What does it mean to Wanderlust? 🌍

Hello Friends!

”Wanderlust - a strong, innate desire to travel and wander.”

I heard this term from time to time in my life but admittedly am not a "wanderer". Home is where the heart is... One Tuesday afternoon, Geni stopped by the studio, bag and laptop in hand, handing me a very large and well loved book. "Wanderlust: A Modern Yogi's Guide to Discovering Your Best Self". I've never heard of this book before. I was intrigued! She shared that she had this book for years and has always been inspired by it. "We should do a challenge based on this book!" My eyes grew big. Part excitement; Part overwhelm. I had a lot of reading to do. Have you ever read this book?!

If you know Geni, you know how generous she is! She bought me a brand new copy and I dove in. As a practicing student of Yoga, this book is so much fun! It reminds me of when I used to have a subscription to Yoga Journal twenty years ago before it was more ads than content. Wanderlust includes meditation, pranayama, journaling, asana, the Yoga Sutras and more.

The 30 Day Challenge offered in the book is fairly simple. It involves the Yamas and Niyamas from the Yoga Sutras. If you're unfamiliar with the Yamas and Niyamas, just consider them as your code of conduct (Yama) and observances of oneself (Niyama). Now let’s take a gentle dive into the ethical principles of yoga, the timeless guidelines for living with integrity, compassion, and self-discipline:

Yama-

  • Ahimsa: Nonviolence, compassion, kindness

  • Satya: Truthfulness

  • Asteya: Non-stealing

  • Brahmacharya: Right use of physical and mental energy

  • Aparigraha: Non-greed and non-hoarding

Niyama-

  • Saucha: Cleanliness

  • Santosha: Contentment

  • Tapas: Self discipline

  • Svhadyaya: Self study

  • Isvara Pranidhana: Surrender to a higher power of our own unique understanding

For OUR challenge…

  1. Sit with each Yama & Niyama. Explore and examine to decide which speaks to you or stands out to you and commit to focus on the one for 30 days.

  2. Grab a stack of sticky notes and write your chosen Yama and/or Niyama on them. Place your sticky notes around your home in the spots you visit the most. Over the course of the 30 days when you come across the note, pause and reflect.

  3. Journal, draw or whatever to record your experience through the 30 days. Learn something about yourself and grow!

What do you think? Are you up for this challenge?

With gratitude and love,

Jaime and The Yogamour Team

Yogamour Yoga & Healing Arts CenterComment