As humans of this planet and as personalities of an eternal soul, we may have some unprocessed samskaras.
In yoga philosophy, a samskara is an impression in the subconscious mind imprinted as a memory either at a very early age or carried through from a past life.
The way it was explained to me is thinking of it like one of those Tempurpedic beds. As you press your palm down on the mattress it leaves an impression.
The longer you press or the harder you press, the longer the figure of your palm stays.
Thinking of it that way in your subconscious mind: the deeper or harder an experience was, the more embedded it is in your subconscious mind.
Samskaras can either be positive or negative. Usually, the unprocessed ones are the negative ones which lead to how we subconsciously react or get triggered.
Everyone’s impressions and triggers are different.
Discovering my own samskaras has opened up my eyes to different emotions. I’ve held on to anger, resentment, anxiety, frustration, sadness, depression, confusion and so forth. These emotions have disconnected me from living from my heart, from speaking my truth.
The process of discovering these samskaras is whole other practice, similar to how we discover new poses in the physical aspect of Yoga or Asana practice.
The following is a simple guide or certain steps that help me when I feel triggered or when I notice I feel less connected to my heart. I hope you find one or two helpful. Message me or leave a comment below on any others that you do on a daily basis!!
Abhyasa—“practice, effort, and vigilance of awareness.”: And if you’re interested in exploring these topics such as your own samskaras while also including your yoga and meditation check out mindful coaching with me.
How to Live more from Your Heart:
- Create a special morning ritual. I love tea, so my morning ‘happy ritual’ is finding some moments of silence with my tea. I usually don’t have a ton of time in the morning anymore since I’m out the door pretty early to teach but even if just 5 minutes with my tea and reminding myself that I love tea.
- Choose some words of affirmation. It may feel cheesy but no one has to know what your words of affirmation are. Even something as simple as “I see you. I will nurture you” is so powerful when you are feeling down.
- Nurture yourself, the way you nurture a child. Somewhat similar to number 2, sometimes we forget to be nice to ourselves or we simply ignore ourselves. When you see a little kid get hurt or have their feelings hurt we tend to comfort them, give them a big hug and say things like “Aww, that must be really tough that no one wants to color with you.” or whatever the scenario! Haha If you’re having a shitty week or whatever your scenario is, don’t ignore those feelings! Acknowledge them and envision how you would nurture a little kid at that moment. Would you hug them? Would you give them a comforting talk? It’s up to you! Nurture the little kid inside of you.
- Write it down. You don’t need a journal or a fancy pen. I jot stuff down in the Notes section of my phone, in draft emails, on a post-it, literally anywhere. My mind is always spinning with what I need to do, ruminating on a conversation I should have or what I should’ve said, daydreaming, confused, and simply uncentered. When all that starts to add up, I notice I’m not listening to my true Self anymore. I’m not connected. My to-do list is actually disconnecting me. My preferred method is a pen and paper but that’s not always available. Get creative on how you write stuff down and become vigilant of your thoughts and emotions.
