Honesty - Satha

One of the ritzier hotels in Milwaukee called me the other day. It seemed that a gentleman staying with them was interested in a Yoga lesson. The concierge, Mike, left a phone message inquiring as to my rates and if I'd be willing to come to the hotel to teach Yoga.

I called back later that day and got the concierge desk. I asked for Mike. The fellow that answered said that Mike was unavailable and in the middle of a meeting. He, the man that answered the phone, was the only one that could help me.

I explained the situation and immediately Mike "mysteriously" was out of his meeting and on the phone.

Now here's what gets me. Why does lying come so naturally to so many? Have you ever known someone, or perhaps even yourself, that white lies on a consistent basis?

Years ago, I had a friend that lied all the time. They were relatively innocent lies, but lies, none-the-less. As Shakespeare said, "That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." Or in this case, white lie, fib, or exaggeration, is still a lie.

In the Yoga Sutras, Pantanjali lists Satha, truthfulness, as one of the actions a Yogi practices.

First, remember that Yoga is a practice not a set of rules that must never be broken. So, honesty is something to be worked towards in all situations. If you catch yourself fibbing, without judgement notice it and continue to work on the practice of honesty. That is, don't give up!

If chronic lying has been part of your life, then you might find it helpful to sit down and ask why? When I have caught myself in a lie, frequently it's been in an attempt to be more fully accepted. So, in order to work on this I had to work on accepting myself first and release my attempts at trying to please everyone.

Second, through the practice of Hatha Yoga and Meditation, there is a wonderful opportunity to monitor or watch thoughts as they go by. This can easily lead to the ability to watch or monitor actions or words. In my opinion, the Sutras aren't talking about simply "be honest." I see this as a process that Yoga as a whole, such as the Hatha poses, Pranayama breathing, and Meditation all help with. So, one day at a time grow in awareness of when or why you might stretch the truth. Over time, the practice of being truthful will become more natural.



Love Much,

Kris
http://www.totalhealthyoga.com/
http://www.learnyogaonline.blogspot.com/

Today is the first day of the rest of your life!