Aparigraha. The Yogic Art of Letting Go

It’s time to let go of Summer and so much more.

As we head towards Autumn, we start to let go of our summer energy. The autumn equinox marks the exact time that day and night are equal and in complete balance with each other. Whilst nature, and we are beginning to wind down for winter, there is a little burst of energy this time of year. It’s that September ‘back to school ‘ feeling. No wonder that Chinese Medicine has a season called ‘Late Summer’ to mark this energetic lift.

So September can feel a bit like a mini-New Year. It’s a good time to start something new. Like yoga! Sometimes to start with the new, we have to let go of the old. That might be freeing up time in the diary, or letting go of our unhelpful inner voice.

Aparigraha – Yoga for Letting Go

In yoga, we have a term ‘aparigraha’ which means non-attachment. Yoga asks us only to hold onto as much as is necessary.  In yogic philosophy, we have only a single possession, the Atman, our true self. Everything else is simply an illusion, even our own physical body. We therefore don’t need much in the way of physical possessions.

In yoga, we also believe that we inherit ‘samskara’. These are things like family memories, karma or energy from our previous lives, inherited values or cultural beliefs. We often hold onto these, consciously or unconsciously because we feel that they define who we are. They can be helpful to us but they can also hold us back.

For example, as I was growing up, my parents talked a lot about equality and girls having the same employment opportunities as boys. I was expected to work hard at school and get the grades I needed to go to university. At the same time, my Mum did pretty much all the housework, and whilst no one explicitly asked me to do them, I took on far more of the household chores than brother did. I still have to check in with myself that I am not taking on more than my fair share of household responsibilities.

Attachment and the West

In the western world, we are super attached to lots of things, whether they be physical objects (houses, cars, designer clothes) or markers of our status, like the job we have, and our extra-curricular activities.

If you think you are immune to this attachment, try admitting at a party, or doing the circle of introductions at a work training session, that what you do is simply ‘be’, and see just how far that gets you!

In addition, we’re even attached to the number of friends we have on social media, or our skill, at say, growing orchids.  Attachment creeps up on us and whilst it’s easy to say, (‘ap-ari-grah-hah’), aparigraha, non attachment, is difficult to do. 

Often attachment is a nervous system response. We feel safe with the familiar. The downside is that our attachments can get in the way of our growth and development.

Attachment and Yoga

I see attachment play out in all sorts of ways in yoga classes.

• The students who like to surround themselves in their own ‘stuff’ – mats, blocks, blankets, pillows – you name it.
• The students who focus solely on their physical practice, and their physical bodies 
• The (ill) health stories that get in the way of empowered movement. My own story – “My body doesn’t like back bends”.
• The students who only ever sit in the same space every week, or struggle to embrace a different routine when a new teacher arrives.

The students in one of my classes like to sit in a circle. This is tricky as some of them have to turn their heads to see me when I’m teaching.  One student, who sits next to me, grumbled that they can’t see me and, as they wear bi-lateral hearing aids, can’t hear me easily either.  (Community venue.  Dire acoustics.)  So I suggested that they move their mat in front of me where they could both see and hear better.  I might as well have suggested they practice yoga on Mars, they were so unwilling to move. Even though it would resolve their sensory issues.  Oh well!  I tried.

What the Tao Te Ching has to say?

In Chinese teaching, the Tao Te Ching introduces Wu Wei, ‘The Way’. This is the power that drives the Universe. It is the flow and vibration from which all life comes and exists.  In this space, the only certainty is that there will be change.  The Tao teaches us to flow with change.  We are invited let go of what is familiar and know that, whatever happens, things are just as they are meant to be.

Think about water.  Water falls from the sky as rain. It is collected in puddles, ponds and lakes, flows in streams and rivers to the ocean to become water vapour and rise as clouds, before turning back to rain.  Water doesn’t regret that it left the pond or that it didn’t become a snowflake.  It simply changes form for a while and continues to flow.

Letting go.

So what are you holding onto?  And what can you let go of? Where can you let your energy flow, shift and change, knowing that everything is just as it is meant to be.

Close your eyes and think of something that you are holding onto. Imagine taking a pen and piece of paper and either writing that down or drawing a picture of it. Now, in your mind’s eye, take an old fashioned magnifying glass and look at your words/picture through that. Notice how the glass distorts the picture at the edges. Imagine the sun shining through the glass and notice that the paper starts to brown and eventually catches fire to burn to nothing, releasing that thing. Let go of it completely and open your eyes.

So now, go on!  I dare you!

Sit in a different spot next time you go to your yoga class.