The void between inaction and action.
Is there a gap between what you know and how you are showing up in life?
What life lessons do you feel prone to learning over and over again?
We can all fall into this void of misalignment around what we know is right for us and how we are showing up. Some days it’s conscious, and other days it takes us completely by surprise. It might be a birthday celebration or a superhuman energy around an exciting project. After a few days of leftover cake or a few nights of burning the midnight oil, you are left feeling less than great and maybe even sick. You know that a piece of cake at a party is one thing, but to have the leftovers for a few days is a formula for feeling, well, BLAH. Staying up late is no different. It can begin the cascading effects from making other, less healthy choices to stimulate a tired system.
You probably know what I’m talking about here. You know what is needed to take care of yourself, but you ignore the signs that come from your body, your mind, or your heart and make alternate choices based on external factors (i.e., there’s cake, so I should eat it, or I’m pumped about this project and finally have some time, so I’m going to rally).
The thing is, right now you might be able to get away with it. I know from experience that what I could “get away with” even five short years ago is different now. My body doesn’t like to stay up late. It takes days to recover from repetitive disregard to what I know is best for me. The best part is I don’t give myself a hard time about it on some mental level because when I make those choices, I make them consciously.
For example, I recently launched a project I’d been working on for over four months. I had nights when I really wanted to stay up late and pull an all-nighter. I KNEW this wasn’t a good idea, but a few days I stayed up way past my body’s signs of fatigue. Believe me when I say that I felt it the next day. Plus, I then felt the need to compensate for being tired, so I drank more caffeine. A few cycles like this resulted in a cold. I knew better than to fall into this behavior pattern.
Do you ever hear yourself say, “I know better” or “I knew better?”
Pay attention when you do. There is something there for you.
This is the lesson of prajnaparadha.
In Ayurveda, there is a principle around living in your knowing or living in your learning. It’s about real-time application of what you know to be true, accurate, or best for you. Maybe it’s for the health of your body, your mind, your business, or your relationship. The principle can be applied in all areas of our life.
According to Dr. Robert Svaboda, author of Ayurveda for Women: A Guide to Vitality and Health:
prajnaparadha – literally, “an offense against wisdom” – happens whenever one part of you insists on an action that is detrimental to the rest of you. It happens when you know deep inside that something is not right for your body-mind-spirit, but you obstinately go ahead and do it anyway, ignoring Nature’s warnings.
Sickness, overwhelming stress and physical pain are nature’s tap on the shoulder, an invitation for us to realign. Our bodies act as nature’s messengers, giving us signs all the time — that it’s time for bed, time to take a break, or time to stop eating but we don’t always listen. The result is indigestion, heartburn, insomnia, lethargy, etc. When we ignore what we know or what our body is communicating to us, we suffer. This kind of suffering is optional. Whether or not we suffer is a choice we can make with intention every day.
Throughout the day, start to notice what signs you might be brushing aside. It might be that you should be slowing down, that you’ve had enough to eat, or you might not really need that handful of almonds when you just ate lunch two hours earlier. Start to take note. The simple act of bringing more awareness will shine the light on the areas where you need to realign and reorient. When we align what we know with our daily habits, we experience freedom and ease.
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Rachel Peters is a yoga teacher, yoga health coach, lifestyle and habits expert, easeful living advocate, and lover of wild places. She leads others towards Embodying Ease through a yearlong wellness & lifestyle journey to dissolve perfectionism, embody daily habits that promote mental clarity, overall ease, and deeper connection to life on this wild ride of modern living. Learn MORE today!