Greetings All ~
I finally decided to weed my herb garden. I had been procrastinating because I didn't really like weeding. What a lesson this experience provided.
I let the weeds go too long. As I was working, I realized this maintenance was in alignment with basic self-care. Just to be clear, I consider my yoga practice, particularly meditation, a vital part of self-care.
Last year I had carefully turned and amended the soil. The dill was amazing and the other herbs thrived as well. This year I took a shortcut and didn't bother with all that. I also found excuses not to weed. I kept telling myself it was hot—that I'd get to bed early, rise early and get out there and clean up the garden. Instead, I stayed up late watching bad TV and slept in too late to take advantage of the cool mornings. Then my back kicked up a bit, keeping me from the task.
The result? The dill was struggling with less than nutritious soil. The weeds were sucking up water meant for the preferred plant. The dill was choked, and when I finally got to weeding, I was also pulling out the dill's roots which had become intertwined with the roots of the weeds.
And then it came to me. This was like letting a good meditation practice go.
I spent years with a strong, daily meditation practice (sadhana). I confess, during this last year, I let it slide. Healthy habits that had been planted and habitually maintained started to be choked out by the weeds of more compulsive ones. The foundation I'd spent so much time and energy laying down was eroding.
In yogic parlance, it's calledshakti pad. It is the arrogance of Ego: "I've done enough. Why bother? I know all I need to know." Like weeds in a garden, these excuses start small and rapidly take over. It's expotential. Before you know it, all that investment of practice is overgrown.Shakti padis a part of spiritual development that grows when untended. But it can be moved through when addressed.
What is the path through? It's discipline—manifested as commitment. My teacher, Gurmukh Kaur, defined discipline as "Being a disciple of Self." That's self-care, and it startsbeforeyou sit down to meditate. The commitment of weeding my garden starts with actually getting to bed early, not just thinking about it. Then when unforeseen circumstances like a bad back arise, prior maintenance allows for missing a day or two of pulling weeds.
It doesn't take long to return either, as the dill showed me. The next day it was standing taller and had already blossomed! And now, I like weeding.
We all backslide. Let that go. Start again. And again, if you have to. Just a few minutes of daily connection to the Divine is great fertilizer.
Here is a good one! —Pranayam for Purification
Please let me know how you're doing.
I learn so much from you.
All Good Things,
Vicky Jap Dharam Rose