Explore
"Where am I right now?"
Close your eyes, or let your gaze rest gently. Search your memory for a simple moment of joy, not a great happiness, just a light moment: a laugh, a light, a piece of music, a face.
Let that feeling return into the body, even discreetly. A smile that comes without being forced.
This kind of joy needs no reason. It is already inside you, available, the moment you stop looking for it elsewhere.
Now that you are anchored in joy, let's discover together what, inside you, is asking to be revealed.
The test: Gunas
This test explores the quality of your mind right now: rather clear and settled (Sattva), rather restless and searching (Rajas), or rather heavy and confused (Tamas). Worth repeating at different points in your life.
Understand
"What's really at play?"
Why work on singularity?
What do Ayurveda and yoga tell us about our identity, our place, our singularity? In Ayurveda, each of us is an individual, and in the way we manifest, with everything we have been given, we are so unique that we need to become aware that we differ from others. In order to take care of ourselves, we must first recognize ourselves.
How does Ayurveda propose to clarify and reveal this singularity?
There are first the doshas, which let us clarify our strengths, our talents, our abilities, but also our vulnerabilities, which are also ways of opening our heart. Recognizing our own specificity also means recognizing the difference in others, and learning to appreciate their own strengths in turn.
There are then the gunas, the states of mind: how to develop states that let us be clear, patient, open, loving, and from there, develop the behaviors that make us happy.
And there is finally the path of Dharma, Artha, and Karma (my place, what drives me, how I live from it), which helps clarify our bearings: what is our place, what is our identity in this life, but also what drives us, what we are passionate about, what gives us energy. Recognizing what, quietly, pulls us away from that is also part of the path, see the Kleshas, and how to build a support structure to sustain us over time.
What, concretely?
This chapter invites us, among other things, to explore our Prakriti, our unique constitution, as well as the gunas and the Dharma-Artha-Karma triad, so as to better name, and honor, what makes each of us a singular being.
Practice
"What can I do right now?"
Kapalabhati
Dynamic breathing: short, active exhales through the nose, belly contracting with each exhale, passive inhale in between. 20 to 30 breaths, never to excess, never in cases of fatigue, high blood pressure, or pregnancy.
The qualities of childhood
When you were a child, what were your recognized qualities, the ones that could sometimes even be annoying, expressed with such enthusiasm and passion? These are often the very same ones that, as an adult, continue to define you, once you dare to look at them without having polished them to please.
To go further
Radiate
"What do I do with this in my life and with others?"