A Year of Self-Study

 

"Yoga is the Journey of the self, through the self, to the Self" ~The Bhagavad Gita

In my mind, today is New Year's Eve 2020. One year ago, for many of us, everything changed. On March 11th, 2020 Tom Hanks, who some refer to as "America's Dad" - though we here in Jersey seem to think of "The Boss" in that way - announced he had tested positive for Covid-19. 

There was a basketball game canceled while fans were in their seats awaiting tip-off. 

And the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic.

This text message from a colleague is how I knew life would be very different, very soon.

So as the clock ticks toward midnight tonight. I'm thinking about everything I've learned this year. All that the highs, lows, opportunities, triumphs, and challenges of 2020 taught me. And then I remember how much more I know about myself than a year ago.

I know I'm not alone in acknowledging I've faced sadness in the last year. Half a million people in this country alone, more than two million worldwide are no longer with us, just because of the pandemic's death toll. Add to that - everything is temporary and you have additional loss. So much loss. We ache from it deep in our being. A collective hurt that will always be with us in some form.

Experience taught me that the idea of "everything is temporary" really does help me cope. 

My view of how I handle grief is so changed now.

I also know that I am better at soaking in the joyous moments than I was a year ago. Perhaps I needed the reminder of heartache to become more open to when the heart feels light. Being present became a life skill in the foreground of my day to day - teaching yoga to others was a lifeline for my students and myself. My connection to others sustained me as tangibly as the many hikes through the mountain ranges by my house did.

 As a yogi, I can characterize my approach to attaining this type of awareness to the practice of the fourth Niyama, Svadhyaya or Self-Study. In the past 364 days, I've practiced yoga, meditated, studied the yoga sutras and Baghavad Gita, spent time in nature and journaled about my life experiences here on this blog. 

The chaotic past year forced many of us to reflect on the important things.

I'm asking you, how often did you reflect on your Self? It is, after all, our most important thing to consider.

No time like the present to start, Svadhyaya 2021.