Welcome Radhika Vachani to the Whole Life Yoga blog today. Those of you who’ve taken yoga teacher training with me know how powerful The Yoga Sutras are. They help you find stability in an inherently unstable world. Radhika shares how in an excerpt from her new book below!

By Radhika Vachani

Excerpt from Just Breathe: The Most Powerful Tool for Personal Transformation and Happiness

How many of us spend our entire lives trying to avoid change because we fear the uncertainty, pain and difficulty involved? We might hope that our challenges will simply disappear. To cope, some might resort to drugs and alcohol, overeating, TV, social media or other distractions. While others put up emotional walls, live with insecurities and bitterness, or in a fantasy world embedded in memories, or dream of a more hopeful future.

When we do not confront problems, and make the necessary changes to enable growth, we risk perpetuating the issues. Over time this can cause our energy to stagnate and make us feel dull and listless, as it accumulates through repetitive, restrictive behaviors and thought patterns, such as fear, anger, doubt, blame, insecurity, disappointment and jealousy. Stagnant energy is decaying energy, which then becomes a far greater challenge to overcome than the original issue itself, and can lead to mental, physical, emotional and spiritual deterioration. Confronting the challenge and allowing change to occur naturally restores our vitality and releases all that is not supportive of us—be it our thoughts, emotions, actions or experiences.

Life encompasses an amazing diversity of experiences— happiness and pain, hope and despair, confidence and insecurity; and a variety of sights, sounds, tastes, thoughts and feelings. These are neither good nor bad but simply represent a journey that propels our human evolution and spiritual growth. It is overcoming our challenges that gives life meaning, as our obstacles then become opportunities for growth. Challenges bridge the gap between success and failure, mediocrity and excellence, shallowness and depth. Once we accept this great truth, we can learn to approach life with a fresh, broader perspective.

For thousands of years the Yoga Sutras have taught us that life is filled with trials and tribulations, and that nothing ever remains the same; that the nature of the external world is challenging, impermanent and uncertain. Sometimes life is calm and peaceful, but it can also be a rocky ride. In spite of this, the mind keeps seeking permanence, happiness and certainty from this very environment. Once we develop this understanding, the natural question arises: Who are we in context of this complex environment, and how do we find peace, happiness and stability, given the nature of the physical world?

The answer lies in our relationship with our environment, our perception of it and how we maneuver within it. Only by taking the first step—fully accepting the dichotomy of the world—will we be able to change the experiences we have with it.

Our physical world represents a stormy ocean. We are ships on these choppy waters, trying to seek calm. To be able to anchor and stabilize, the ship must return to harbor, and so the Yoga Sutras help us to move inwards to the discovery of ourselves and our true nature, and to the only place where we can experience any calm.

When we are willing to go on a journey within and to try something new, we come into our own power and access the consciousness within. We no longer need to rely on the outside world for fulfilment, as we do when living an unexamined and mediocre life.

Living life is an art. It involves techniques that we must learn and master, as we would any other skill. When we lack the essential knowledge to thrive, we become absorbed in fear-based conditioning, such as stress, anxiety, doubt and insecurity.

It is only when we truly know ourselves, free from a cluttered mind and fluctuating emotions, that we are able to see life for what it is, with new-born freshness. We then develop the capability to solve all our problems, to stand in our truth and to evolve into the best version of ourselves. But first we must develop resilience, strength and clarity so that we can live life fully, despite trying circumstances.

RADHIKA VACHANI is the author of Just Breathe: The Most Powerful Tool for Personal Transformation and Happiness. She is also a motivational speaker, yoga and holistic wellness expert, and the Founder of Yogacara Healing Arts in Mumbai, India (www.yogacara.in). Radhika also runs life-transforming retreats all over the world, in the Himalayas, Ladakh and at her Retreat Center outside of Mumbai in Alibaug. To learn more, visit www.yogacara.in  or connect with Radhika at radhika.vachani@yogacara.in and on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.