Forgiveness is a contentious topic. Even the world's most longest-standing wisdom traditions don't agree on the who, what, how of forgiveness. The topic cuts directly to our wounds inflicted by others, and to those wounds that have not yet healed. When recalling this kind of hurt, it can be good to ground ourselves in our senses (what do we see, hear, smell or feel right now?) or in our breath to bring us back to ourselves in this moment.
Our topic of the month for June is saucha (pronounced shau-cha), which means cleanliness. If we think of cleanliness with regard to forgiveness there are many directions we could explore both internally and externally. There's the internal work of preparation and consideration of forgiveness - whether or not to forgive someone in our own hearts and minds. And if forgiveness is the path chosen, what does that look like? Does it remain an internal process? What are the up-sides and down-sides of extending the forgiveness externally?
The nature of forgiveness work can feel like murky waters. But that's where our yoga practice can come in. Just like in a lake, when the sediment is agitated we can't see clearly. But when we can have perspective, and can see that stirred-up-ness for what it is, we can wait until the agitation settles. And when it settles, we can see more clearly again. Perhaps we can see that some trash needs to be removed, or that we need some help in the excavation process.
Forgiveness is a hard and often long process. It is best practiced with a good deal of self-compassion. And sometimes, it's the exact thing we need to feel like we've cleaned-house, so we can move on to what's next.
If you could use some time for quiet and healing, check out our classes, especially our more quiet and still practices like meditation, yoga nidra, yin or restorative yoga. You can find our schedule here.
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