Yoga & Non-Attachment by Alison King Tigges

“You can’t always get what you want….”

The Rolling Stones were right!  In yoga, we call the practice of non-attachment, aparigraha.

The truth is, we are in this world, no way around it.  Unless you are planning to go live up in a cave in the mountains all by yourself, we are in the real world.  We know the real world distractions are tricky! So how can we be of this world without getting so caught up in it? How do we practice non-attachment without becoming completely detached?  This about as hard as it gets!  Thankfully, yoga gives us the tools to help make it easier.

The yogic teachings tell us that if we follow the principles of the yamas and niyamas (basically the commandments of yoga and how to be a good human), it will help us be more compassionate and loving beings.  Yoga helps us cultivate empathy and love.  If we can love our tight hips in pigeon pose and get through it, we can conquer anything!  Y

Yoga also helps us be in the NOW.  We learn to better work with what is happening, regardless of the outcome.  This is santosha (or contentment) and is a major tenant of the yoga practice.  If we can understand that sometimes the outcome is different than envisioned and we can work through that, we are already halfway there. 

Let’s be honest.  Our hips are never as open as we wish they would be, our arm balances could be stronger, and sometimes feeling calm and settled in a yoga pose just isn’t happening.  This is where the work of non-attachment starts.  Hopefully, by learning to be less attached to the outcomes of postures (they are just silly shapes after all!)---maaaaaybe when life throws us its many inevitable curveballs, we can roll with it.  Or, at the very least, we have a better shot at it!

Here's to less attachment to the things that don’t matter, and more contentment for the things that do.