“Free from all thoughts of ‘I’ and ‘mine’, a man finds absolute peace.” – Bhagavad Gita

Weekly Focus: Samkhya (releasing sorrow)

From the Bhagavad Gita, Samkhya refers to the Yoga of duty, selfless action and self realization. By releasing ourselves from worldly attachments through the practice of Yoga, we release our sorrow and open ourselves to pathways of peace and positive social change.

Samkhya is a major theme in the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita speaks to finding your calling, not shying away from your duty and acting not for the sake of the self but for the sake of devotion. Fully stepping into this path leads us towards greater self realization and therefore s space of contentment and joy — the ultimate goal of any Yoga practice.

Within the Gita, Krishna speaks to Arjuna of “inaction.” Inaction — is to act and perform your role in the world well and effectively while remaining detached from the result of your actions. This in itself is sefless action. Living life in this way helps us to release expectation, disappointment, anticipation and so much more, leading to the release of sorrow. When sorrow is released, we experience life with more vitality, brightness and peace.

We can take the practice of inaction and Samkhya to our mat — a place for metaphor and observation, especially good for beginner yoga practitioners (but also for life!) When we find ourselves practicing a yoga posture with the expectation that we will achieve an end goal, sensation, or receive verbal appreciation, recognition or admiration, we practice with an attachment to the result of our actions. As we learn to detach ourselves from the outcome of our practice and to simply practice out of devotion we no longer feel badly when we can’t hop into handstand or reach outr toes in a seated forward fold. We move from a place of grasping to a space of receiving. How does that translate off of your yoga mat?

Do you find it difficult to perform action without attachment? Are some duties easier or harder to release attachment from? When do you find yourself clinging to strong expectations around your actions?

Passive Yoga Pose of the Week: Anahatasana (puppy dog pose)

Anahatasana opens the heart space – an area of devotion and love. Greater expansion of our heart leaves us more open to selfless action taking our yoga practice from the mat to the real world. 

• Begin in a tabletop position on all fours.
• Walk your hands forward and and start to drop your chest to the floor, keeping your hips stacked over your knees.
• Rest your foreheard or your chin to the floor.
• Take 5 – 7 breaths and carefully lift out of the pose. 

This yoga posture provides a deep stretch for the armpits, upper arms, chest and maybe even the shoulders / upper back. To deepen or enhance the stretch, you can bring yoga blocks beneath the hands. This will elevate the arms and give more room to drop the chest. If it’s too much sensation, remove the blocks. It’s also easy to replicate anahatasana at the wall. Place your hands at the wall at about shoulder height and distance. Step your feet back away from the wall and bow forward, dropping your head and chest towards the floor. Control the sensation by backing in or out of the fold. 

Active Yoga Pose of the Week: Ardha Purvottanasana (reverse table)