Ahimsa: Compassion

Ahimsa, or compassion, is the first limb of yoga. Meaning not to strike or hit. Which is obvious. Unless your one of my children 😉

That we can attempt to practice kindness and compassion with ourselves and those around us may seem@obvious, but have you tried it lately? Even for one day?

How are you at being gentle with yourself? Your whole self? Body, mind, heart. We often can do this with parts of ourselves while casting aside some other aspect, part, feeling, thought, repression, parts of ourselves we don’t really love or want to shine the light on, or yet to be discovered part of ourselves.

This practice begins with ourselves. On and off the mat. If we can’t love ourselves, how can we expect anyone else to? And even on our mats. That we can not use our asana practice as a form of punishment. Or thought loops that repeat “I’m not good enough”. Or shoulders give me more.

When I’m in a stronger connection with this practice myself, I can say that all of my relationships around me benefit. So instead of having to tell my boys not to hit each other, possibly they witness the lack of inner self flogging over here. Instead of judgment of others-because of a lack of/less self judgment-I’m able to be in more of an accepting, open, compassionate space with others.

Sounds simple? I dare you try it for one week.