By Swami Shraddhananda
In our yoga practices, there are many ways we can learn to let go of negativity and open space for new energy. Letting go means many different things. It can be a release of tightly gripped muscles, obsessive ideas, destructive angry emotions, or recurring negative thoughts about ourselves and others. The practice of letting go gives us the freedom to live in the present moment.
The yoga pose of savasana (relaxation) is one example of letting go. Actually, it is translated as the corpse pose. Death, of course, is the final letting go for all of us. Our practice of letting go of negative thoughts, words, and actions allows us to have a much more vibrant life and prepares us for a peaceful death when our time comes.
Another yoga practice of letting go is through deep breathing. By slowing the breath and inhaling and exhaling deeply, we clear the nervous system of obstacles. Taking time during the day to stop what we are doing for a few moments and concentrate on deep diaphragmatic breathing unites the body and mind in liberation from past negative thoughts and feelings. This is a loving and nonviolent way to be with ourselves. The breath is a powerful way to return to the present moment.
Chanting mantras also aids us in letting go. Mantra actually means no thought. We can become one with the sound and let go of negative thoughts this way. Concentration and meditation also help us to avoid the ruts of rigidity, pessimism, and destructive thoughts and actions. Whenever we connect with something positive and larger than our egos, we can enter a more serene space.
Letting go does not mean we abdicate our responsibilities. Instead, letting go allows us to more responsive. We don't practice yoga to isolate ourselves from relationships with others or to run away from problems. Rather, we give ourselves permission to renew, refresh, and begin anew with a clearer mind, relaxed body, and inclusion of our higher selves in all that we do.
Many of us feel the frantic pace of speeded-up modern life. Problems such as economic uncertainties, ecological disasters, and the impact from wars can seem overwhelming at times. You may have already observed that many more people appear angry, confused, or fearful these days. People can be very harsh on themselves and others. When we are hard on ourselves, we tend to be hard on others. Part of this comes from habits of negativity we have practiced. The culture promotes acceptance of violence in thoughts, words, and actions. We can see this in movies, video games, and on the news. Uncivil behavior is tolerated and even expected in some areas of life. This can make everyday living at home, on the job, or in community even more stressful. Our letting-go practices can help us to be more mindful and considerate.
When we develop practices of letting go, we can meet whatever comes into our lives with a certain degree of equanimity and serenity. We can deal directly with problems and resolve them in peaceful ways in our personal lives and in our tasks of planetary citizenship. Forgiveness of past hurts is a by-product of this cultivation of letting go.
When we have negative thoughts, we are likely to procrastinate doing the tasks we have agreed to do. We spend more time and energy worrying and fretting than we do on solving problems and inquiring into reality. When we develop mindfulness practices such as deep relaxation, deep breathing, meditation, and observing our thoughts and attitudes, we become free.
Some scientists believe that we have between 30,000 and 40,000 thoughts a day. Most of these thoughts are fleeting by in a flash of a second. Most of them repeat the same thing over and over. Many of these thoughts are about future events we have no control over or past events that are done. They prevent us from living fully in the present moment. Replicating negative thought patterns can put us in a stuck place and inhibit our participation in constructive ways to help humanity move forward. Negativity shuts down our capacity for evolution because we are absorbed in ego instead of moving with a greater consciousness.
On the planet right now we need more people who are aware of ways to let go and ways to move forward. Yoga offers techniques so that we can contribute to more peace and justice and reach our evolutionary potential. There are many ways we can ease the suffering of ourselves and others if we practice letting go.
"The thought manifests as the word; the word manifests as the deed; the deed develops into habit; and habit hardens into character. So watch the thought and its ways with care, and let it spring from love born out of concern for all beings."--Buddha
Swami Shraddhananda (Maureen Dolan) is a priest in the Kriya yoga tradition and a doctoral candidate in Transformative Studies at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She teaches peace studies courses at DePaul University as well as classes in yoga and meditation. She also serves as Adjunct Interfaith Chaplain at the university. Swami Shraddhananda has been active in housing cooperatives as well as other initiatives to build community and consciousness. She may be e-mailed at email@example.com .