Aparigraha, yogic non-grasping, the cousin of the deadly sin greed and the fifth Yama. To practice Aparigraha we take only what we need rather than gathering all we can get our mitts on, or coveting what someone else has. This is big in my life right now, BIG, and to be honest I am flailing. I do however take heart that the thought that writing about it will in turn help me do better (that whole svadhyaya thing).
In a broad sense I think of non-grasping as being contented with what you have and who you are in life, always striving to be a better you but not someone or something else, with more and bigger and better and everything! On the mat this can manifest in taking care and pleasure in your own practice and where you are on your own path rather than looking at you neighbor, cursing their naturally 'perfect' flexibility/ balance/ butt and straining to the point of turning purple in order to somehow compete with them.
Off the mat aparigraha can be practiced again with contentment with our self and our lives as well as with more potentially obvious ways of practicing moderation (brahmacharya) in our consumer culture. The lather that people are worked into each time a new and better version of something is released could be an example of this (no judgment here just for the record).
Lately for me it is coming up in a way that relates to many of the other yamas and niyamas but today just sat best in the lap of aparigraha. I have been living with two injuries of late, one I acquired from kettle bells and I originally thought was a strained groin muscle but could potentially be my psoas having a spastic hissy-fit, the other is back spasms.
The groin thing has been going on for months, the back just went into spasms about two weeks ago and is actually healing quite well thanks to the clinic near my house, muscle relaxers, pain killers and Georgia Power for supporting my heating pad for two weeks straight. The funny thing is that when they both happened I allowed myself a break to heal, abouuuuut three days in each case after which I began to maniacally stretch and 'work-it' in an attempt to rehabilitate myself. The fact that I am in pain when I lift my left leg probably speaks to how well that is working. I couldn't let go (read can't let go, won't let go.... want to let go?) I want so badly to feel normal and get better that I am pushing and pushing and in turn perhaps making things worse. It amazes me how often this happens in life, continuing down a hurtful path for days, months, years, decades before finally looking up from my feet and saying "whoa, how did I get here? Time for a detour."
It does feel like grasping, grasping at straws...I will try to stop before I grasp at the straw that breaks the camels back... too much mixing of sayings here maybe? Probably.
At any rate, here's to settling down, letting myself and my muscles heal and not trying to be something I am not right now- in perfect physical shape with a left leg that will outwardly rotate.
Aparigraha-
a-p-a-r-i-g-r-a-h-a
Aparigraha.
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