Do you keep your promises? Do you have that tendency to start off with enthusiasm in your promises and then, somewhere along the way, fall off? I understand. It is not easy to keep our promises to ourselves, let alone to others.
The first step in learning how to keep your promises is to identify which promises are the most important to keep. Sally Kempton refers to these as "meta commitments." These are our most important commitments/promises to promoting the life we want.
Yoga teaches us that we co-create our life with the universe. It follows then, that designing your life is your responsibility. Yoga also explains that we are all in state of Samsara, suffering. The good news is that at any time we can "wake up" and no longer suffer. We can be as happy as we really are. But in order to stay free from suffering, we must promise to stay engaged in life. The easiest way to remain awake is to love. As John Lennon said, "Love is a Promise. Once given, never forgotten."
On the mat we get to practice our level of commitment, otherwise known as tapas. As we move into a pose and our thoughts get heated, we often want out. This often happens at the first sign of discomfort. However, as you may have learned, if we move deeper into our breath and quiet our minds, we are able to remain. There is no need to panic…but if we do panic, it is a chance to test our commitment and try again.
I have intimate knowledge of commitment-phobes: I was with one for 8 years. As soon as the pose of relationship got challenging, my partner would pull away. Then he'd come back. This constant back and forth left me never knowing if he would keep his promise—his first and most important promise, to love.
My goal is to be in a state of promise with each yoga pose. I don't want to bail when it is hard, nor do I want to be so casual with my poses that I fall asleep. Each pose promises to help me remain awake to life, so long as I promise to keep creating that shape with my body and breath. So I return to the mat day after day.
If you wonder, "Can Silvia keep her promises?" I can tell you without a doubt YES I CAN. And you can too. Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia