We are now at the end of our segment on “brahmacharya”, one of the 5 Niyamas or internal duties of a yoga student. “Brahmacharya” is translated as ‘behavior that leads you to connection with the divine’. It is commonly understood as ‘right energy’.
Today, we’ll talk about building a path for brahmacharya. The daily rituals, placing one cobblestone at a time, cultivating the habits and behaviors to build a path that leads out of suffering, or to connection with the divine.
These are behaviors that cultivate both presence and equanimity. We are not aiming to disengage with life, but to experience life with the ‘right energy’. When are fully present with a sense of equanimity, we can experience non-suffering or divine connection. If we are distracted, or locked in a cycle of seeking or avoiding sensation, we might be stuck in our own loops and not able to experience a divine connection even if it were there tapping us on the shoulder!
Eating is a wonderful example of striking the balance with ‘right energy’. You might have heard of the Japanese recommendation to only eat to 80% full. Chinese Confucian culture recommends “吃飯七分飽、三分寒” - “only eat 70 percent full, and wear 30 percent less”; while Indian Ayurvedic medicine believes “you should fill one third of the stomach with liquid, another third with food, and leave the rest empty.”
While caloric restriction might be beneficial for our bodies, what about the spiritual side? How does mindfully moderating how we eat, lead to divine connection?
When we can live all aspects of our life, presently and with equanimity, this is the recipe for moksha or enlightenment; non-suffering; divine connection.
Eating is such a universal, primal need. Only breathing is more necessary. When we can work with our urges which reside at the deepest level of mind and body, such as eating, our cultivation of ‘right energy’ flows out to our outermost experiences.
It is not about the food, it's about the energy of eating. It’s not about each cobblestone, it’s about walking the path.
So let’s take some time to contemplate areas in your life where you some limits or restraints might be useful.
Share this post