Aparigraha

This week in yoga, we were concentrating on Aparigraha, one of the yamas that are one of the 8 limbs of yoga.  A yama is a set of moral codes.  This first yama is non-violence.  This one refers to non-hoarding.

What does this have to do with eating or food?  This is a very rich word.  It also refers to only taking what you need.  For instance, when I lived alone I decided that I really didn't need to be living in a 2 bedroom apartment, a single bedroom or even a studio would do just fine.  Taken to an extreme, it can mean to eschew all material possessions.  But we need some material possessions for comfort.  I need a place to sit, a table at which to eat, a bed to sleep in.  They don't need to be grand - having a brand new expensive beautiful dresser doesn't hold my clothes any better than a used one does.  And neither the new nor the old make me a better person.  They are just things and things can be destroyed, taken or lost.

Applying this philosophy to food, though, means that I eat no more than I need to maintain my body.  It means that I don't hoard my food, whether in my cupboards by over buying or in my body by binging. This is where I am putting my meditation today.  What can I release in order to make room for something better?  Today, I release my obsession with food in order to make room for more peace.  I release my greediness when it comes to food.  Today, I will take no more than I need.

This is a difficult thing for me.  I do okay with it when it comes to material possessions.  STUFF doesn't mean a lot to me.  But with food?  That is a completely different story.  I come from a large family of origin.  If we didn't move quickly, we didn't get whatever it was we were trying for.  As a result, we all learned to eat a lot and eat it fast because it would be gone if we didn't.  However, I am no longer a child. If we run out of something, I can buy more.  They will make more.  I don't have to shove it all into my mouth now before I lose out on the chance.  As an adult, I don't need to be governed by my physical desires.  I can be governed by my physical needs, but not my desires.  The two are not the same.

So today I am practicing Aparigraha.  I will take no more than I need.