It seems that nowadays, everyone is focused on a “holistic approach” to just about everything, including mental health. But what does it really mean to be truly healthy, to live life with zest and vitality? We know that well-being must encompass mind, body, and spirit. If we focus on just our body, say in working to become fit and strong, but neglect our trauma, or emotional pain, or if we work on our mental wellness, but neglect to take care of our physical being, then we are not truly living with vitality and wholeness.
The practice of yoga and meditation can be a powerful addition to psychotherapy in integrating all aspects of well-being. The word yoga translates to “yoke”. A yoke has three points. So, the practice of yoga can be seen as integrating, or “yoking” mind, body and spirit in the quest for peace and well-being. Most of what we know of yoga is the physical practice, the asanas, or poses. But if all we are doing is taking the shapes of yoga, without connecting to ourselves in mind and spirit, we are not fully participating in the practice. I would like to introduce you to two aspects of yoga that can be used to integrate the experience for living more fully, namely the yamas and the niyamas. The yamas and the niyamas are two limbs of the eight-limbed path of yoga, and offer us guidelines for living a good life, in peace and harmony with ourselves and with others. The yamas, or restraints, are behaviors that we are asked to refrain from doing. They include ahimsa, or non-violence, satya, refraining from untruthfulness, asteya, non-stealing, brahmacharya, non-excess, and aparigraha, non-hoarding. So, at first glance, most of us will think we don’t commit violence against others, but what about violence towards ourselves in the way that we speak to ourselves harshly? Are we harsh in the way we act or speak with others? How about satya or truthfulness? What lies to do we tell ourselves in order to live with what we are doing? Do we avoid our own truth because to acknowledge it feels too painful? What lies do we tell others? Do we inflate ourselves so that we appear smarter, more successful, and worldlier? If we look at asteya, how are we stealing from the earth? How are we stealing from our own happiness or the happiness of others? Are we stealing the energy of others by being negative, gossipy, or unkind? Brahmacarya invites us to live in our spirituality, rather than in excess. It is often spoken about with regard to sexuality, but I like to think of it as excess in general. Do you eat or drink to excess? Can you enjoy eating, or taking pleasure in something, without taking it to excess? Are you able to discern when “enough is enough”? Aparigraha can trip most of us up quite often. It asks us to refrain from attachment to things, always looking for more ways to fill an emptiness that we feel inside. How often have you felt overwhelmed from your possessions, your overstuffed closets and drawers? The act of taking more than we need in food, collecting more clothes, shoes, and things, often stems from a scarcity complex that began in childhood, when there were not enough resources to meet our needs. These resources didn’t necessarily have to be food or clothing. Sometimes if there was a lack of nurturing or love in our early years, a scarcity complex can develop and we will then seek to make sure we have enough, often resulting in having way more than we will ever need.
The niyamas, or observances, are actions that we take, rather than actions that we refrain from, as in the yamas. The first niyama, sauca, translates to cleanliness or purity. We cleanse or purify the body with exercise, good nutrition, and proper sleep. We purify our minds through meditation, and we purify our thoughts and emotions through therapy, as we unload emotional pain that we have carried for years. We can also think of sauca in terms of our physical space-keeping our homes tidy and organized promotes a feeling of peace and well-being; when your home is in order, it is easier for your mind and body to follow. Santosha, or contentment, creates peace in all aspects of our lives. The practice of intentional gratitude is incredibly powerful in helping us to achieve a sense of contentment. Focusing our attention on all that we do have, rather than continually chasing something else is helpful, as is the practice of meditation, which helps to calm the mind, promoting a sense of well-being. Tapas, or self-discipline, are the day-to-day choices that we make in service of our own wellness. We engage in tapas when we are intentional about taking care of our body with movement, with our nutritional choices, and with attention to clearing out old emotional content that weighs us down. What are your daily habits? What do you need to incorporate to enhance your well-being, and what habits do you need to leave behind? Svadhyaya, or self-study, is incredibly important in the pursuit of well-being. Knowing ourselves deeply, healing our psychological complexes, emotional pain and trauma, and committing to releasing all the beliefs and behaviors that harm others, and ourselves is the work of a lifetime. It is no small task, but one of the most important things you can ever do for yourself. Finally, Ishvara Pranidhana, which translates to surrender. Surrendering means knowing ourselves to be a part of something greater, and giving ourselves over to this greater source. It asks us to release the need to control ourselves and surrender to each moment that we are alive with an open heart.
We do not need special tools, programs, or gurus to help us in our quest for living a life of meaning. The path, while not easy, is actually pretty simple. Pay attention to your inner guide, follow simple practices, heal your emotional pain, and most importantly, trust yourself.