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mukundaspupil
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 10:44:19 AM
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| Hey everyone, I was wondering if anyone could help with this. I've been interested in yoga and spritual things for many years, however I find it very difficult to stay on the spiritual path, I get distracted by life so easily. Over the last year I have made many positive changes to my lifestyle that were made naturally and easily, I have become a vegetarian and I am looking after my health in ways I didnt before. I am a single woman and the people I know have either settled down into family life or are artistic types who live a hedonistic lifestyle. After so long of doing practice I seem to get swept back up into the hedonistic way of life, if only for a weekend and it makes me feel very bad afterwards. I feel that as a single person,it is sometimes quite a lonely path. I do feel much better when following Yogani's lessons but then I feel like I'm on my own with it all and when I do go out I get caught up in a whole other level of existence. The trouble is I seem to be caught between two extremes. I'm sorry I havent explained this very well but if anyone could offer me some advice on this, I'd be grateful. |
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 11:38:20 AM
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Hi and a very warm welcome Mukudaspupil.
There is no need to pick a lifestyle or to abstain from a bit of Hedonism. The beauty of the AYP way is that the practises leads to a greater opening naturally. The horse before the Cart, everything in its correct order, following naturally.
Why feel bad about a bit of hedonism? Who is offended? Water the seed and the tree will grow without any additional help. In time it will bear fruit and that fruit will ripen. Let the universe unfold without interfering and it will all take it's natural course. |
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mukundaspupil
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 12:09:52 PM
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| Hi Karl, thank you for your warm response. What you've said makes sense and has made me feel calmer about it all, thank you. :-) |
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AumNaturel
Canada
687 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 1:31:50 PM
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Welcome mukundaspupil,
you are right, I too feel "alone with it all" that to me when embraced usually becomes an empowering reality turning into a source of bhakti to keep going without worrying about exactly where. It is a way of relating to others who were or are on a path knowing they too probably feel the same way and still face up to it with courage. As for the yogi and the bhogi, the lessons suggest to stay with twice daily and to go out and live. |
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mukundaspupil
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 3:47:44 PM
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| Hi AumNaturel, thanks for the welcome and your input. Oh yes, I know we are all "alone" with our practice and even if our friends and relatives are not interested as Yogani says it will bring good things into our lives. I'm glad that it is empowering you and I hope one day I'll experience the same. I was talking about being distracted away from practice, the twice daily meditation...putting mud on the window..to paraphrase Yogani... purifying my nervous system, only to then go out and batter it by drinking alcohol etc. I think Karl gave me good advice for now, I was feeling quite frustrated by this, but "what we resist persists" so I must accept that for now, this is part of the journey. I do hope one day I'll feel as you. Peace. :-) |
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LittleTurtle
USA
342 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 3:49:39 PM
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Many of us here can relate to the difficulty of staying on the spiritual path. As a wife and mother and also a professional person, it has been all too easy to allow other peoples need and desires to occlude my own. At long last and lots of "falling off the wagon" I feel I have come to a place within myself where my spiritual life is the central focus of my life and everything else is secondary so to speak. Not that family etc is less important but that i am more mySelf and better able to be of service to family and me when i keep my yogic practice central. If that means that nobody eats dinner until I've done my meditation then so be it. As far as friends and the distractions of society and social life, well the same goes. I can enjoy going places and doing things but yoga comes first. After a while it becomes a good feeling habit and it all falls into place. I've had my ups and downs, but like those big blow up dolls  with the sand in the bottom I keep coming back up to center. Just let your practice be the main focus and everything else however important is second. |
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mukundaspupil
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
Posted - Mar 12 2012 : 7:47:43 PM
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| Hi Little Turtle, thanks for your response, great to hear that it's all come together for you, even though you have so many responsibilities and other considerations. Yes, I think I will try to make practice my main focus from now on. Unlike you, I have no partner, or children to worry about, so in some respects it should be easier for me to prioritise practice, I appreciate that. I'm glad I found this site, great to discover a community of people into Yoga. :-) |
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maheswari
Lebanon
2520 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2012 : 02:57:40 AM
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nice name dear disciple of Mukunda (the giver of liberation...an attribute of Lord Krishna)
all the best on your path |
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mukundaspupil
United Kingdom
25 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2012 : 09:33:00 AM
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| hello Maheswari, thank you...i hope one day it will come true, peace on your path too :-) |
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