Samskaras

Every once in awhile someone says something on facebook worth pausing and thinking about. This week I've been thinking a lot about habits (good and bad), conditioning, and personality traits. Someone posted a B.K.S. Iyengar quote that was perfect for what's been on my mind.

"Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured."

For me, it's a tricky balance between trying to change something and learning to accept it. The more I study and explore, the more I appreciate that some things I think are "bad" aren't actually bad. This leads me to thinking about samskaras; habits, conditioning, patterns. I sometimes wonder how many of them are things we can change verses things we can't change. Change is pretty scary on every level and a lot of people don't seem to like change. Moving, getting married, and switching jobs are nothing compared to the internal changes that yoga can inspire. I used to think about the difference between change and growth. That idea has come back to me now. I feel like I am not who I was and am also exactly the same. I feel like in a lot of ways I haven't changed but I have definitely grown. I notice such things a lot around family where many of my patterns first formed. For example, I still get really mad at my big brother but I am much better at dealing with it and loving him anyway!

"Be careful in casting out your devil ‘lest you cast out the best thing about you."
-Friedrich Nietzsche