Hellllooo Beauties / Yoggggiiiis :)
I have finally finished an in-depth yoga post, yay! I have so much to talk about, and this topic is a great place to start This post is going to explain a really important concept- the Theory of Non-Attachment - which is extremely relevant to both the physical aspect of yoga (asanas/postures) and for the further study/discipline/philosophy.
I am talking about how you can apply non-attachment to the physical side of your yoga practice (assnas/poses), but I will eventually go through it in regards to the philosophical side of yoga and how you can use it and implement it into other areas of your life.
Even if you don't do yoga you will find this post helpful because as I have said - it can be applied to many aspects of your life - and is truly the key to sustaining the hard work and persistence needed for success. For success, you need to maintain a positive frame of mind , put in hard work and push through the many bad experiences, failures and set backs you will experience through your journey - because nothing worth having is ever easy to get!!. It is so easy to give up when you are faced with so much failure and no success and/or results but you need to push through - which is where the theory becomes relevant and helpful.
Using yoga and having learnt first hand through hard work which resulted in success in my life, including loosing 25 kg and changing my lifestyle to include fitness, teaching myself yoga and getting into uni, I have realized that you have to put in sustained effort over long periods of time to get what you want.
I really HATE even talking about this because it sounds like I am bragging, but I just want you all to be able to understand that after you have achieved success in one thing, you get direct knowledge on what it takes, allowing you to pretty much achieve success in whatever you want. You need to push through and really work for something hard, and the Theory of Non-Attachment can really help you get through the bad times.
"Once you have achieved success in one thing, you get direct knowledge on what it takes, allowing you to pretty much achieve success in whatever you want"
In regards to Asanas and establishing a yoga practice for beginners, I wanted to talk about this subject before I even started doing in-depth posts because I think that it is essential to at least be aware of this before you start your yoga journey. This is especially useful if you are taking the self taught route that myself and many other yogi's have taken, but you must be warned that this can be dangerous and it might be smart to see an instructor. Either way, practicing non-attachment will prevent injuries, prevent frustration, help you start to understand the concepts involved with yoga philosophy and will also help you achieve the 'zen' mood that is needed for , and gained through, yoga.
What is the theory of Non-Attachment in Yoga?
The theory of Non-Attachment in yoga is one of the most important tools available to ensure that your yoga practice involves everything positive and nothing negative. It is important to remember that while the philosophy/study of yoga is centred around welcoming and reflecting positive energy, the physical part of yoga also consists of welcoming and reflecting this positive energy.
If negativity seeps into your yoga practice, you really need to learn some alternative ways of thinking to eliminate this energy. Yoga is intended to be an entirely positive experience and is used by people all around the world as a way to stay in shape while relieving the every-day stress associated with life on Earth. In no way should yoga ever be the cause of any type of stress.
Non-attachment is essentially letting go of desire and letting the universe and fate do it's work. If you have no expectations about what will be, you will never be disappointed. Understanding this will eliminate a lot of unnecessary anxiety and stress that you put on yourself. Put your yoga practice into the hands of the universe - do the work you have to do and work hard- but do not feel pressured by time or anything or anyone else. Allow yourself to flow along your new yoga journey without a fight, you will get where you need to be but you must not have any expectations.
"If you have no expectations of what will be, you will never be disappointed"
Never pressure your body or your mind into a pose that it is simply not ready for because you will do damage. I am a self-taught yogi and have never had a serious injury because I never push my body to limits it is not ready for. I progress with poses over time and if I get into a pose and my body says 'ouch, get out', I listen and get out. Through establishing a yoga practice, your mind and body will become more in-sync with each other but even at the start your body and mind are in sync enough and for the body to send messages to the brain notifying you when your body cannot handle a pose, so listen to this warning and exit the pose.
Remember: There is absolutely no competition in yoga, it does not exist except for in your mind. Please see my page called 'FAQ on Yoga' because I go into this in-depth on that page.
" Yoga is intended to be an entirely positive experience and is used by people all around the world as a way to stay in shape while also relieving the every day stress associated with life on Earth. In no way should yoga ever be the cause of any type of stress "
Frustration Stemming from Desire
As I have said, negative energy can make its way into the practice mainly through frustration. This frustration stems from desire to accomplish certain poses quickly and without the much needed preparation work. It is very easy to get frustrated with your current ability and progress when you do not study the non-attachment theory.
