Spontaneity brings wisdom……

Spontaneity brings wisdom ……After a couple of days of ample rest I decided I should get some more andmeandered down to the garden of my Ashram where I envisioned myself basking in the sun curled up with my course material. Instead I found myself quietly chatting to a tall, willowing and rather lovely English Yogini named Sam. Sam invited me along to a Famous Yogic Philosopher’s home whom she was about to go visit.

I sat there paused for a moment in time looking into Sam’s eyes making my decision ( you see, in India you tend to sit on decisions a little longer than you would in the west which really allows for more conscious and less reactive responses). My lazy self went something like “I should stick to my plans, look after myself and rest” but spontaneity somehow got the better of me and I found myself getting up to go, looking down at my walking feet beneath me andstill wondering how I had come to that decision. Hari OM!

We walked up a long, dusty road for quite some time while passing honking Himalayan trucks squeezed us up against each other and left us covered in dirt as they sped away. We wound down through grass fields, climbed over walls, patted scruffy dogs and snuck through people’s back yards before we finally came to a turn style that led intoa what looked like an dry abandoned garden surrounding a once elegant but now dilapidated house.

Here we announced ourselves with a awkward and questioning “Namaste ?” as we passed through the turn style and walked up towards the house.

Out waddled an Indian woman who looked me up and down with a disdained look upon her face.”Chai?” she proclaimed following her assessment and after receiving yes’s from the two of us she waddled back into the house slamming a dusty fly screen door behind her. After we settled on the floor of their landing, out stepped the most elegant 60 something year old Indian man dressed in his full Punjabi Pyjama suit ( for those of us who don’t know the word Pyjama comes from the traditional male garb in India ).

Yogiji Yogendra Mishra has long salt and pepper hair and a full and friendly face framed by a thick beard. I instantly liked him as he peered over his glass and began to explain Sutra 30 from Patanajalis Yoga Sutras (the yoga bible). This is a yoga philosophy must read and probably one of my favourite books of all time. It lit a fire in my mind at the ripe age of 22 and set me packing to India

I wanted to briefly share my lesson as it followed on this hot afternoon…

Sutra 30 
Practicing yoga and how it cures the following Nine afflictions of the human state .
I have written my own wee commentary on them….. I will share three today!

I would love to hear your contemplations upon this 2000 year old teaching

Physical Sickness and Disease…..
In yoga philosophy and most eastern medicines this is due to lack of detoxification of physical, mental and emotional diet. Over the years yoga has inspired me to discriminate what is conducive to my health and growth and what is not. Most recently as most of you know it has been my transition into a Vegan diet.. I have not looked back!

Dullness of Spirit and Mind....
I like to call it a Lack of fervour…. We need to move to create energy … Yoga lifts my spirit which in turn lifts my feet; to not just to walk forward but to run!

Carelessness and negligence
Hmm makes you feel guilty just reading the words doesn’t it? Often these two behaviours come from a lack of centeredness and awareness. Yoga has helped me create space in my mind so that I am no longer forgetful, selfish, self centred or ignorant (I hope!)

… the rest is soon to come x