Be kind …… Don’t Rewind

Taking life’s lessons in stride is what it’s all about isn’ t? However I am sure like me, you have caught yourself out making the same mistakes over and over again. “Geez, how did I do that again? or ” I thought I sorted that stuff out?” are remarks I often hear coming from friends, students and myself.  Perhaps its because we didn’t take the time out to pause, reflect and meditate upon our not so pleasing experiences before embarking on our journey again ….. to life’s next seminar so to speak.  According to yogic philosophy, we’re born with a karmic inheritance of mental and emotional patterns—known as samskaras—through which we cycle over and over again during our lives. According to modern psychology we are  conditioned by our family and society in much the same way, where we again re-create painful situations in our day to day life in order to resolve deeper conflicts … Ever felt you were living an emotional ground hog day?

The word samskara comes from the Sanskrit sam (“complete,” or “joined together”) and kara (“action,” “cause,” or “doing”). In addition to being generalized patterns, samskaras are individual impressions, ideas, or actions; taken together, our samskaras make up our conditioning. Repeating samskaras reinforces them, creating a groove that is difficult to resist falling into. Samskaras can be positive —imagine the selfless acts of Mother Theresa, Aung San Suu Kyi and  Desmond Tutu. They can also be negative, as in the self-lacerating mental patterns that underlie low self-esteem, self-destructive behaviour and sabotaging relationships. These negative samskaras are what hinder our positive evolution and joy.

But with mindfulness, right intention, and a lot of patience, you can turn your negative patterns into positive epiphanies. The first step is to become aware of when you’re falling into your habits!!!

Practicing pilates, yoga & meditation will help you to slow down your mind enough so that may recognise the signs…. And set yourself free!!!