Aparigraha - the Art of Letting Go

Autumn is the perfect time of year to notice the beauty of letting go.

The leaves of the trees turn vibrant shades of red, yellow, and orange; the tree gracefully allows them to fall away. The leaves have done their duty. It is time to release them in order to make way for the new growth that will inevitably return in the spring.

Aparigraha is Sankrit for " non-gripping". It can also be translated to "non-hoarding", "non-coveting", and "non-attachment".

But what are we letting go of?

Expectations of outcomes. Of success and failure.

Aparigraha is one of the tenants of the Yamas, the first of the eight limbs of Yoga.

It is also a central teaching of the Bhagavad Gita, one of the most important Vedic texts.

"Let your concern be with action alone and never the fruits of action. Do not let the results of your action be your motive, and do not be attached to inaction" -BG 2.47

Any attachement, positive or negative, is bondage.

Inaction is sinful.

Be only concerned with what your are doing in the moment as you work toward an outcome.

" Perform your duty...abandoning all attachment to success or failure. Such eveness in mind is called yoga" 2.48

In other words, the results are the concern of the Universe, or God, or Spirit, or whatever name you like to call.

Act because it is your duty, your dharma, your purpose to do so.

Release control over the outcomes of situations.

It allows you to be not concerned with the unwritten future, the anxiety of what is yet to come.

And by acting, you aren't liable to fall victim to the "would've, should've, could've" lamenting mindset that is depression.

You can sleep at night because you know you've done all you can.

Let the passion of your action come alive and Do for the sake of Doing.

Baba Ram Dass said:

"As soon as you give it all up, you can have it all.

The moment you want power, you can't have it, The minute you dont want power you'll have more than you ever dreamed possible."

The ultimate paradox!

And very liberating.

ON THE MAT

So how to we apply Aparigraha into our yoga practice?

Let's first approach our practice with the idea to move because you get to move.

Practice for the love of practicing.

Maybe remember your "why" - what brought you to the practice of yoga in the first place?

"Progress in our practice is encouraging, but it doesn't need to be the only reward. The sheer joy of practice is the only reward." - Emma Newlyn, Ekhart Yoga

Most of us in the West came to the yoga mat for the physical benefits of asana practice, so our measure of our yoga practice often is deemed by how much more flexible we have become, or how much more stronger we feel. And all that is wonderful, however, when we get stuck in seeing this as our only progress, we are missing the whole point of Yoga.

"If we practice for the love of practising, the body will unfold naturally." -BKS Iyengar

If we come to our mat to practice asana for the sheer joy of moving our bodies, we will achieve and gain more from our practice than if we were desperately and eagerly trying to make a bind in a twist, or make our heels touch the floor in Downward Dog.

So, to practice Aparigraha on the mat:

• let go of any expectations that you may have for your practice and just let things unfold.

• physically release any gripping in the body, any unecessary tension being held. It stops the flow of prana from circulating effectively and take a lot of energy to hold on to.

• surrender and let go in all postures

• do not be attached to any certain poses and to what they are "supposed" to look like

• do not avoid poses you dont like! Dont hold back and cheat yourself...you could be depriving yourself from potential positive change. Change only comes from outside your safety zone. And on that note, don't push yourself beyond reason as well. Meet your edge.

• practice forgiveness and compassion to you and your body.

• pay attention to the breath.

• make a committment to just try.

• let go to make room for the new - emotionally, spiritually, mentally. Once we have space we have room to grow.

Applying Aparigraha in our asana practice helps us to cultivate it and observe it within ourselves on the mat. Eventually, as it becomes ingrained through practice, we carry it with us in our day to day lives.

OFF THE MAT

Let go of situations that are beyond your control. Let go of thought beliefs that do nothing for you anymore. I cringe at this saying, I find it extremely overused and also I dont think people truly understand this statement, BUT: Let go of what no longer serves you anymore.

I like to pose a question when I am debating that last statement: It this a positive thing in my life? Is it contributing to my growth, wellbeing, and happiness? Then its is serving.

If it is a NO to any of the above, it's only taking, not serving.

That goes for beliefs, habits, mindsets, activites, and people.

Let go of expectations from others, expectations that we have of other people, of outcomes and just do what you know and are capable of doing.

This, as in everything else, is a practice. It is not easy, so go forth with gentleness and compassion.

Remember your "why".

And get ready to grow!

Hari Om Tat Sat