Satya means truthfulness. It is part of Yama, the first limp of Yoga
In my practice I am constantly trying to be true with my body. I failed to be true for several months last year, and now I am dealing with the consequences in my practice and my life in general. This makes me extremely conscious of the risks of a careless or audacious practice.
I am now very keen to explain and stress to other yoga practitioners to care of their body, listen to it, be true with its potentials and uniqueness, but also its needs. Even when I’m in a position to provide cues to adjust an asana alignment, I have to consider the possible physical limitations of the person, and first of all I have to remind myself that the discovering of each Asana is a path, not necessarily purely physical.. mostly not physical. You should not force anybody in a place where they are not, or not yet comfortable.
The principle of Satya is also playing a big role, not only in my asana practice. Avoiding saying my opinion is another way to be considerate. It may be the truth, but it is not always very useful said it aloud.
This concept is very appealing, especially for someone like me coming from a culture were politeness took the place of the truth in so many ways, while silence could be fairer. And at the same time, the unpleasant truth is sometimes necessary to move forward, also said to yourself. My current challenge is being focused and find where self deception and my real self are hidden (or invisible in plain sight), in order to move forward.
At the same time truth is such a elusive concept, our reality is constantly changing because we are changing, perspectives are multiples and generalization is very hard. In the Yoga Sutras it’s said to base your truth on facts, that is brilliant.. but considering that what is a fact is not so obvious.. even in some corner of the Science. I’m currently pondering the concept.
In the commentary of Yoga Sutras from Sri Swami Satchidananda, it’s explained that
Ahimsa and Satya are the states of mind and actions that bring peace, serenity and truth inside us and around us, if practiced long enough.
This idea is so attractive, I heard people being in presence of someone special and actually feeling this peace and truth. I would like to experience this, and I also would like to live this experience as my own. This is definitely compelling me to pursue this path.
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