Seeing the Good in Others

Those first few yoga classes…

When I started to take yoga classes over 30 years ago, I was impressed with how I felt physically after each class. I felt good. It was one of the first things I noticed about doing yoga. It kept me coming back to class week after week. I wanted more of this sense of feeling good.

It wasn’t too long before I noticed that I wasn’t only feeling good physically, I was feeling good mentally as well. I was thinking more compassionately about myself and others. My teacher at that time not only taught me how to move safely in and out of poses, but she also taught the guiding principles of yoga with one of these being compassion.

When we practice compassion on our mats, we start to extend it to those around us. It’s all about cutting ourselves and others some slack. It’s about beginning to see the good in situations and more importantly in ourselves and others.

Letting Go of Judgment Cultivates Compassion

Yoga also teaches us to let go of judgment and criticism. When we practice our yoga, we learn to accept our bodies and our abilities without judgment. We learn to be kind to ourselves when we find that we are struggling to balance in tree pose or that our minds are wandering all over the place instead of maintaining a sense of focus as we meditate. I hear the voice of my first yoga teacher in my head saying, “It’s ok. You’re only human but let’s see if we can pinpoint why we can’t focus or balance today and let’s celebrate that we are on our mats and doing the best we can.”

Truly Seeing the Good

In a world that is struggling, this idea of seeing the good in the world is more important than ever. It is easy to see and focus on the negative. It is quite obvious most days. In particular, I am thinking of that lady in the grocery store who can’t see to control her child, the neighbor in the apartment next door who blares her TV in the wee hours of the morning, or the boss who seems to play favorites. Our brains like to question and judge. But to see beyond behaviors, words, and practices for the possible reasons why people do the things they do takes a strength that yoga can help us cultivate. Yoga, through the cultivation of compassion, reminds us to keep looking until we see the good. It’s there…keep looking.

 Be well dear Yogis and don't forget that your capacity for compassion is great.

Namaste-