Karma and Relationships – 'tis the season to socialize

Relationships are the glue that holds us together. What would the world be without partners, family, friends, and, of course, yoga students? We learn, we grow, and we thrive based upon our relationships. Karma reminds us that we chose to come to earth as human beings. We cannot escape this human form, these feelings, our personal characteristics, our history, and our karma. Let’s take a moment and ground ourselves. Connect with your sit bones and the mat. And take a deep breath. When it comes to our relationships, we must be grounded and balanced while staying open and nonjudgmental. Without relationships, we are simply a form floating about in space. It is our relationships with the earth and with other humans that allow us to work through our karma and thus complete our earthly mission. Karma Yoga teaches that to do this, we must build a sacred vessel. This vessel has three parts: openness, trustworthiness, and commitment; otherwise, our relationships cannot survive. Let’s work on building this sacred vessel. END: Our relationships teach us how to love, how to be a friend, a coworker, and a family member. Without them, life would be an empty space. We are here to work through our karma, and a part of working through our karma is to interact with others. How we interact determines how we live. For example, if we are angry, then all our experiences will be filled with anger. But if we take the time to build the sacred vessel of healthy relationships, openness, trust, and commitment, we will find that our lives become filled with experiences that teach us how to learn, grow, and love. Be the sacred vessel – be open, be trustworthy, and commit to the work it takes to have healthy and meaningful relationships. They are the glue that keeps us connected! EGO: Flip your hand up and extend out the index finger. Take a deep breath. The truth is, we are all a little self-centered and spend energy trying to control one another so that we can get what we want. It is the ego that wants to control. Pull your finger in and place your thumb on top. Take a deep breath and surrender to your soul. When we surrender the ego to the soul, we create the sacred vessel both within ourselves and within all our relationships. We build a sense of openness, trust, and commitment. We learn to let go of our attachments, biases, and prejudices and embrace our relationships as something sacred to be valued and loved above all else. For without them, life would be empty and meaningless. Namaste~ may you walk the path of life with health, happiness, and peace. Doctor Lynn