Sutra 1.30: Obstacle #9: Non-steadiness

Yoga Sutra 1.30 presents us with nine different obstacles of the mind on our journey towards samadhi. These obstacles are disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, fatigue, sensory attachment, wrong perspective, non-achievement, and non-steadiness.

Today we are deep diving obstacle #9: non-steadiness or instability.  When we finally reach a level of achievement (obstacle #8), determined by our own standards of course or those of which we are in conscious agreement of, we are unable to maintain it and this will be a perpetual obstacle until whatever achievement or way of being we are desiring to be, becomes absorbed as the realization of the real you. And then, because we are never actually just “finished” there will be another level of peace available and life is the journey of realizing, who you really are, and how much you get to enjoy being who you are and living life on this phenomena that we call planet earth.

Sometimes it feels like what could be compared to as the yo-yo dieter, he/she has figured out how to reach that goal weight for a brief moment in time, yet fails to live life with that weight as his or her constant. To be constant means to be consistent. Yoga is clear from the very beginning, the level of your peace is dependent upon your willingness to practice, participate, and be present for your own life daily. This means that our achievements are required to become our baseline so that we get to have a grand opportunity to experience the massive amount of love and grace and extra ordinaries always available to us.

Yoga will absolutely welcome you home every single time your yo hits the ground and of course she will draw you right back up to yo best self. Yet, without your commitment to staying there, yo ass will go right back down to the depths of yo despair. This is the obstacle we are faced with. Do we need to dive down so deep into despair to rise again? Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe we can continue to rise in love, rather than fall in love. Maybe we can rise into being more of who we actually are, every day, every moment, because every second is one second closer to our death. Let us march to deaths door proudly, having more fun and fabulous than every previous step before. You can watch the parade go by, or you can be in it. Won’t you jump in and rejoice today!

Muchas Gracias fabulous human,

Regardless of what we commit to, it is that commitment that is the key. And if it is reading this blog, well then, I am beyond honored. When we gift ourselves the gift of holding ourselves accountable for our own growth, we are well on our way to peace. It often feels like we need to make massive, grandiose changes, but really, it’s the small consistent commitments that add up over time to accumulate our base-line ways of being in this world that will either contribute or contrast our happy.

So much love and blessings to you,

Andrea Dawn