Have you been searching for wealth outside yourself? Perhaps in a goal that is attainable, something you are working towards, a perfection that has not yet come to fruition. Other times there may be feelings of shame bubbling up around how we think we ought to be, or what we don’t have, or expected that we should have. You are not alone in this. I catch myself all the time with these kinds of thoughts.
What you are searching for is already here inside of you, if you look.
Each of us is imbued with gems and gifts beyond match in the material world. For example, your body is a miracle, a gift from beyond, and may be the most sophisticated natural phenomena that has ever been created or come into existence. Honoring the gift of the body, instead of taking advantage of it, or using it as a working tool, or abusing and not taking care of it, often proves to be so difficult! It takes time to take care, to know this body, and to listen to its messages. And it is your responsibility- no one else’s- to take care of this gift.
Our prana vital life-force has a wisdom and grace to heal and balance the body through its cells, organs and body systems. One of the biggest favors you can do to honor and take care of your body, as well as to spark your inner gems, is to put it in it’s natural healing energetic state. Daily practices of yoga nidra, yoga breathing, and hand mudras, have been proven to bring you into your healing state called the ‘relaxation response’. Easy and doable.
Swami Kripalu said that the highest spiritual practice is “self-observation without criticism”.
Yet it can be intimidating to look inward because we may find our inner ‘judge’ staring us down. The ‘judge’ may always be here to some degree, but you have the ability to turn its volume down, and then listen to the positive and encouraging messages that are also within you. When you reduce judgment of yourself and others, amazingly enough your inner wealth will be revealed to you! It may have been hiding behind judgment and ‘shoulds’ all along.
Karuna Mudra cultivates self-compassion. I invite you to embark on a one day practice: set the intention when you arise to move through your day in ‘self-observation without criticism’. Allow yourself to be, just as you are, already complete and whole. There is nothing lacking. At the end of the day, reflect on what you experienced by journaling or sharing with a friend.
Zen meditation teacher Thich Nhat Hanh reminds us that each person is like a plant in the garden. Each with their own bloom and dormancy times, and each an important part of the whole garden of the universe. Some trees keep the shade so other plants do not dry out. Some plants have deep roots to keep the earth intact. Some flowers bloom in spring and are dormant in autumn, some bloom autumn time and bloom in spring. There is a flower I saw in Holland that blooms only every seven years! Trust that your inner wealth is alive and vibrant.
Connecting inward with the gifts that have been bestowed upon you can evoke contentment, gratitude and feeling whole and complete. Cherish the gifts that you have. So often I meet people who overlook their strengths, talents and abilities, imagining that their particular gift is an ordinary one, inadvertently overlooking one’s true purpose.
Take the time now to both honor and send gratitude for who you are in this moment, whole and complete, just as you are now. Be open to recognizing and understanding the gifts that you have, with your unique timing and purpose.
written by Jennifer Reis, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT Yoga Therapist, creator of Five Element Yoga® and Divine Sleep® Yoga Nidra. Copyright Jennifer Reis Yoga© 2017
