The relief you seek from the negative effects of stress you’ve endured over the past two years is on the Path of the Yogin.
We all agree these past two years have been equivalent to sitting in a slow cooker of stress hormones, not knowing what surprise ingredient will be tossed in or taken out next, and a dwindling hope that it will be unplugged and cleared out soon.
According to a series of studies that have been published in the past few years, there are three main psychological drivers of stress:
They are:
Lack of predictability
Lack of control or agency
The salience or importance of an event
When these are ongoing, our nervous system remains on high alert, which leads to the manifestation of the physiological symptoms you are likely experiencing. Such as, fatigue, overwhelm, lack of motivation, anxiety, irregular sleep or more severe medical conditions such as high blood pressure, hypertension, irritable bowel, and reproductive suppression, to name a few.
Here is the good news.
Yoga provides the teachings, practices, and tools that give us the insight and skills we need to change our relationship with stress, take responsibility for what we can control, strengthen our focus and awareness to perceive differently, and reconnect with the unshakeable inner-stability that remains present regardless of the constant change and flux in life. The insight and skills of yoga empower us to change our inner-environment so that chronic stress cannot take hold. And the Path of the Yogin is our offering to guide you toward the tools that will help you create a healthy rhythm and relationship with the stresses we are under.
We invite you to face these very real world problems with proven tools that have been passed down from ancient yogins - the original scientist that gathered enough evidence to prescribe these systems of healing the body and mind while they also walked the path toward liberation and self realization.
We are not simply suggesting that the study of ancient wisdom will fix everything , nor are we proposing that we meditate our worries away or bypass reality as it is.
We are saying that Yoga is an embodied system of healing. It is the process of learning how to include every part of who you are in order to transcend the instability of these changing times and regain inner-stability.
One of the ancient yogic systems we have included in our program is the study and embodied exploration of the eight limbs of yoga. Understanding the purpose of the eight limbs gives us insight into how to use these practices as tangible tools for today.
The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two limbs and are what guides us to learn how to harmonize our inner and outer relationships while taking responsibility for ourselves.
The third limb, Asana, is a tool to guide us in how to release stored tension and trauma, while also strengthening and building our body-wide resilience.
With Pranayama, the fourth limb, the practice of controlling and extending one’s life force, knowing how and why we breathe, and how our breath patterns are negatively affected by chronic stress, we can retrain our breath to provide more safety signals in our body and guide us back into optimal health. We can use our conscious breath to generate calm all the while limiting the negative impacts of uncertainty.
The fifth limb, Pratyahara, is a clear and efficient path to practice withdrawing from the constant stimulation around us, to release desire, and to soothe our aversion, so we can learn how to be with “what is” rather than remaining stuck in a cycle of wishing things were other than they are.
Dharana, the next limb, is translated as “stop the flow” and is used to foster focused attention and deep concentration. In doing so, we gain insight into how to shift from feeling scattered and overwhelmed, which is the cause of our constant seeking or avoiding that keeps us locked in repeating negative patterns.
Dhyana, is the seventh limb, and it translates as meditation or meditative absorption. This is the peace we are really seeking. No longer dependent on something outside of us to feel at ease, we attune to the real peace that stays with us regardless of circumstances.
And, Samadhi, the final limb. This is bliss. It is undisturbed by any egoic desires, expectations and attachment. It is full liberation. Today, Samadhi is better understood as Integration. It is the state of health and wholeness, with a resilient brain and nervous system that gives you the ability to remain present, grounded and connected to your deep wisdom as you move through life.
We can achieve this with the power of presence and the connection to consciousness that allows us to recognize our choices in every moment.
After two years of living with fear and uncertainty, change is in the air and we can choose how we would like to move forward. Do we continue along the path of suffering, cycling through the instability of an overwhelmed nervous system and the incessant stimulation of distraction and blame? Or, do we step on The Path of the Yogin and allow the tools of inner-stability that yoga offers to be what transforms us into who we are capable of being?
xoxox
Inspired Yoga & Wellness Team
