My student reminded me the other day that I once, as she put it, “went off” in teacher training on the concept of taking action, or in sanskrit, “Kriya Shakti”. Yeah, I tend to go off on things!
Kriya shakti or action, asks the question: Are you practicing? Are you doing something daily to change the circumstances you’re not as happy with in your life? And are you taking action toward the direction you’d like to go?
For example, if you have a tweaked shoulder, are you doing something daily to nurture it?
It could be as simple as rubbing arnica gel or bio freeze cream into the sore spot. It could be taking turmeric supplements for inflammation. Or actually doing the yoga practice or exercises given to you by your teacher or PT consistently instead of letting the piece of paper they gave you get buried in a pile!
When you take action, you no longer a victim of your circumstances and instead are empowered to shift your circumstances toward more favorable outcomes.
Too often we believe that things are “happening to us” that are beyond our control when in fact devoting ourselves to a different outcome is as simple as taking measures to change, every day.
Taking action goes beyond just the physical - we could be taking any number of empowering actions toward our well being such as:
- Saving money consistently for our education, a down payment on a house, or retirement.
- Organizing and decluttering our home or office on a regular basis.
- Cooking meals in advance on Sundays so we are sure to eat well throughout the week.
- Having a standing appointment with a trainer to do strength training and functional fitness to support our yoga practice.
- Committing to a regular yoga class each week.
The next time you catch yourself wallowing, write down five things you can do right now and in the days/weeks/months to come that would help deliver the result you’re hoping for!
Leave a comment below and let us know how you've gone from victim to victor when you've taken action in the past!