Hello Out There! I took a sabbatical so I could deal with my studio destruction. I’ve had a month to sort out and clean up and reboot my yoga business. Nothing like a life moment to help redirect and repurpose a business entity. This past month has been a soul-searching, steep climb from the realization that I would not be moving back into my sweet little space. Yes, the landlord gave me the boot! I came to the understanding that I, and even some of my clients, had put our hearts into that little space. We had a short 8 months to enjoy and then we were flooded out during the fall rains. Luckily, none of the equipment was ruined and everything has since dried out and been washed and reclaimed. But our hearts and spirits were dampened in those weeks after the flood. Yes, all of us felt a sense of loss. It was in this space that we designed together that we became a family. During hours of stripping and repainting walls, moldings and cabinets we fellowshipped. Then we shared in celebration that we had a space that was ours that we could come to and relax and renew together. It was a happy, warm and cozy space. Not to say that we didn’t have a space to use before. I paid rent for use of another space in town but it belonged to someone else. Now that I say all this, and see it in writing, I can see the attachment that took hold. Yes, we joined ourselves heart and soul to a space, but also I see to each other as well. I had to send some of my clients out to other teachers due to the destruction of the space.
Here it is March and I’m still dealing with the repercussions. I have since gone back to renting space and now I’m rebuilding the business. I have a core group of clients that have stayed with me throughout the ordeal. So, we are working to let go of our space attachment together. As we regroup we see that our union wasn’t to the building itself, but to the group. The friendships forged. As we have experienced a loss of sorts, we are working out our grief together on the yoga mat– with breathing and meditation. We are laughing and crying together and experiencing the loss together one day, one week at a time. As we discuss each week how this attachment has caused great pain, we also discuss how it gave us great joy.
Patanjali discusses non-attachment in the yoga sutras. But it is easier said than done. We are humans living in a fast paced, attachment type of world. For example, we attach our identity to the type of automobile we drive, or clothes we wear or even a career. This is how we describe our worth. Inward examples would be that “I am a more caring person than him/her” or “I live more simply than him/her”. Being human we automatically attach ourselves to these titles and then we also attach ourselves to our families, friends, pets, etc. You cannot live a life without becoming an extension to something or someone. So then, how do you live a life of non-attachment? You go to your yoga mat and you allow the emotion of the experience to come up into the mind and spirit and you actively participate….with each sense. Every feeling, every emotion, has a negative or positive energy. Both have a point of origin. You have to go full circle with each energy – let it subside and then discover where you are in the end which will lead you to release. In the end, both origins lead to liberation.
In my opinion, non-attachment then is to practice letting go. To live life to its fullest extent– all its wonderful, excruciating truths. Positive and negative influences and then set it free from yourself– becoming impartial. Non-attachment doesn’t resign us to becoming numb or hollow, quite the opposite. Our lives can become overflowing with active compassion and empathy when we can practice non-attachment in a connected process. I think the best way that can describe this way of living is the song by Lee Ann Womack “I Hope You Dance”. In this song she says “Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance, and when you get the choice to sit out or dance, I hope you dance”.
Love, Peace and Light.
Dawn to Dusk Yoga, LLC 