14/05/2026
Have you been doing (or intending) some clearing out of your life? Friendships, editing of habits? You might appreciate this extract from Donna Farhi's recent enews. The newsletter starts with a gorgeous story about various of her sheep. Their characters, personalities and how she has worked with their personalities to enable her to do what I would call 'sheep management things' Some of them have changed over the years, though their underlying nature remains. SO....read on...for the yoga lens ........" We each arrive here with our distinct constitutions, something clearly understood in the sister science of Yoga, Ayurveda and is termed prakruti, the unique essence of who we are. The practice of yoga is not intended to function as a punitive self-improvement program that transforms us into something and someone else. To embark on such a project is to invite self-coercion, harsh judgement, and inevitable disappointment. We might become calmer, less reactive and more grounded through a regular practice of Yoga, but if you started out like Panic Stations (one of her sheep) , no matter how many years you practice you will not become a Lois (another sheep). There will still be the indelible watermark of your constitution and your nature, shadowing and informing who and how you are within yourself and in the world.
In an era where yoga has come to be translated as a hyper-individualistic path galloping towards Self-realization and enlightenment (or a calisthenic workout towards bodily perfection designed to make you stand out in a social media crowd of millions. . .), this viewpoint might seem cynical but rather should be viewed as realistic . . . and also as one of the most compassionate ways that you can be with yourself. After five decades of practice, I have come to believe that yoga does not change who we are, but rather, affords us more choices and options. We can compassionately recognize the strengths and weaknesses of our unique disposition and approach our reactions to each challenge with the foreknowledge of our nature. And in accepting our nature, be more able to adapt our responses in a way that engenders genuine love for ourselves . . . and for the equally quirky and idiosyncratic people in our lives.
When you truly know yourself, which is one of the goals of Yoga, you can choose options and choices that suit your nature. You can choose environments that nourish you and avoid those that don’t. And you can cultivate relationships with others who get you and relinquish those friendships that sap your energy and drain your resources. Whether you are a Lois, Lilly or Penelope, or something in between, it’s possible to develop deep affection for yourself, and deep compassion. And then step on the mat and be who you are."
I loved this - especially the making of choices about what to let go of, or to turn towards. I've a few friends in their 50s and 60s who have decided in the past year to shed people and habits that drain them. Make some physical, mental and emotional space for what nourishes them instead. What about you?? Let me know in the comments.
Photo is from recent retreat in Sri Lanka. If you're interested in how to use the tools of yoga to help make options and choices that suit your true nature - please check https://therapeuticyogaillawarra.com.au and get in touch. General group classes and yoga therapy
