I started discussing the yamas, and intend to go in the order they were given to me, so SATYA is the practice of  the day.  (Yoga has allowed me to relax into my life, but it has not taken away my need for order.) 

 Satya is our commitment to the truth, telling it and living it.  Just like ahimsa requires non-violence toward ourselves and others, satya insists that we not only speak the truth, but we live it.  OUR truth, not the truth of our friends, family, lovers, butchers, bakers or candle-stick makers.  What is our truth?  When I was first asked this question, I remember thinking long and hard about it.  Who knows the real me?  Do I even know who that is?  We spend so much time being told by different people ( parents, teachers, friends, non-friends) who we are through their eyes that often, we forget to open our own.  And sometimes, we don’t forget…we CHOOSE consciously to avoid the mirror.  These were not questions I answered immediately, or easily, and some days I’m still struggling to know.  But I do know when I am asked a question I can feel the truth in the answer.  I know when I am hesistant that I am not telling MY truth.  I know when my posture changes that I need to consider my actions because they need to be accurate and in line with what I believe. 

 Satya is not about trampling out all the others’ ideas, it is about allowing what is at our core to be what shines.  Living truthfully can cause some pain…it is not easy to do.  Others may not  understand why you decide to say no when you’ve said yes all the other times.  People may not know what to say or do when you embark on a journey that you’ve always desired and finally have enough courage to take.  But the feeling inside of living authentically, truthfully, that will radiate from you  will speak to them in ways that sometimes words cannot…

Choose your truth.  And shine.  Bask in it.  Others will too!