Yoga’s Aparigraha: A Sustainable Intention for 2021
![](https://media.yogauonline.com/app/uploads/2021/04/06051735/0_yoga_wellness_tips_to_practice_sustainability_and_learn_from_past_challenges_and_grow_in_the_new_year-1.webp)
Some say that 2020 was the year of removing the veils of illusion, but I think it was more like ripping off Band-Aids.
Today, all over the internet, folks are saying “good riddance” to 2020—like somehow we can start fresh and things will go back to “normal.” But let’s remember that what those of us in the West with socioeconomic privilege have considered “normal” is actually a culture plagued by many nasty, festering wounds.
We can’t miss the potential of this moment. Yes, it’s been a horrible year, but slamming the door shut on it doesn’t solve anything. Band-Aids won’t fix this; what’s calling is Aparigraha.
How to Practice Sustainability with Yoga’s Aparigraha
Aparigraha is the fifth Yama. (The Yamas, which are about social integration, are the first of the Eight Limbs of Yoga.) They ask us to operationalize our values and ethics in the context of our larger relationship to others and to the community, society, culture, and planet.
This fifth principle typically gets translated as “non-greed.” Which is great, cuts right to the heart of the matter. But, to reframe in a more positive psychology perspective, I think we can also invoke the idea of sustainability. I can practice aparigraha by making sustainable choices. And, as we all strive toward aparigraha in our personal lives, it can begin to push the cultural juggernaut in a more sustainable direction as well.
My personal Aparigraha choices may look like choosing to recycle stuff, to drive less, to eat more locally, to not waste my life force with activities or people that drain my energy, to volunteer and help others more, to make better informed political choices, to put my money where my mouth is—and so much more.
Aparigraha provides a framework in which to look at my choices with others and with the future in mind. How will others fare because of my choices? How will future generations be affected?
2020 revealed the festering sores of an unsustainable world—a world troubled by environmental devastation, conspicuous consumption, economic and social disparity, racism, sexism, and homophobia. All these conditions need much more attention and care than the pre-2020 Band-Aids can ever offer.
There was nothing sustainable about “normal.” We are at the end of a modern-day Roman empire. It has to end and something new has to emerge. There’s no doubt that this birthing process is going to be hard. But what other choice do we have? If we only look at 2020 from the perspective of wanting to escape from it or close the book on it, then we miss out on the opportunities for personal and collective evolution.
Mine the Lessons of 2020
Challenges compel growth. The bigger the challenge, the greater the opportunity. Every time we are forced into difficulties, and we work to meet them head-on and overcome them, we make cosmic evolutionary leaps. BTW, can you feel it? This is a massive, collective leap we are in the middle of, and it’s our choice if we sink or swim.
Let’s not throw 2020 in the trash bin just yet. Let’s get out the pickaxes and mine the golden lessons here. Ringing in the new year with alcohol and revelry is a pastime appropriate only (and questionably) for a pre-2020 world. Right now we are called to create new rituals, new intentions, new possibilities for the future. We have choices to make and some of them are going to be hard.
What is your ritual? What is your intention? How are you going to show up in 2021? What do you think the world needs more of in this critical moment?
I wish you the strength and fortitude to move into the new year with a sense of hope and courage, a willingness to let go of what is not sustainable, and a growing, deepening sense of self, meaning, purpose, and gratitude.
Also, read...
Yoga Practice at the Wall: 5 Poses to Soothe Your Body and Mind
Jan 22 – By: Allison Schleck ERYT-500, RPYT
Hip Mobility Exercises: Internal and External Rotation in Yoga
Jan 19 – By: Dr. Nolan Lee
Keys to Healthy Alignment in Downward Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana) and Upward Dog (Urdhva Mukha Svanasana)
Dec 29 – By: Kathryn Boland, RCYT
Related courses
Journey to Center: A Yoga Guide to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Core
With Judith Hanson Lasater
Yoga for Healthy Hips: Principles for a Safe Practice
With Doug Keller
The Essential Trinity of the Body: The Role of the 3 Diaphragms
With Leslie Howard
Need an Energy Makeover? How Yoga Can Help You Boost Vitality
With Olga Kabel
Reprinted with permission of SubtleYoga.com
![](https://media.yogauonline.com/app/uploads/2021/10/06032249/kaoverii.new_-150x150.jpg)
Committed to the widespread adoption of yoga as a population health strategy, Kristine Kaoverii Weber, MA, C-IAYT, eRYT500, YACEP has been studying yoga and holistic healing for nearly 30 years advocating, speaking, and teaching about yoga since 1995, and training educators since 2003. Her organization, Subtle® Health, LLC, provides holistic, mind-body training, education, and clinical services with the mission of enhancing community health infrastructure. She is the director of the Subtle® Yoga Teacher Training for Behavioral Health Professionals program at MAHEC in Asheville, NC, presents workshops and trainings internationally, and is frequently invited to speak about yoga at health care conferences. After completing her BA and MA at Georgetown University, Kristine trained extensively in many styles of yoga, including Viniyoga, as well as in Asian bodywork therapy and homeopathy.
She is the author of The Complete Self Massage Workbook and has published articles in the International Association of Yoga Therapist’s journal, Yoga Therapy in Practice, and other wellness publications. Her work has been featured in Redbook, BodySense, Women’s World, Natural Health, and Lifetime TV.
Recent articles
Yoga Modifications for Pregnancy: 4 Ways to Safely Modify Savasana
Jan 29 – By: Karina Norton
Yoga Pose Photos: The Yoga World Has a PR Problem
Jan 27 – Alexandria Crow
Categories
Upcoming courses
Journey to Center: A Yoga Guide to Unlock the Full Potential of Your Core
With Judith Hanson Lasater
Yoga for Healthy Hips: Principles for a Safe Practice
With Doug Keller
Free Download!
Recent articles
Almost there...
Sorry, we couldn't find anything...
Back Pain
Low Back Pain or Sacroiliac Joint Pain? How to Tell the Difference and Why It Matters
How do you tell the difference between low back pain and SI joint pain?…
Jan 31 – By:
Prenatal
Yoga Modifications for Pregnancy: 4 Ways to Safely Modify Savasana
Yoga modifications for pregnancy are important to keep in mind, even for seemingly passive…
Jan 29 – By: Karina Norton
Yoga News
Yoga Pose Photos: The Yoga World Has a PR Problem
Yoga pose photos are inescapable in the yoga community. Scroll through a hashtag or…
Jan 27 – Alexandria Crow