I am nowhere near perfect.
I drink. I smoke. I own and wear leather. I have Emu (sheepskin) boots. I enjoy sex.
Well, that's really it. I guess it comes down to the yogic principal of ahimsa. The hardest thing for me is smoking. With yoga being a practice of focusing on your breath, I can't help but feel like a hypocrite when I light up. (Although, I go a little easier on myself, since it's pure tobacco.) It doesn't help when all your friends have been doing it with you for years with no intention of quitting.
Admittedly, this all began before the idea of "yogi" became a bit of an aspiration. I've always had an inner hippie, but due to lack of time and education, that languished. But here I am now. I have the time to become a conscientious consumer. I want to become more eco-friendly and eco-conscientious. I want to consume less. I definitely have a shopping problem. How I plan on fixing that is by only shopping at thrift stores. I love leather, but now, I will try to only buy secondhand. The book, Wear No Evil has made being an eco-conscious fashionista a tangible reality.
I still apply chemicals to my body almost everyday in the form of makeup and perfumes. I have moved on to Simple face wash with simpler, hopefully less toxic (to myself and the environment) ingredients.
I want to eat healthier. Slowly, I have begun -eating raw avocados with seasoning. Grocery shopping more, eating fast food a little less.
The philosophy of Jainism holds a fascination in my heart, but it is so ascetic, it's not really tangible for myself here and now.
Yoga has brightened my life, and in turn has caused me to think about ahimsa more and more. I think just the word non-injury could be a great focus of my practice.
Namaste
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