Aalasya (Laziness): The 5th Obstacle to Spiritual Practice
This post, on Aalasya (laziness), is the fifth of a 9-part series on the obstacles (antarayas) to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras:
To Do More, You Need to “Be” More
In order to do more in your life, you need to fill yourself abundantly by “being” more. Here’s how.
Most of my adult life, I have had a compulsion to do. It’s this nagging feeling that I’m not doing enough and need to keep doing more. Then I tend to overcommit myself, get overwhelmed, and have to clear the plate again to find my balance.
I’ve worked on the roots of this issue for some time. I have embraced doing less and enjoy that! My sense of self is less defined by doing, and more by who I truly am.
But what about when I actually want to do more – not just the compulsive fear of not being enough driving me, but a deep inspiration and desire to share more with the world? How do I make sure I don’t overcommit and spin myself into that excessively-busy, overscheduled and burned out experience?
Many of us complain about feeling drained, as if all our energy empties out from our day to day responsibilities and encounters. To feel more vibrant and sustainable energy, it’s helpful to distinguish between the water-based concepts of Drain and Flow.