I was back in Southend over the weekend for my third weekend of practical teacher training. The months seem to be flying by and its crazy to think that it’s May already!

Thanks to the generosity of those who donated to my GoFundMe campaign, I will be continuing my training in Bulgaria next month – Excited is an understatement!

Tha Bhagavad Gita

This weekend, we were discussing The Bhagavad Gita; a book from the longer Indian epic, The Mahabharata. Some of the class wondered the relevance this story had to our training, as it does not seem to involve any “actual yoga”, but we soon realised that studying this book would teach us the philosophy behind yoga practice in a way that we hadn’t considered before. Among other things, we considered the representation of Karma and Dharma, which even if you don’t believe in, are an important part of yoga philosophy.

Karma

Noun:

• The totality of a person’s actions in any one of the successive states of that person’s existence, thought of as determining the fate of the next stage
• LOOSELY fate; destiny

Karma can be a little difficult to understand. One of my peers told us that she didn’t believe in Karma because bad things can happen to people who live good lives. I suppose this equates to wondering how God exists if he allows suffering to happen to his followers. I’m not sure I know the answer to this, but I guess it just comes down to faith in the end.

Karma, although practised in several religions, doesn’t have to be a religious practise. It can be simply understood by realising that every action has a consequence. I think Karma can be quite a helpful concept to guide us through life more mindfully.

Dharma

Noun:

• Cosmic order or law, including the natural and moral principles that apply to all beings and things
•  Dutiful observance of this law in one’s life; right conduct

Dharma is a concept I am still getting my head around. We discussed it as being like your ‘Life’s Duty’. However, Dharma is fluid and ever-changing; evolving with you as you journey through different stages of your life. My personal understaning of Dharma is: –

‘Acting with purpose and awareness towards your overarching goal or destiny’

This could simply mean a responsibility to take action for your life by following the path towards your destiny. I like the idea that our Dharma can change as we grow and that the path we each follow in search of our destiny can take as many twists as turns as our minds do.