Coming Home to Your "Self"

There are five main causes of suffering: 1. Not knowing who we are 2. Attachment: Clinging to things that are impermanent and having expectations 3. Aversion: Trying to avoid things that are not real 4. Identifying with the ego and creating separate realities 5. Fear of death By correcting the first cause and remembering who we really are, all other causes of suffering will cease to concern us. One way to come home to ourselves is through the practice of yoga. When we follow the 8-limb practice of raja yoga, we practice coming home to ourselves every day. Through the yamas and niyamas, we practice compassion for ourselves and for others, and acceptance of the things we cannot change around us. We practice non-grasping - not coveting what we cannot have and letting go of our attachments. We practice will and surrender - self study without attachment to results. We practice surrender to Ishvara - God, the Universe, our Highest Nature. With continued practice, Yoga unites our body and mind and connects us to our Spirit or Highest self. Our asana and pranayama practices help to purify the body and the mind and prepare us for the stillness of meditation where we can most deeply connect to our highest Self. But, yoga IS a PRACTICE. When we don't practice daily - when we don't follow the yamas and niyamas, we can easily forget that we are part of a greater Universe. That the Divine Light shines within all of us. Coming back to our mats can be a great reminder of this connection. As we develop a deeper, more consistant practice over time, it becomes a discipline we cannot imagine being without. As we stretch and move our bodies, breathing as we flow - we are reminded at the cellular level that we are part of the Universe. As we cultivate the Witness Self - the Watcher, The One who knows we are not all the things we accumulate in this life, but something much more meaningful, we are able to relax into our True Being. We come home to our "Self". Namaste.