1. Anything is possible. (Law of Pure Potential)
Have you ever told yourself any of the following? I’m not good enough, flexible enough, loveable enough, talented enough, young enough, been doing it enough? Enough is enough. Time to check out the first of Deepak’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success. This one is all about exploring our pure potential, which, by the way is infinite. If you’re eyes are rolling right now, I get it. It’s much easier to think we’re less than what we are capable of. We’re all carrying around layers of conditioned beliefs about who and what we are, and reinforcing those beliefs until we’re deep in a groove of repetition. So, here’s my ‘Aha’ moment number one. ‘Anything is possible’. We are part of the source of intelligence that runs in every living thing, limited only by what we believe. We can be, do, have whatever we want – and that includes a yoga certification.
2. What we give, we get back. (Law of Giving and Receiving)
Deepak teaches that the key to getting what we want, whether that’s money, love, knowledge, friendship, is to give it. Everything is an exchange of energy.
Which made me question: “What do I want out of all this studying and asana practice?”
Rewind to an intention I set pre-teacher training, which reads:
“To find happiness and fulfilment in my life and share that experience with others so that they can find happiness themselves.”
Hang on a minute… Let’s turn this intention around.
“To help others find happiness so that I can use that experience to find happiness and fulfilment in my life. “
‘Aha’. Come from a place of service and let the giving and receiving commence.
3. When you make a choice you change your future. (Law of Karma)
Take a minute to bring yourself into the here and now. Where are you? What are you doing? What are the sounds you are hearing? How does your body feel? ‘Aha’ moment number three. You and me are here right now, doing exactly what we are doing, thinking exactly what we’re thinking, feeling exactly how we’re feeling because of a choice we made in the past. Don’t judge, (see law number one). You might not be exactly where you’d like to be. But the exciting thing about accepting this law is we all get to choose what’s next. We make the choices for our health, our wealth, and our happiness. This really appeals to the control freak in me, but with it also comes responsibility. There’s no passing the buck here. Life is what you make it. Make your choices good ones.
4. Less is sometimes more. (The Law of Least Effort)
As a product of the 80’s, (a time of shoulder pads and power suits), I grew up believing that achieving success was about sharpening my elbows and fighting my way to the top. That worked, to some extent, but at a cost to my health and happiness. ‘Aha’ moment number four. I can say goodbye to no pain, no gain mentality. Life does not have to be a struggle. I can stop swimming against the tide and go with the flow. And so what if I can’t stand on my head – that’s not what yoga’s about. I simply have to honour my body and listen to the intelligence that comes from within. And, in the words of our Master Educator, Claire Diab: “If it doesn’t feel good, don’t do it.”
5. When things don’t appear to go your way there’s a reason (Law of Intention and Desires)
Up until a couple of years ago my life was mapped out. So when that plan went up in flames somewhat, it was hard to see that it could be the start of something amazing. But it was. It took me down the Chopra University Teacher Training Path and those around me will all tell you I’m much happier and healthier for it. Looking back, I realise that life was actually giving me what I desired – space to walk a different road. I just hadn’t appreciated it at the time. So it’s great to have intentions, and an idea of how you think you’d like things to work out, but be careful not to get too attached to that or you might miss out on something even better. Which leads us nicely on to my ‘Aha’ moment number 6.
6.You don’t have to be perfect. (The Law of Detachment).
I actually had this ‘Aha’ moment after Perfect Health certification week. But boy, I was grateful for learning the lesson by the time Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga testing came around. Why? Because giving myself freedom to be me, i.e. not perfect, made the whole week so much more enjoyable and effortless (see ‘Aha’ moment four). I’d done the bookwork, the practice teaching hours were in the bag, and the knowledge was within me. All that was needed was to embrace the uncertainty of how that would show up on the mat during testing. As soon as I detached it flowed just as it should. And it wasn’t perfect, but that was ok.
7. No two yoga teachers are the same. (Law of Dharma) Purpose in Life.
So I don’t look like I’ve just walked out of the pages of Yoga Journal. Does that bother me? Honestly, yes. I’m a woman with body image issues. That kind of conditioning takes some undoing. But does that mean I can’t teach yoga or that sharing this knowledge is not my purpose? ‘Aha’ moment number seven. Absolutely not. At the Chopra Centre we are blessed to have many great teachers all beautifully expressing their dharma in their own unique way. None of them are the same or are teaching the same. Who would want them to? So I will throw myself into the yoga pick and mix and even if I’m not to everyone’s taste, I could be someone’s favourite flavour.
