Yoga Practice and Personal Development

Personal development (personal growth, self-growth or self development ) spans across the different spheres of human life, from social interaction, business and career, physical health, environmental appreciation, to spiritual consciousness.

Personal development is ongoing daily refinement of life competency skills, which add value and quality to one's life. The experience is a realised, happier and balanced person who daily maintains confidence and enthusiasm to tackle a chaotic and ever-changing world.

Personal development is about growing the seed of our inner abilities and potentials. It is about creating a balanced and complete self in harmony with our life purposes, through the optimal use of our talents, our time, and the resources available to us. It is about finding and integrating our real selves.

The different paths of personal development

Some personal development teachers and life coaches focus more on practical matters such as becoming more productive, more confident or more focused on physical life goals and aspirations. Some focus on overcoming fear or psychological blocks and limitations, boosting motivation or forming habits that are conducive to worldly success in the eyes of others. Other teachers aim to actualise the human potential with a more spiritually oriented approach.

The spiritual approach to personal development has a basic premise that we are all spiritual and multidimensional life forms embodied in physical form for a lifetime. The physical incarnation is an opportunity to evolve and perfect ourselves through getting the most out of our experiences.

Motivation

In personal development you find motivation, which is a fundamental criteria for change and success. The right amount of motivation can make you go beyond your physical and mental limits, even when all odds are against you.

Even a simple task, such as making your bed, can turn from a drudgery to an effortless experience, when you have motivation. Motivation supports and promotes all of your endeavours, especially life transformation and pursuit of spiritual awakening. You need it to experience value and life quality. Motivation comes both from within and other people—you need both for success.

Happiness

In personal development you find happiness. This is a state of mind. We all seek happiness no matter what goals we have and in the ways we approach them. It is by far the commonest mental goal shared by all humanity. Happiness is not something that happens by chance or comes and goes on its own. It is experienced with contribution to self and others. It occurs when you achieve your desired goals. Love and joy are the emotions of happiness. You experience it in the reality of your mind.

Life purposes

In personal development you are focused on your life purposes, that embrace your life with value and quality, in line with your talents, abilities and opportunities.

Life feels difficult and unrewarding when we are not aligned with our life purposes. Experiences become sub-optimal at best and impossible at worst. When we are aligned to our life purpose, everything seems to fit so perfectly, smoothly and easily. Life quality seems to come our way in whatever we do. We feel momentum passion and a sense of being in the right place at the right time.

Relationships

In personal development there is recognised value in our relationships. Relationships are undeniable, necessary and the fundamental aspect of our lives. They have an incredible amount of influence on how we define ourselves and how we value the quality of our experiences. When our relationships with others are harmonious and strong, it gives us a healthy foundation to keep balance and achieve success in other areas of our life. The opposite is also true—difficult relationships are forever leading us to disruption and chaos in our overall living.

Life balance

In personal development there is life balance. Without balance there is either nothing, or too much of anything. Without life balance, we can become distracted from our more authentic selves. We become victims to the media which is marketing the hectic, unhealthy, technological lifestyles that constantly drive too many wants and desires.

Maintaining life balance requires daily communication with our inner selves for emotional health, creativity, intuition, guidance, inner peace, and wisdom—to counter the excesses and stresses in our fast-paced lifestyles. Life balance can be obtained through embracing basic ancient practices that developed to promote mental and physical health and wellbeing. The Yoga methods do this.

Come and join myself and three Samyama yoga Teachers—Desie, Sophie & Chey—in a full day workshop to learn and practice your personal development.