Abhyasa Vairagya Take 2

Little did I realize that our November two part focus would become a 2 month practice. However, as we moved through the month I kept feeling like there was more for us to explore and the month of December would present us the challenges to go deeper with Abhyasa (the practice)  Vairagya, (non-reaction.)

So first, let’s refresh a bit.  In the Yoga Sutras 1.12, Patanjali states abhyasa with vairagya (nonreaction) are what helps to still the mind.  Abhyasa can be defined as steadiness, fortitude, endurance and resilience. When we commit ourselves to a steady practice and create the space to be quiet in chaos, calm at all times and nonreactive (Vairagya), our resiliency rises. 

All that energy spent in reactions, judgments, resistance, and vacillating emotions can be draining.  So much energy is spent, and you feel it in depression, exhaustion and stress.  Committing to the practice (Abhyasa) this month of how we can be calm (Vairagya) is a wonderful way to increase our fortitude, build resiliency, and prepare for the energetic overload that often comes as the end of the year holidays approach.

One of the awarenesses that sprang from our practice in November was the quality of refinement that comes from this practice.  As our awareness expands, we are able to go from gross movement to refining them, from stuck patterns of emotions to subtle shifting of them, and from unconscious thought patterns to conscious peaceful mindfulness.  We can often think in terms of things needing to be fixed which has a limited outcome. This practice offers us an endless practice of refinement, a lifelong commitment that raises our energy, awareness and quality of life. 

Using your breath to create space or time to make a shift in consciousness or identify that you have fallen into a pattern is an enormous help in this practice.  Shifting from habitual behaviors to being mindful is what delineates Abhyasa (practice) from the repetitive doing in life. When you start to feel a habitual reaction to your environment, a conversation or the energy around you let it be an awakening to pause. Now take a breath, recenter yourself into the practice and release/relax into stillness. If you miss that moment and find yourself deep in the middle of a reaction it is not too late.  Take that moment to be grateful that you are now aware, then kick into the practice by appreciating the possibility available to you of diminishing harm and reset by taking some breaths, creating space and time to retune. 

 In that clearing of toxic reactions the mind will quiet and a wide field of clarity emerges. It may take a few breaths and at times you may need to remove yourself from the situation before the practice becomes a new custom.  It starts with awareness, moves to focusing on the breath, and then a commitment (abhyasa) to being nonreactive (vairagya) is born.

Our inner environment can be wild, unkept and destructive when we are not allowing ourselves to be aware of it and take responsibility for it.  The harm is not only to us but to everyone around us. In this practice we are proclaiming our inner environment as our responsibility.  We are choosing to be accountable for how we feel and think while becoming liable for how we affect others.  Every aware moment is an opportunity to fine tune our own inner environment and become responsible for how we are affecting others.

Take another month to refine your inner compass by mindfully committing to creating space and time for the practice of non-reaction, Abhyasa Vairagya.  Explore the many ways you can refine body, mind, emotions and spirit in your daily life. Let go of the mindset that sees something wrong that needs to be fixed, and open to the find art of refinement, adjustment and grace.  Create space in any moment of emergence by taking a mindful breath and shifting into the practice, awakening to your inner feelings and opening to your chosen potentials.  Construct time by expanding the moment and knitting it together breath by breath with fortitude and commitment to increase your desire to feel better and  give more, while expanding your field of resiliency.