Isn’t it amazing how many times life twists and turns and can knock us off our feet?
Yet there are ways to learn how to flow with the waves of life, so that you can go gracefully along for the ride, skillfully living with the changes that come.
This is what the philosophical approach of Anusara® yoga is about; when you learn to align with the current of grace, you tap into the awakening and freedom that people have been seeking throughout the ages.
Let’s simplify the philosophy that really allows you to bring more ease and enjoyment into your life, shall we?
How Does Anusara Yoga’s Philosophy Work?
First things first. This approach invites you to be open to the bigger energy that pulses and dances as everything. This feeling of connection to something bigger reminds you that you’re not alone, that everything is interconnected, and then you can actually align with this bigger energy in a way that is life enhancing and empowering.
When you remember to be sensitive and spacious – to tune in to the pulsing Spirit of life, then you can make more skillful choices and experience more delight.
One of the most important things is to be open to what is before you. If your focus is narrow and you’re stuck in yourself like a turtle in its shell, you can’t see the opportunities that are there.
Even in the darkest hour there is a gift waiting to be recognized.
So the philosophy of Anusara yoga, called Shiva-Shakti Tantra, teaches us to look for the good and to find the beauty in everything. Because when you can identify the good in any situation, you can then choose it. That doesn’t mean you ignore everything else or pretend that a challenge isn’t there, but you can rise above difficulties so much more easily when you align with what is good and right for you.
Though I could write several volumes going further into this philosophy, this one concept is enough to make a big difference in life.
- Open to feel the bigger energy.
- Connect consciously through your intention of aligning with the flow of grace.
- Expand your awareness and train yourself to look for what is good and beautiful.
- Then CHOOSE that which is most life affirming – that which will bring the greatest amount of delight in the highest sense of the word.
Simplified even more:
Open. Align. Embrace. (Repeat.)
See the gift in each moment, be open to receive it, and then act upon it in the way that holds the most integrity and is aligned with your own truth.
- Feel free to add your thoughts by leaving a comment below!
Thankyou Katrina!
I always find inspiration in your writing, and today I especially needed it! Thankyou for all that you do!
Love
Linda (Victoria)
hi katrina. i really liked this post. just saying the words, Open,Align,Embrace is so powerful of a feeling.
thank you, jan karen lifke
Jan,
Isn’t that great? Words have such power. I’m glad you enjoyed this one – thanks for leaving a comment and letting me know. 🙂
Hi Katrina,
I’m a psychologist working in a clinic with victims of domestic violence and other heinous crimes and betrayals. I’m looking for more ways to integrate yoga into my work.
I almost always feel happy after an Anusara class. I think for many of the clients though (and for me while I’m hearing their stories), the ideas of “opening to what is before you” and looking “for the good and to find the beauty in everything” are very difficult because “everything” seems to include the perpetrator (in fact, his image often is superimposed on just about everything). Some clients just are not ready to open to the perpetrator in any way. Others are so willing to open to him that they put themselves in danger.
I’m guessing that the answer is to see the good in everything (including the perpetrator) while at the same time aligning “with what is good and right for you” and that practicing yoga with kindness towards oneself helps develop this ability to discern so that one can love others while also loving oneself enough to stay out of harm’s way as much as possible. Sometimes I give the clients the image of a sea anenome, that naturally opens when the tide comes in and the sea is rich with nutrients and closes when conditions are harsh. Another one I’ve been using (thanks to your first mini-meditation) is the image of a sunflower that naturally turns towards the light. It doesn’t actively judge “not light,” it simply moves towards what is healthy to it.
I’m I on the right track? Can you recommend any practices to help develop this discernment?
Thank you!
Linda,
Hi! It’s so great to hear from you. Isn’t it fantastic how things come just when we need them? So glad I could be the bringer of some inspiration into your day.
Laurie,
You bring up a very important aspect of this lesson: seeing what is good even when deep in the thick of things, and then knowing how to choose that which is most life affirming.
Yes, you’re on the right track with your thought process here. With trauma and difficulty, the stakes are higher and the importance of knowing how to skillfully align with your own truth is even more vital. The concept of being open isn’t always the same as being vulnerable or making your energy open to other peoples’ if that isn’t safe or appropriate. It is being open to the essence of life – the goodness that is a the heart of everything. God, Nature, the Universe – whatever you resonate with, it’s opening to this energy and seeing what gift it is offering you in each moment. Sometimes it’s learning how to create boundaries, and that lesson is itself the gift. Sometimes it’s finding gratitude in the fact that you survived something, and then discovering how it has made you stronger.
Ultimately we want to get to the point where we can acknowledge that this essential goodness exists in every thing and every person, even those who hurt us or do bad things. Because they’ve forgotten who they really are and are not aligning with the highest good it can be harder to see, but to just know that somewhere in the heart of every person there is a spark of pure light and love is a powerful thing. This can be helpful in the process of healing and forgiveness.
So, yes, seeing the beauty and the good isn’t always as easy as standing in the sun on a perfect day, but it’s in the moments that seem so dark where we consciously choose the light that the greatest growth occurs. Love the sunflower visualization!
Thanks very much for your comment. I think it will help other people understand this more fully.
Thank you, Katrina.
Loved this conversation. I am working on getting rid of what does not serve me in an attempt to be more loving to myself. For me this has been a struggle to recognize that there are persons in my life who do not serve my interests therefore I do not need to keep their interests before mine. I can still see their goodness without actually having to sacrifice myself.
That’s a great point, Nancy – that you can see the goodness of others without coming out of your own center. It’s an empowering thing to realize that your highest responsibility is to live your own truth.