Sadhana is a Sanskrit word that means discipline. Yogui Bhajan, a worldy renowned Tantra and Kundalini Yoga teacher who brought this discipline to Western culture back in 1968, says that, sadhana is a personal spiritual process that is carried out by investing your very best qualities in yourself.
But, what does it take to begin this process? According to Christina Puchalski, MD, Director of the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health, individuals develop their spirituality by searching a sense of purpose in their lives and, by expressing this sense of purpose in their everyday actions. From this point of view, a spiritual practice has a lot to do with wellbeing and is not limited to prayer, meditation, ceremonies and rituals.
A spiritual practice is about cultivating an inner state which provides a more elevated meaning to any activity you perform. Therefore, activities like CrossFit, lifting weights at the gym, eating healthy food, painting a picture, etc., can become your sadhana. You just need to undertake the task as a commitment to create new habits that bring out your best qualities: self-love, patience, perseverance, concentration, etc.
In the Kundalini tradition, sadhana is about waking up at dawn to practice asanas and meditate. But you can always look for the moment of the day and the activity that suits you best, the important thing here is to find the time and the appropriate motivation.
If you are trying to compete with someone else or to meet a certain standard, any activity can take you to harmful extremes because the focus and motivation is coming from the outside and your well-being is not the priority. But if you keep in mind that any material achievement is pleasing, yes, but ephemeral, you can start giving more importance to taking care of your body, mind and emotions, which will lead to far reaching and true well-being.
Everyone has its own path. You do not need to meditate if you are not into it, don’t go running five miles if you don’t like it, just find the inner impetus to do something good for you and keep going. You can start easy, take 15 minute walks with your dog after dinner, use this time to turn off your mobile and connect more deeply with nature and yourself. Please remember: it is okay if you fail, you start over the next day, that’s all! If you focus on blaming yourself for failing, you will be more likely to lose motivation. We want to build discipline here, not rigor.
Find your way into sadhana with patience and joy, balancing between trying your best without judging you harshly for the preliminary outcome. Remember to nurture the best version of yourself and use it to your own advantage.
Sadhana practice can give you great benefits: it will increase your will power and the commitment to yourself, you can clear your mind of restraining beliefs and ignite your inner strength. You can grow self-discipline to create a kinder, more conscious relationship with yourself to peel off the emotional and mental layers that are no longer good for you, making room for new healthier habits.
Gina
Comentarios