Giving our inner body the same care and attention as our outer

Svadhyaya

We are constantly making little adjustments to help our outside body. A new type of hiking shoe, adjusting our breath for a cold weather run, a yoga block to make a pose more accessible. We don’t do these adjustments to cultivate perfectionism. We do them to alleviate physical suffering.

But are we giving our inner body the same care and attention as our outer body?

We notice right away when a muscle is tight or tense. We don’t push through, we adjust because we know about injury prevention. But do we give the same attention and care to our feelings? Do we notice right away when our feelings are tense or sore? If we do notice, is it quickly ignored or do we give ourself permission to adjust instead of push through?

We are always on the look-out for when it’s time to try out a new exercise because an old one has lessened its effectiveness. But are we on constant look-out for how effectively we are connecting in our relationships? If our connections are feeling a bit stale, do we have a knowledge-base of ways to reconnect?

We have goals and steps when it comes to our outer body. If a step isn’t working for us, we ask “how can this be better for me?” But with our inner self, too often it’s the very opposite. Instead of thinking “how can this be better for me?”, we go straight for the guilt with “how can I be better?” Yikes!

Yoga calls the process of inner self study, svadhyaya. And it’s all about being aware and making adjustments. Like physical awareness, yoga encourages us to still our minds so we can be aware of our inner world. Like physical adjustments, yoga advocates for making little life-adjustments to alleviate suffering for our inner self.

Do onto our inner self as we would do for our outer self.

Until next time,

Laura