According to Samkhya life consists of 3 dynamic states or gunas. Rajas is a quality of edginess, characterized by a lack of calm attention and co-ordination, it is when we have a “to-do list” yammering in the back of our minds and are unable to settle down. When imbalanced, it is the energy of attachment, dissatisfaction, grasping and greed. Rajas Activates the fight flight response. Tamas is a state where we are dull, slow on the uptake, we feel heavy and lethargic. When unbalanced, it is expressed as resistance to change, stubbornness, apathy, feeling of being “Stuck”. Tamas represents another aspect of fight flight response, which is the freeze or play dead response. Sattwa is the state we strive to build into our system. In the Sattwic state we have a sense of order and piety, it is an experience of balance and purity where our innermost values of compassion, unity, and social responsibility can be lived into our actions. The practice of synchronizing breath and movement is said to reduce the rajas in our system, the prac- tice of the breathing exercise’s is said to reduce the Tamas in our system. Then there is room for more of the Sattwic quality to root in to our bodies and our minds. The implication of this ancient mode of seeing recognizes that we meet our lives with our whole system: body, mind and soul. And so, why yoga? Because otherwise we can get caught up in a mechanical response to life that fails to express our deepest sense of truth. Yoga provides the “how to” meet our life in a way that integrates our highest values with our world.
Think about your own tendencies in these ways please include some of your history (experiences of training, healing from injuries, ill- nesses, loss of a loved one, philosophical, spiritual or religious interests) as you reflect on what you understand or question about what it means to be besieged by stress, or the lack of stress, and tell me your sense of what it means to be rajasic, tamasic or sattwic. 3 parts to this essay – Childhood years, Teen years and Now!! How have your tendencies changed in each section of your life?
Sample Solution