How Yoga and Personal Growth Affects Sustainability

Human beings are wasteful. Be honest. Most people you know, including yourself, hoard a lot of stuff. A large percentage of your beloved stuff is made of toxic materials and is not disposed in an eco-friendly way.

For those choosing to explore the yogic path, there’s no better time than now to transform those old habits into new ones. Believe it or not, your yoga practice is the first step to improving sustainability globally.

What Is Sustainability?

Lets face it, when it comes to humans and their relationship to the environment, we live in a consumer conscious filled reality as a opposed to one that seeks how to replenish and protect our precious resources.

From the street lights, to all the appliances in your home, we consume large amounts of resources to sustain our modern way of life.

Sustainability takes into account how we might live in harmony with our natural environment and protect all of the Earth’s inhabitants from damage and destruction.

It is estimated that we use about 40% more resources every year that what we put back. Sustainability and sustainable business practices are important because they focus on balancing the blurry lines between competing consumer needs and protecting the health of our planet.

Climate Change & Mindlessness

Climate change is a part of a feedback loop consequent to human actions that are disrupting the balance in the climatic system, leading to negative impacts for life on Earth.

The United Nations predicts that by 2100 the global population could reach 10.2 billion which means an increased demand on the planet’s resources.

Our human-induced climate change poses challenges to the Earth’s fragile ecosystem which could lead to water scarcity and threats to food security. Mindlessness is no longer an option when it comes to long-term sustainability.

So how can those walking the yogic path reduce their carbon footprint?

Yoga & Personal Transformation

Believe it or not when we go within and search our inner values then we can personally shift our outdated materialistic values.

Global sustainability starts with you. Observing the eight limbs of Raja Yoga could offer a path.

Ahisma: lets take a non-violent approach towards decreasing environmental degradation.

Satya: take more responsibility for our individual actions towards living a more eco-friendly lifestyle.

Asteya: reduce your consumption by only acquiring what you need.

Brahmacharya: gaining mastery over the self allows you to reduce desires.

Aparigraha: don’t turn a blind eye towards what is happening to our environment. Become responsible citizens of this planet. Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose and recycle.

Shaucha: bring your daily actions into alignment with the universal code of ethics.

Santosha: through personal growth and transformation you’ll realise the beauty of simplicity.

Tapas: live a life that matters by embracing what is essential.

Swadhyaya: develop a life of purpose that serves the global community as a whole and your yogic practice will give you the discipline to sustain it.

Ishwara Pranidhana: accept where you are in this moment and connect to your higher self. Your natural self knows that our connection to nature is key to survival.

Long term sustainability starts with you. We’re all in this together. Let these ideas inspire you to live a more conscious filled way of life.