Svadhyaya - The study of oneself
Svadhyaya is the conscious and considered study of oneself. This means that swadhyaya could be any activity that enhances a self-reflective consciousness. Each person will be attracted to an activity that best allows them to discover their true self: writing, gardening, playing an instrument, volunteer work, meditation. Yoga can be the activity used as an opportunity for studying yourself - your habitual thoughts, patterns and behaviours. The actual form of the practice is of no consequence as the underlying premise is there must be an intention to truly understand yourself. Another important aspect is the commitment to stay with the activity and the exploration of self through thick and thin. Often it is when life gets really bumpy and rough that staying with yourself provides enormous opportunities for you to learn.
Self study uncovers both strengths and weaknesses in yourself and it is through the process of self-study that you come face to face with your negative habits, addictions and patterns that are holding you back from reaching your potential. What you do with your learning is up to you and from experience it is one thing to recognise a habit that is holding you back but can be quite a hard process to change. Giving yourself a hard time about your weaknesses or trying to hide from them, ignore or only focus on your strengths is not the best way to approach your limitations. Everyone has them and they can be used to make yourself whole.
For me watching my thoughts when gardening allows the thoughts to flow and I can observe them. My thoughts can be challenging especially when I recognise patterns of anger, resentment and other undesirable or non supportive thoughts and ways of being. My question to myself is can I sit or be with these feelings, emotions and acknowledge there existence without being disappointed with myself. Thoughts are natural and you have over 50,000 a day so with that many thoughts passing through your mind it would seem only natural that you might get caught up in some and go off on a journey. Compassion and kindness are really important in working with self as the self can be confused and resistant to shifting self-destructive habits. The help of a mentor, guru or teacher can help you to see yourself clearly: that is how you really are and redirect yourself. You can learn to acknowledge your shadow side because once you become aware of them you have the tools within your heart to heal yourself and become a whole person.
Namaste,
Margot
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