Satya

The second yama of five yamas, yama meaning the five restraints or ethical guidelines, is satya. Satya means truthfulness or integrity. (Sound familiar to my Christian readers? Thou shalt not lie.) As I contemplated satya, I wondered how we differentiate Truth with a capital T, when all of our human lives we have been fed information and experiences that leave impressions of truth. Our culture, our family history, tv and entertainment, our friends and those we hang with all deeply influence our “truths,” or “untruths” rather, that have been passed down for generations. We take our perceptions and assess and infer what we BELIEVE to be true. But to me, this is not Truth. Think of how your culture, your beliefs, came to fruition? What do you base your opinions, your truth on? This is why I feel meditation is so important. It is only within stillness that we can determine Truth. It is in deep inner awareness that we surrender to our false perceptions, false viewpoints, and drop the veil of the ego, that we find our True wisdom.

I believe at the height of the Corona Virus now in 2020 we all must consider Truth with a capital T. We are inundated with fear, constant social media and news streams, all with information that is far from the truth. Consider how you might use a time of social distancing to spend time in meditation and silence and turn to your inner wisdom.

Practice satya. (And not just not telling white lies.) But really go deeper in your weekly thoughts, opinions, and conflicts with others.

Sit in silence and reflect on a current conflict you are having. Can you feel in your physical body, Truth or untruth? Can you recognize Truth in your mind and differentiate between untruth? Become aware that not everything you THINK is Truth. How could you change your reaction and the words you use or say when in conflict with someone if you first took time to reflect on how or why you believe something to be true?

Stay tuned this week to https://waterfallyogallc.teachable.com/ for videos and resources on Yoga for Anxiety, Yoga for Decreasing Fear and Instilling Peace, Yoga for Grief When the Uncontrollable Happens, and Yoga for Better Sleep. All videos are half priced through March 31 with discount code FUCOVID19.