No Mirrors, Less Judgement

Understanding Prakritti can help us deal with change.

 Just imagine going through one whole day without seeing yourself in a mirror. How much more confident would you be? No added pressure, no worries about how you looked and no reminders of how quickly life is passing by. According to yogic philosophy we suffer because we cling to things that are constantly changing. Most everything in life falls into Prakritti translated to that which is always changing. Human beings, nature, our homes, cars, money, etc are all are part of Prakritti.  When we can accept that nothing ever stays the same we can reduce our suffering especially when we wake up and find a new wrinkle on our face. When we can accept that everyday our body is in a different state this may reduce some of the expectations we place on ourselves. Learning to accept the things we have no control over, accept the things we cannot change may help us overcome some of the fears that come along with change.  We won’t be surprised when the car breaks down or the house needs repairs or we find a new wrinkle if we remind ourselves that we’re all part of that which is always changing. 

On many occasions students have asked why there aren’t mirrors in most traditional yoga studios. Yoga is about creating a sacred space of moving more from the external toward developing a relationship with the internal place of non-judgment.  Mirrors take away a piece of that inner experience, I’ve lived this first hand during my years as a dancer.  When you’re in front of a mirror for long periods of time it’s very easy to slip into all sorts of self-judgment. You begin to compare yourself to everyone else in the room and very quickly develop insecurities that may not have been there before.  You become fixated on all the physical aspects of yourself that you don’t like or wish you could change which can lead to many negative and even harmful thoughts. 

Yoga is a 5,000-year-old practice designed to calm the fluctuating thoughts of the mind and bring inner peace, acceptance, compassion and healing to the practitioner. By not having mirrors in the asana room the individual is able to find alignment from an organic place rather than using their eyes to make adjustments and self-judge.  With the guided instruction from a knowledgeable teacher the student is able to deepen their practice from a place of non-judgment and non-competitiveness and move into a place of pure acceptance and eventually a deep sense of inner peace.  In my opinion this is one of the most priceless gifts you receive from a yoga practice, learning to accept our body for what it looks like and feels like on each given day can be life changing. Understanding Prakritti can help us deal with these changes and as a result this can reduce some of our suffering that naturally come with change.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.  Please leave any comments or questions below.

Namaste’ Sweet People

Xoxo Dani