Yoga Your RSP
If money burns a hole in your pocket like it does mine, or if you would like to become more mindful of your spending, you may feel like I do and wonder: how can I control my urge to spend spend spend?
If our practice on the mat mirrors our life off the mat, is the fluctuation between two extremes of restraint and overindulgence gradually going to lessen? Do we need to rebalance ourselves off the mat or is this simply another fact of yoga?
Asteya is the third of five yamas. The yamas are the first limb of the eightfold path of Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga, (from the Yoga Sutras, 200 BC). Asteya literally means non-stealing yet it has many deeper meanings, from not taking what isn’t yours, and taking no more than you need, to letting go of cravings and becoming more self-sufficient.
Asana, the postures that we practice in our yoga classes, is the third limb of Ashtanga yoga. By doing the postures regularly and mindfully, we can also learn about the other limbs. For instance, in doing our asana practice, we can practice the first yama-ahimsa (non-violence) by being careful with our bodies and not forcing ourselves into the positions where we feel pain.
We can practice the second yama-satya (truthfulness) by being honest with ourselves about where we are in our practice. This means that we must recognize where we are so as not to overwork and risk injury. Other ways of practicing satya in our yoga practice are: not using excuses for not practicing, not just doing the easy poses and avoiding the more challenging ones, not hiding in a back corner and simply by not doing the pose differently when the teacher is at the other end of the room, compared to if the teacher is right beside you watching your pose. We can also practice satya (truth) by using a prop (block or strap) if we know we need one and by not just focusing on our more flexible, stronger postures and not giving in too easily when challenged in our weaker poses.
We can practice the third yama, asteya (non-stealing), in our yoga practice, by not comparing ourselves to others in the class. It is common to look outside of ourselves and want another person’s flexibility, someone else’s body; we want to be able to do a pose like someone else and may imitate how someone else is doing the pose. Instead of comparing, imitating and using other's poses, we can change our attitude.
Instead of thinking about what we can get, let’s consider what we can give. This will bring us closer to finding fulfillment in each step of our journey in life. Yoga teaches us to follow our own path. We are all uniquely different with different abilities; others can inspire us, but we need to find our own path and this happens by focusing within ourselves.
We may also steal from ourselves without even being aware of it. We do this when we neglect ourselves; perhaps we rush too much or don’t take the time to eat properly, or maybe we rob ourselves of our potential or even take for granted the benefits we would receive just by committing ourselves to a yoga class once or twice a week. We steal the present from ourselves when look to the past too much or try to rush to the future. By practicing yoga, we learn to be more present and notice the moment.
As we go about our busy lives, you may feel like I do. I feel like I am constantly dealing with change, constantly organizing and reorganizing, whether it is work, life in general, my closets, finances, even my wallet. In days like these, when it is so easy to spend money in small and larger amounts, with the latte factor and lunches and dinners out, big ticket items like furniture, clothes, cars, maybe children’s educations, vacations. With EBAY, Internet and home shopping, the list is endless.
When it comes to acquiring stuff-more make-up, more clothes, another bag, those cute shoes, books, accessories, more boots and sunglasses, how much more stuff do we really need?
I find myself carting home many bags weekly, especially living and working a block away from the Eaton Centre. Maybe it’s a new nail polish, another candle, more shoes, another Lululemon item, earrings, books, gadgetry, cd’s and gifts. I have no more room for this new stuff in my small downtown loft.
I have decided that I am going to reverse the direction of the carting of the bags. Instead of bringing them home daily/weekly, I will take bags out daily and weekly. Bags to the food bank and food drive at my grocery store, clothes to the support centres and drop-off bins in my area, dog food also to food banks. Undergarments and toiletry packages are needed at local shelters. Shelters also are in need of unused cutlery, appliances, even gifts certificates, cd’s, videos and dvd’s.
A lot of us are very fortunate and I know there is always more we can do to help others. Next time you are making that impulse purchase or treating yourself to another latte, think not of what you want at that moment but of what you can do, for someone less fortunate than yourself and also how you can invest in your own future.
RSP season is here. If you have plenty of room left in your maximum contribution amount for the year, perhaps you want to consider maximizing your contribution. It is never to late to start putting money away. A good experiment for the month of February 2006 is to put the amount you were going to spend into a jar or your savings account. Once you see the money accumulating, that will be incentive alone, not to spend it. Another experiment I am working on myself is trying to give more to others, even if it is just buying a coffee for someone I see regularly, who lives on the street. And always remember, start small, whether it is beginning your home yoga practice, or changing your spending habits. This way, we have a better chance of lasting success. Best wishes in practicing asteya and not stealing from your future financial well-being and yourselves. If you find yourself struggling, like I do, just keep at it each day. Try your best with each new day, in yoga and in life.