About a month ago I was having a discussion with a student of mine. She was asking me how a yogi deals with frustration, anger, injustice. What the yogic way of setting boundaries is? Does a yogi shout at other people? Does a yogi argue with others? Is not reacting a choice or does it automatically turn you into a victim?
Ten days ago..we got the answer (as a group)! We were on a Yoga and Spa weekend in a lovely 5 star hotel enjoying ourselves. We had had two Yoga sessions and then one hour in the spa and we went to the hotel restaurant to have dinner.
The restaurant was full when we walked in and we were given a table underneath one of the air-conditioners since our hair was wet we asked if it would be possible to turn it off ( the particular one not the entire restaurants..there were more). As we were getiing our dinner and choosing from the buffet I was having a discussion with a yogini from our group. She is from England (living in Greece for a long time) and she was saying that the English are very efficient but they refuse to answer a question if they are not the person supposed to be answering even though they might know the answer , they will still tell you to go to Mr . ...or call extension ...We went back to the table and after a while we were enjoying our dinner and chat, when a very rude man came over and started shouting to a lady from our group, that we don't care about anyone else and that they are boiling because of us who asked the staff to turn off the air-conditioning....to cut a long story short he became very rude..and I asked him VERY POLITELY to please be polite when he addresses our group and he left.
Then it hit me..and that was our practice theme for the rest of the weekend! When you are in a situation that is threatening, potentially draining (energetically)..you need to dial the correct extension the correct person will deal with it that would have been the hotle staff in thid case. This is an example how you get pissed off the yogic way and set your boundaries ..with Grace! Now, the bad news is that in some situations such as iif something like that happens where you work.then you might actually be that extension!
Because all these situations are actually very harmfull for us. When we feel threatened and insecure, we tend to contract and that leads to no breath, no prana..no connection!
What about situations in life that aren't that quick and take longer..even years of ones life, eg. a divorce, a challenging relationship with a long term partner, parent, employer?
I think that the frst thing one should try to do is to choose to be with positive and like minded people as much as possible. As you go deeper inyour practice you will find that the people whose energy is not compatible with yours will fade away. The second thing I do when I am challenged with someone/something is pause..take a breath meditate on it..on my breath, my pulse my inner condition, as I breathe I observe everything settling down and becoming calm like the surface of a lake at seven o'clock in the morning. When everything calms down I usually get my answer, by "my answer" I mean what works for me, according to my beliefs and values.
When you feel overwhelmed..meditiate on Ganesha the elephant headed Hindu God with the small eyes so he can look in and the big stomach so he can digest all that life serves him with. When you tune in to your inner Self you will eventually get the anwers you are looking for your very own answers, the ones that suit you in your Yogalife!
Namaste
Nefeli
