Seven Elements of Trust – On and Off the Yoga Mat
Given that of the Pillars of Mindfulness is Trust and Non Judgement can be two of the most challenging I thought I would share a very practical list of elements adapted from Brene Browns “Braving The Wilderness” to help as a practical guide that we can apply to our relationships with each other . You may ask what does this have to do with Yoga ? The first limb in the Eight Limbs of Yoga from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are the Yamas (The Yoga of Relationship)
It can be a useful form of contemplation when creating trusting relationships and to give a clear framework to help us find language for and qualities to build within our own character.
Seven Elements of Trust ~ adapted from Brene Browns “Braving The Wilderness”
Boundaries ~ You respect my boundaries and when you are unclear about what is and is not okay you ask. You’re willing to say no.
Reliability ~ Doing what you say you will do. Delivering on commitments, don’t over promise and under deliver
Accountability ~ You own your mistakes, apologise and make amends
Vault ~ Not sharing information that is not yours to share or misuse (Asteya/Ahimsa) i.e. sharing appropriately
Integrity ~ Choose courage over comfort. Choose what is right over what is fun, fast or easy. Practice your values rather than profess them.
Non Judgement ~ We can be open with our needs without fear of judgement
Generosity ~ You extend the most generous interpretation possible to the intentions, words, and actions of others
The above qualities are synergistic with yogic teachings such for example
Ahimsa (Non Harm) – for example considering the harm that judging or being on the receiving end of judgement can do (constant judging of ourselves or others can put us in or keep us in constant fight / flight response, causing the body to produce more stress hormones which can make us sick!)
One tip to help with this to help create new neural pathways in the brain is to give yourself a GENEROSITY CHALLENGE!
For 21 Days (at least) aim to extend the most generous interpretation of each situation you are challenged by – write it out if you have to and see what happens.
ie – If I were to consider the most generous interpretation of this event what would I think and how would I behave from having had generous thoughts ?
Hope this helps!
ps One of my Yoga Teachers (Bryan Kest) use to say : How is your yoga going to get stronger if it doesn’t challenge you?
In all the conversations and sharing of experiences I have had with Teacher Trainees, and other teachers from around the world it is the first two limbs in Yoga that although are challenging , when we put time and effort into them are actually the very things that transform our Yoga Practice (on and off the mat)
When our relationships are feeling better so to does our triangle pose 😉
Namaste
Tammy xox
* TO LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PERSONAL + PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS & TEACHER TRAINING IN MINDFULNESS + YOGA
APPLY NOW FOR OUR MINDFULNESS LEVEL 1 TEACHER TRAINING
APPLY NOW FOR 200 HOUR + 500 HOUR YOGA TEACHER TRAINING
BRYAN KEST TOUR – Don’t miss this great opportunity to feel physically fantastic whilst working on eradicating the habit patterns that cause us stress! This is what we mean by “Power Yoga” – Learn from the Founder of Power Yoga LA. Bryan teaches to sell out classes around the world for more than 35 years.