I came across a Blog by Catherine Ghosh & Braja Sorensen that inspired me take a deeper look into the difference between passive aggression & Non Violence (Ahimsa). It also helped me to become present to situations where passive aggression is posing as ‘ahimsa’ (Non Violence) in my own behaviour and that of others.

It looks at difficult decisions we are all faced with at some stage such as knowing when  “go to battle” and when “to let it go”. (The lyrics of the song The Gambler spring to mind here) – know when to fold em, know when to walk away……..)

Sometimes it is worth going to battle and speaking up as opposed to falling into the trap of being silenced out of fear that we will be seen as “non yogic” or at risk of it being revealed that heaven forbid we have issues to work on.

For sure there are times when having a teacher point out our issues is useful and necessary for us to grow (it generally has a feeling of expansion) However in other scenarios yogic principles can be used to ‘shut you up’ (generally has a feeling of contraction or I am damned if I do , damned if I don’t)

There is a section in this blog that is a must read for anyone who has ever said, heard, thought this  about themselves or others and the phrase is:

“That wasn’t very yogic of them was it” – its pretty interesting to simply pause and look at how this phrase can bind us and others ……. consider it.

“Before we can start helping ourselves, we need to stop hurting ourselves. Yoga really begins when acting in hurtful ways stops”.

If you are interested in self enquiry and developing a deeper understanding of the yogic principle of ‘Ahimsa’ Non Violence I highly recommend reading any of the books written by Swami Shankaranada (www.shivayoga.org) and also having a read of the blog written by

 Catherine Ghosh & Braja Sorensen (click here)

Namaste and have a great day :)Tammy