spiritual yoga lifestyle and personal growth:
what it means to live a yogic lifestyle

Growth requires opening our (current) self up in ways that we don’t control. And ‘openness’ is more accessible from a place of inner stability. When we no longer habitually run from our inner lives, we are more inclined to honour our own needs and inspirations—we are, in other words, more inclined to being ourself and to being okay with ourself. Guided by a personal vision that draws on our innate strengths and inspirations (and not trapped in ego-protection), we are more inclined to fearlessly explore and pursue opportunities to realize our vision; our vision, in other words, becomes more important than our ego, more important than ourselves. In other words, growth is just the result of freeing ourselves from limitations imposed by our habitual self’s desire for recognition or security. The yoga lifestyle is one of continuous growth produced by continuous opening. A yogic lifestyle requires, most basically, no longer being self-obsessed. 

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But this is difficult if we remain trapped in/by our unwanted thoughts and painful emotions. Whether we like it or not, our unwanted thoughts and painful emotions determine so much of our lives, but only because we avoid them. Avoiding our unwanted feelings & thoughts often involves avoiding people and situations that produce these feelings and thoughts, including the very people and situations that are an important part of pursuing our most meaningful projects and a meaningful life.⁣ And as this list of people and situations (that we feel compelled to avoid) grows, life becomes narrower and narrower, and we become more rigid. In other words, by avoiding whatever triggers uncomfortable emotions, we miss opportunities for growth, freedom, and connection with others and ourselves. (And freedom is unavailable to those who remain imprisoned by themselves.) The yoga lifestyle is based on being able to sit with difficult aspects of your inner life. A yogic lifestyle is fearless: fearlessness is just no longer running from our anxieties, our unwanted thoughts, and painful emotions. (And running from—or trying to destroy—our anxieties just means that our anxieties are in control).

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Changing our habitual self requires confronting habits of avoidance and owning up to the thoughts/emotions that we’re inclined to avoid. Focusing our efforts on making our implicit habits more explicit will allow us to see how our flourishing is tied up in the tangled emotions connected to the things we avoid. This is what it means to change your karma. (And this is what a yoga lifestyle is.)

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We have content about the yogic philosophy and about a spiritual approach to the practices of yoga, which are all part of our guide teaching the meaning of spiritual yoga. Videos and articles about a yoga lifestyle (and personal growth) can be found below. This approach is the basis for our private personal growth workshops.