You can see how this can be helpful to other areas of life such as weight loss, because a lot of people give in before progress can be made due to frustration with lack of results. This is only going to result in any success you have had so far meaning nothing, but it happens a lot to people because they work themselves up and label themselves as a 'failure' before letting things fall into place.
A very common thing in regards to Yoga Asanas is that people are attracted to yoga by extremely advanced poses like the center splits, monkey pose and inversions. They come into the practice wanting to get into these poses and wanting it NOW. Even when I was a beginner yogi, I wanted to be able to do these poses until I learnt about the theory of non-attachment and started implementing into my practice, and knew I had a lot of prep work to do. Your muscles do not gain flexibility over-night or after a few practices, progress occurs over weeks, months and even years.
The honest truth is that every yogi you see doing extremely advanced poses, has worked for months and years to get where they are to be able to gain success in complex poses It took me months of practice to be able to get into the splits without injury (check my yoga progress picture page in the main menu ), and you cannot expect to be able to do advanced poses when you have not perfected the beginning poses that are going to loosen up your muscles and make you gain flexibility. Yoga is a progressive journey and you have to take steps one at a time instead of skipping essential steps.
So... Instead of going into your practice saying "okay, I am going to GET into this pose today", go into it saying "okay, I am going to work up to this pose today and if I don't achieve it and if my body is not ready, I will stop and do another pose".
NEVER go into the practice with intense pressure and hope to get into a certain pose, if you try and fail, it's okay. Stop doing the pose and remind yourself that you will get there one day. This is the only way that you will be able to stick to your practice and actually achieve progress, because it can become very frustrating especially at the start.
A lot of people give up after they have experienced failure in yoga. I will tell you now, I have fell over, fell out of poses, and generally just experienced failure and frustration a lot of times during my practice. However, I never let this make me 'give in' and stop practicing. If I did stop I wouldn't of achieved the progress that I have through persistent practice, and I am happy with myself that I pushed through. This is apparent in many other aspects of life such as weight loss, employment success, academic success, etc. Persistence, effort and the right frame of mind are the keys to success and the Theory of Non-Attachment helps you get through the hard times that is involved in any type of journey. It guides you into success and changes your outlook, while giving you an alternative frame of mind and helps in changing bad mind patterns.
A good exercise when you do get frustrated is to sit on your mat, put your hands in prayer and really just close your eyes and breathe. Something I also do is involve hand movements in this -LOL- so I fully put my hands in prayer at the top of my head and upon exhalation bring my hands slowly down. Something about moving the hands down slowly with exhalation makes frustration dissipate easier. Then put a smile on your face and do an asana at your level and one that does not cause stress.
Benefits of Implementing the theory of Non-Attachment into your Yoga Practice
Prevention of Injury:
One of the most important aspects of making sure you consider Non-Attachment in your practice is that this will prevent a lot of injuries. Injuries in yoga mainly occur because you push yourself to limits that your body is just not up to or adequately trained for. If you push yourself you will end up with torn muscles, or worse.
Prevention of Frustration:
The theory of non-attachment will help you eliminate frustration or will help you get over frustration quickly if it occurs. This post and the theory will help you gain an inner 'yoga voice' (more in this soon) .After you have really read and understood this post, the next time you ever feel frustration it will be short lived seeing as you get the concept and know things will happen as they do, when they do.
• Provides a healthy frame of mind and way of thinking • Assists in keeping you motivated
• Eliminates anxiety and stress • Helps you gain proper progress to build your practice
• Helps to gain self-control and patience • Keeps you progressing forward
• Stops you from giving up • Will help you be successful
and many many more
"This post and the theory of non-attachment will help you gain an inner 'yoga voice' and after you have really read and understood this post, the next time you ever feel frustration it will be short lived seeing as you get the concept and know things will happen as they do, when they do "
Other Areas that you can apply the Theory of Non-Attachment to for Success
Weight Loss
Relationships
Employment
Life in general
I hope you all liked this post and learned something that you can implement into your practice! I am going to start doing in-depth beginners poses and in-depth steps that go into complex poses. I have a journey to Eka Pada Rajakapotasana blog coming up.
Loveeeeeeee Always,
Keeley
xoxooxoxoxooo
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