Day 1: Getting Ready to Go
Greetings! Our travels out of Virginia began smoothly as we drove to our first campsite outside of Pittsburgh. I don’t know if traveling in an airstream is considered glamping, but it’s pretty fun in there! We had some mishaps getting hooked up at the camp grounds; (I won’t share any of this details, it would fall under TMI).
It was a joy to sleep with the windows open with just the sounds of nature and the evening sky.
The drive through Maryland and into Pennsylvania is lush and green. This beautiful scenery started me thinking of one of my long time favorite Iyengar books, Tree of Yoga.
In the book, Mr. Iyengar discusses life using the analogy of a tree with the eight limbs of aṣṭāṅga Yoga.
You may have heard me say, ‘from the root to the shoot.’ The first limb, the Yamas are equated with the roots of a tree, as the foundations for living a balanced, awake life. Yama is Sanskrit for ‘reining in.’ The five Yamas are ethical, universal morals that we apply to our interactions with others and community. The Yamas are:
Ahimsa: non-harming in word, thought, or deed. Practicing ahimsa is practicing compassion for yourself and others
Satya: Truthfulness to self and others
Asteya: Non-stealing
Brahmacharya: Continence; a balanced, contained use of energy.
Aparigraha: non-attachment, non-coveting, greedlessness
Take some time to ponder what these mean to you both on and off the mat.
The Yamas and the Niyamas which I will discuss next time, must be practiced continuously throughout your life. Ahimsa and Satya are really important aspects of how I live and continuously reflect on.
To be continued!
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