The Eight Limbs: Yama (Aparigraha)
Aparigraha. The final (and my favourite) Yama.
Aparigraha is my favourite Yama because it is something that almost everybody needs, yet almost nobody actually wants or can acheive, especially in our society.
Aparigraha is about not desiring or hoarding wealth. As Ghandi said, "live simply so that others may simply live."
We need to realise that the resources on our planet are limited, and so we should only take what is necessary and not take advantage of a situation or act greedy, as many of us do (me included!).
When I first learnt about Aparigraha in my first yoga teacher training course, I immediately went home and started going through my wardrobe. It was the simplest thing I could think of to start living Aparigraha style. But rather than just picking the things I wanted and the things I didn't want to keep, I counted every item of clothing that I owned. As it turned out, I had 348 items of clothing, including 47 pairs of socks, 21 jumpers and a whopping 60 tops and shirts. This really hit home with me of how much clothing I had, and how much of it did I wear? Probably about 40%. So I got rid of all the things I didn't want and counted again - still, there was 224 items all up.
Aparigraha is also about not hoarding things just 'cause you can, just 'cause they have some sentimental value to you. That banana container someone you like gave you 3 years ago? Get rid of it. You don't need it. Bananas have skin. They can contain themselves.
So the next thing I did was wait a couple of weeks and then go through my clothes again, being ruthless this time, ensuring that I kept nothing that I loved but never wore. I still ended up with 165 items. I think I'm going to have to keep going and keep culling!
Anyway, I think this is the first step for Aparigraha: evaluate what you already own and whether or not you need it. If not, get rid of it. Give it to the local op shop, sell it on ebay, give it to the friends you're not that close with on their birthdays.
The next step is just as difficult. You must not succumb to the temptation of all the gorgeous things you see in shops, that you know you can afford and would look so great in your living room, but has no use in any way whatsoever. It's tricky. I think if you're really in need of a shopping splurge, head to the op shop. That way, whatever you buy gives you a new thing, saves the thing from being sent to landfill and is helping out a charity. It's perfect!
However much I love this idea, I still find myself walking into homeware shops and staring wishfully at bamboo crockery, despite the fact that I don't even own my own home so buying crockery would be completely useless. It's hard! There is so much cool stuff out there these days that without some self restraint, it would be easy to walk up and down one street and spend hundreds of dollars on awesome stuff that will never get used and is encouraging the plight of the planet.
In our yoga classes it is important as a teacher to model this behaviour. Teachers should not rock up to class in a new pair of lululemon yoga pants every single week. Students should not buy themselves every single crop top in cotton on just because they're so damn pretty. Really, yoga clothing, props, mats (etc.) should be bought mindfully, taking into account how much use you'll get out of them, whether they are a sustainable product to buy and whether they are completely necessary in terms of what you already have.
SO that's it for Yama! Done and dusted! Next week we will be moving on to the second limb, Niyamas.
Until then,
namaste x
