Axis Yoga Teacher Training students participate in experiments as part of their certification. For this student, the process of experimenting led to personal insights and started a chain reaction of revelations. The subject of the experiment, ahimsa (no harm) became a vehicle for a broader lesson of experiencing life.
Aims: To understand the aspects of the Yama (social discipline) Ahimsa as defined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The goal is to explore how the practice of Ahimsa currently exists in my life and from this investigation, develop a new way of experiencing the world with compassion, kindness and grace. Rationale: Exploring who I […]
I decided to use my experiment with the Yama Ahimsa in a self-focused way, rather than establishing my practice in a way that expended effort on the conscious non-harm to others. It felt right to do so for a number of reasons: • Engaging with the “I” is something I can do at any time […]
This kind of circular self discussion continued for days until I engaged in my first “discussion group” which was really myself and a few others drinking red wine and dissecting how/why I was philosophically sabotaging my experiment by thinking too much. After we all wandered around the warrens of definition and logic of Ahimsa and […]
I kept a journal and a blog throughout this process and doing so helped me look at where my fears manifested the most (Will I like who I am when I begin comparing that person to what Ahimsa means via the Sutras) and how to begin working without having to assuage the “logical self” first […]
So at this juncture, what does the experience of Ahimsa in my life mean to me? Honestly, it means forward movement. Nurturing the physical/non logical aspect of my practice created an opening. Through this space, one grain of sand tumbled, end over end into my life, bringing with it awareness of different aspects of myself. […]
As part of the Axis Teacher Training program, this student experimented with the application of Ishvarapranidhana, surrender to God. This resulted in two meaningful experiences that will inspire further practice.
Like many, I experienced some traumatic religious experiences in my youth. To summarize, at the age of sixteen, I was asked by church officials to choose between my divorced parents, with the understanding that the wrong choice would mean my excommunication resulting in never reaching “total freedom” (the ultimate goal of all Scientologists). This was […]
The best part of this portion of my experience occurred at the very beginning of the experiment when Susan, our group mentor, was very kind and shared her perception of God. Previously, I had found the idea of God to be narrowly defined in the Abrahamic faiths. Her knowledge caused me to recognize that the […]
Now I was carrying discomfort, albeit not as difficult as Derik’s. So, I contemplated surrendering my current difficulties much like Derik had surrendered his. But how could I place my problems on everyone else? Wasn’t that what surrendering them to God was? They were my responsibility and wouldn’t it be wrong and hurtful to allow […]