Being human is messy.

Being human is messy. It's not all lollipops and gum drops. Sometimes we experience the natural human emotions of anger, sadness, frustration. Does that make us any less a yogi? Does being a yogi mean we need to be devoid of emotions? Or only devoid of any emotion other than love and bliss?


I'm knee deep in my Ayurveda studies. I've learned that suppressing your emotions effects your physical body. Suppressed anger damages the liver. We certainly don't want to damage our liver yet expressing anger in yoga-land is not acceptable (at least that has been my perception)

My friend Jon posted a quote on our message board that read "Let go or be dragged".

The initial thought upon reading this quote was that I need to have it tattooed on my arm. Let's explore how we can apply this simple idea to the messy business of being human.

Some people avoid feelings at all cost. When emotions become uncomfortable some run away. Some use drugs or alcohol or even food to try to numb their feelings. Others wallow in their emotions, spending hours and hours telling everyone within ear shot how they are feeling. They let their emotions define who they are. For those of us aspiring yogis recognize that neither extreme is useful. Yogis know the middle ground is the best option. Or do we?

The reality is that yogis are humans trying to heal from their messy past. Healing - is the operative word...Not avoiding or hiding. In order to heal we need to learn how to feel our feelings without running from them and not getting stuck in them. Did you hear that? Feel what you feel, acknowledge the feeling and THEN let it go. Suppressing emotions and pretending that we aren't feeling them in an effort to be a good yogi is not healthy. That doesn't make you a better yogi than the person stuck in their emotions.

Remember the yoga sutras talk about the cravings of pleasure and aversion to pain are BOTH obstacles on the path of yoga.

The bottom line is that being a yogi doesn't mean we're not human and being human is sometimes messy. Feel what you feel....then let go or be dragged. You can't skip the step of feeling what you're feeling. If you do, you run the risk of damaging your liver and missing a great opportunity to really heal.

Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivaya! Om Namah Shivaya!

 Om Shanti Shanti Shanti!