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, the following benefits of motivation can be motivators within themselves!

Creativity:

• Motivated people think more clearly. They focus more intellectual resources on their current project, and the result is more creativity

Energy:

• People who are motivated actually need less sleep – not because they’re on a constant adrenaline rush, but because they possess a genuine, energizing excitement.

Flexibility:

• Motivated folks have discovered that flexibility is a developed skill that does not depend on circumstances. When their circumstances change, they’re more open to bending to deal with the situation rather than being rigid about an outcome.

Health:

• People who have a positive feeling about their life and its potential have reason to get and stay healthy. They have experienced the difference in energy and healthfulness during non – motivated times and they prefer the motivated lifestyle.

Momentum:

• Motivation is self – perpetuating. It gathers speed as it rolls along in offices, homes, and communities. Living out your motivation gets easier because it becomes a habit.

Optimism:

• Motivated individuals have found out that optimism opens more dorrs than negativity. They have discovered a life pattern of finding the silver lining or the potential in any turn of events. They aren’t thrown off course by change. They find the good in everything.

Productivity:

• Motivated people get more done. They move with a spring in their step and they attack tasks with enthusiasm. They move quickly, deliberately, and with a concern for maintaining a can – do attitude along the way.

Stability:

• Folks with motivation are focused and not easily distracted or dissuaded from their destinations. They are tuned in to the object of their motivation.”
  – Zig Ziglar

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Practice Suggestions for Cultivating Motivation to Serve!

Get Moving! Use your yoga mat as an opportunity to put forth a little more physical effort in your postures (asanas) and increase your stamina. Hold every pose this month for 2 breaths longer than you think you can, and hold for someone else! Incorporate long holds to elevate your ability to sustain when things get challenging.

Go for a Motivation Walk with a Playlists of your Favorite Life Theme songs! Some suggestions:

Motivation Inspiration Playlist

• You Gotta Be: Des’ree
• We will Rock You: Queen
• It’s My Life: Bon Jovi
• I will Survive: Gloria Gaynor
• I can See Clearly Now: Johnny Nash
• Hero: Mariah Carey
• Man In the Mirror: Michael Jackson
• Lose Yourself: Eminem
• I Feel Good: James Brown
• With My Own Two Hands: Ben Harper
• Is Love Enough?: Michael Franti

Associate with Motivated People

Consciously practice smiling more and using positive languaging. Practice smiling meditation, whether sitting quietly with eyes closed, or just walking throughout your daily activities.

Dress in a way that helps you to feel confident, motivated, ready for your day!

Meditate your motives for your motivation. If your motivation is ultimately to serve, ask yourself if today’s decisions and actions are steps along the path to ultimately serve all.

Finally – Sustain Motivation through active Gratitude Practice. Make mental or written lists of the many things we all have to feel grateful for, right now, in this moment. Let that gratitude be the springboard for motivating all of your wonderful goals to serve!

– kristin cooper

THE KUNGA THEME OF THE MONTH IS APARIGRAHA!

Aparigraha is the concept of non-possessiveness or non-coveting. The term usually elicits the thought of limiting possessions to what is necessary and important.

Aparigraha is the Sanskrit word for greedlessness. It comes from the word parigraha, which means reaching out for something and claiming it for oneself- by adding the “A” it becomes the antonym. Aparigraha means taking what is truly necessary.

Aparigraha is one of the five yamas of the eight-limbed paths as outlined in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras.

Definitions of aparigraha include: 1) non-acceptance: renouncing of possessions besides the necessary utensils; 2) non-reception of gifts which are too luxurious or gifts that would bind one to the giver; 3) non-coveting: not wanting something or a yearning to possess or have something; and lastly, 4) non-grasping.

To understand this concept one must ask themselves: “what do you hold on to in your life?”  When one can release what is no longer useful, one can open themselves to fresh ideas, new relationships, and more harmonious ways of living and being.

TO PRACTICE THE PRINCIPLES OF APARIGRAHA, TRY THE FOLLOWING:

1. LET IT GO.

Possessions take up space and energy- in the mind, as well as the home. To undo this practice, try the following: every time buying something new, let go of something old.  Whether giving it away or tossing it out, let it be gone. By letting go of things from the past, one can live more fully in the present.

2. BREATHE.

When stressed out, people tend to hold the breath.  This, in turn, makes people more anxious. To counteract this tendency, release the breath and allow it to flow fully and deeply.  A more relaxed, open and spontaneous feeling will follow.

3. SELF-CARE.

When afraid and insecure, people may feel a need to cling to and control those who are close to us. To undo that behavior, find ways to nurture and center oneself- strive to feel independent and strong- allowing others to be who they need to be.

4. BE POSITIVE.

When clinging to negative thoughts, emotions, or memories, the trend is to spiral into destructive patterns. Replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts and remembering personal mantras, one can create a harmonious space.

5.  FORGIVE.

Painful memories from the past must be released. Free oneself by offering forgiveness to those who have trespassed.

6. GENEROSITY.

Expand one’s capacity to give. Share time, energy, knowledge, attention, donate or volunteer. Give in whatever way possible.

Sources:

http://myyogaonline.com/about-yoga/learn-about-yoga/aparigraha-the-forgotten-yama

http://yogainternational.com/article/view/7-ways-to-practice-aparigraha-non-possessiveness

http://www.earthdancehealingarts.com/aparigraha-non-possessiveness-non-grasping/