First day of Spring

Ahhhh!  It's finally here!  A change of season.  The vernal equinox.  The first day of Spring!  Where are you going to let your life wander during these next 90 days?  It's amazing to think that some of us are going to experience things that will irreversibly change our lives.  Some of us know that these changes are on the horizon, but as life is unpredictable, many of these changes will be unexpected.  How you respond to these changes is about the only thing that is controllable.  Of course, flexibility - physical and emotional -  is an advantage in these instances.  Yoga postures certainly  help achieve physical flexibility, but how do you work on emotional flexibility? 

Yama  is known as the first of 8 limbs of a yoga practice, and it recommends following 5 ethical "practices" in your daily existence.  You can follow these guidelines in your self-awareness, in your relations with others, even in your diet (which might be a challenge for some of you meat-lovers out there!).  Trying to keep these practices in mind will certainly give you some emotional flexibility, and influence how you perceive changes that happen to you as well as how you respond to them!
Ahimsa is the first ethical practice (it's also the subject of my most viewed blog entry ever! 82 pageviews and counting...)click here.  It stands for applying non-violence to every part of your life - this means not harming others OR yourself - ie, not pushing yourself too hard during a workout, not really eating meat (sorry, Husband), that sort of thing. 
Satya means truth; specifically, living according to your own truth.  Okay, got it: to thine own self be true. 
Asteya is fairly straight-forward:  non-stealing.  Hmmm.  Ironically, I steal many of the images used in this blog.  Note to self: perhaps I should devote a little more time and attention to this particular ethical practice of asteya...
And then there's Brahmacharya.  Uh-oh, I can already tell that this next "suggestion" is not going to go over so well.  This is the "ethical" practice of abstinance.  Yeah.  Containing your sexual energy is restraint, alright!  How this is going to help you with your Yama and emotional flexibility, I'm not quite sure...  Okay, dear readers, why don't we just keep moving along to the last ethical practice:
Aparigraha, which means non-grasping and non-covetousness (is that a word?).  This is one practice that can help you best deal with change.  Relax your grip on things, and just observe the world.  Keep your mind open to the change - reality is that change is going to happen whether you compel it to or not. 
While practicing Yama can present it's own challenges, it certainly puts forth a few guidelines worth considering.  If all else fails, or you feel as though yama just isn't cutting if for you, the best thing of all is to just breathe.  When changes come too fast or seem like more than you can handle, open your mind to all possibilities,  including the possibility that a negative change can be turned into a positive one, and B-R-E-A-T-H-E.

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love" - Marcus Aurelius