Addicted to Spending? Try the Yogic Way of Greedless-ness

The cover headline of AM New York newspaper reads today, “Need for Greed”. The article that follows discusses about the bonuses given to AIG executives, Citigroup’s multimillion office renovations, and how greed plays itself out in these big companies, for these big people. rnBut what about us? Greed is not reserved for the very rich. It doesn’t come only with billion dollar bail-out plans. Greed happens to us as well, perhaps on a smaller, but still very real and painful level. rnIn yoga terminology, greed is called Parigraha. Parigraha means taking more than you need and coveting what you do not have. Parigraha comes about when we feel incomplete in ourselves and think we need outside stuff to make us whole. So we shop. We buy coffee because we need energy, we buy chocolate because we need sweetness, we buy high heels because we want to be sexy, big houses because we want to expand. What if we realized that we are already energetic, sweet, sexy, and expansive beings without all that stuff? We could end up with a lot more time, less cavities, and a different sort of fullness. rnAparigraha translates as greedless-ness. It is the last of the 5 Yamas, first recorded by the sage Patanjali thousands of years ago. The Yamas, or disciplines, are the foundation for travelling the Yogic pathway to freedom. To practice Aparigraha is to give to yourself freedom from the tyranny of stuff, freedom from your wallet, and freedom from the perception that the acquisition of wealth and its outcomes are what makes us worthwhile beings. rnThe fact that there is such a baseline right now of greed, of mega-consumption, means that we are feeling worse than empty; we have become like vacuums. The problem with trying to fill a vacuum with physical stuff is that it doesn’t work, there is always more space. rnTo practice Aparigraha, (a perfect practice for these cash-strapped times!), try for one day not to shop. For that one day, when you feel the urge to buy candy, to buy another cup of coffee, to buy another pair of shoes, try saying to yourself, “I have everything I need to be a complete person, and anything else is unnecessary”. rnI’ve tried practicing Aparigraha and it’s not easy! Not buying can result in a very interesting state of mind. rnFeelings of emptiness, confusion are possible; you might crave whatever you aren’t buying more than you ever thought you could. You might even find that you miss the connection with the person behind the counter and the transaction itself - in that case, go on in and say hello! rnOn the flip side, what you gain is the knowledge that you don’t really need all that stuff, and not needing, not wanting, not being attached is sweeter and more filling than anything on a shelf. rnBest of luck to you!rnEva www.livingroomyoga.com