compassion

Written by leila smith on January 20, 2018. Posted in Home, Journal

I 33: The mind becomes clear and serene when the qualities of the heart are cultivated: friendliness towards the joyful, compassion toward the suffering, happiness toward the pure, and impartiality toward the impure. (translation – alistair shearer)

patanjali offers this rich and gentle teaching, a call to open our hearts to ourselves and others, as a way of calming our minds. it points us towards a more positive yoga practice.

try this…

step onto the mat with

1) an attitude of friendly positivity towards the effort you are making
2) the same compassionate acceptance of your limitations as of your abilities
3) a sense of wanting to nurture the things you can do
4) and a willingness to lay aside frustrations at the things you can’t do

in this way our practice can blossom in response to something real and unprejudiced.

try it! show yourself compassion.

practice blossoms when it moves “from urgency to patience, from striving to being, from harshness to gentleness, and from reactivity to skilful action.” donna farhi