Daya Yama: Forgiveness | Glow Yoga San Francisco

Daya Yama - The Power of Compassion & Forgiveness

There are 10 Yamas and 10 Niyamas - yogic take on human values and ethical practices that help us reach our full potential for personal, spiritual, and professional growth, and to liberate us from the repetitive cycle of suffering. When we live in contradiction to the highest values, when we avoid taking the higher road - we get stuck in a rat.

This month we are aligning our lives with the value of forgiveness and letting go to lighten up our hearts. I love to think of Daya Yama as a tool for leveling our differences, seeing each other with the eyes of understanding, and compassion, and remembering that nobody is perfect - we all simply act out of our conditioned selves. The key to compassion and forgiveness is knowing that hurt people hurt people and life is not presented to everyone the same way. Daya Yama (दया) is the ethical concept that lets our hearts heal, feel lighter, and repair any ruptures. Forgiveness is practiced to soothe our nervous system and to free ourselves from feeling better than others, feeling righteous, or victimized. It is not an easy mountain to climb, but one we absolutely have to.

Forgiveness doesn't mean we agree with injustice. We forgive to reduce the amount of harm and self-harm, to break that cycle, and we advocate against violence and spread peace for the greatest good of all.

I like thinking of forgiveness as holding a burning charcoal in my hand - the longer I hold it the more it burns my body and my spirit. When we're hurting from all of our losses, from our own mistakes, from natural disasters, from being hurt by others, from surrounding injustice - this is the sign that charcoal is present in our hands. A sign that we have to do the work, the work to flip our palm, to release the rock that hurts us still.

Flipping the palm, every day, will little by little heal our hearts so we can love again, take risks again and appreciate the surrounding beauty.

The feeling of love takes over our spirit when we embody this Yama. Imagine Mother Theresa and anyone in your life who truly embodies this value. When we embody forgiveness, compassion, and non-judgment, we can avoid conflict, which supports our relationships and our health. When we embody compassion, we see ourselves as imperfect and loveable, we stop arguing with reality, which opens up the whole universe of solutions to our differences. The opportunities for deeper connection, healing, and collaboration will be presenting themselves to create ease and flow.

How will YOU practice compassion, self-forgiveness, and non-judgment this month? this year? your whole life? Please contemplate it from every angle possible.

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