Yoga isn’t just on the mat.
Mentioning yoga conjures up images of bendy people putting themselves in – sometimes -impossible positions. For most of us, yoga means a home practice or a weekly yoga class that makes us feel good in our body and our mind.
The benefits of yoga are incredible. It tones and stretches our body, helps us eliminate our stress and gives us that feelgood factor by the end of the class when you feel that the world and everything in it is at peace.
Unfortunately, the peaceful yoga practice doesn’t always transfer to a peaceful daily life… I know that from personal experience and I am a yoga teacher!
So I would like to introduce you to another aspect of yoga that transcend the mat and takes your yoga practice into your daily life: Kharma Yoga. From the Sanskrit word for “deed”, Kharma Yoga is about doing selfless actions to help and support others. The beauty of Kharma Yoga is that everybody it helps you live your yoga. And absolutely everybody can do it. All it requires is an honest desire to do something good for the people and the world around us.
Now, this doesn’t need to be complicated. Kharma Yoga is about doing your usual daily tasks to the best of your ability, without resenting them or getting too hanged up about the results (I know, not an easy one!). You can start simply, try and leave some food out for the birds – regardless of knowing for certain if they will come or not, smile at the cashiers in the supermarket – even if they don’t smile back at you, pay a compliment to a colleague, a friend or even a complete stranger – without expecting anything back.
You get the idea. Do something from a point of view of giving, without expecting anything in return. These are just a few examples and I’m sure you can think of many more. If you try and do one of these every day, you will soon notice that you start feeling happier for no apparent reason, calmer and more at peace with yourself and the world around you.
And isn’t that the point of yoga!
Michèle Patart, Treelight Yoga
