A firm believer of human connection and the healing power of community, there is more into Navin Sahjpaul than a yoga teacher. A music therapist in training, and an adept writer on mental health, Navin is gifted at an early age to find the meaning of life. He frequently shares with personal examples how spiritual and mental healing can be made possible.
Journey to Unleash the Yogi
I was astounded when I learned about the hard work that is required to become a yogi. After successfully completing the 300-hour yoga teacher training program at Arkaya Yoga, Navin started Yoga coaching.
As Navin explains: Yoga and meditation are tools I use in my everyday life. They are amazing ways to regulate stress, process emotions, connect deeper to my body and sense of self, and heal.
As smooth as it all sounds, it didn’t come easy for Navin. His life is a journey of trauma and pain. But with resilience, he moved forward, and this is what he aims to impart when teaching yoga.
Navin, who proudly associates himself as a mental health advocate, recommends developing a relationship with one’s pain and suffering. Honestly, I was startled to learn it. But he reveals a bitter truth : I have learned that happiness is not a life that is free of suffering, instead it is a life where one fully embraces suffering as an essential ingredient to existence.
And isn’t it what true happiness is all about. So often, we sneak out in a shell hiding from all the painful memories of the past. While the true happiness resides in confronting the pain and suffering, conversing with it and well go ahead, journal it!
This leads to another important dimension of ‘venting’ or catharses from what I understood from Navin’s philosophy. He advises to project the suffering outwards to the external world in something constructive.
The art of compassionate self discipline
Navin’s insight to compassionate self-discipline is a dose of seeking serenity within oneself.
The art of compassionate self-discipline is how to develop a relationship with oneself. It’s ironic that while we want to be compassionate with ourselves, we at times have to be ruthless with ourselves.
Navin highlights the difference between two personality traits, self compassion and self discipline and it’s only by striking a balance we can pave way for calmness in life.
Self compassion is also described as Sense of love and empathy. While Self discipline is Rolling up the sleeve. There is a pain but you get through it.
What Navin revealed was that too much compassion did not let him grow and too much self discipline did no good either as he became disconnected with himself and became too hard on himself.
As Navin interestingly puts it ‘sometimes you need to jump in to cold shower’ and get going. Both are needed to help us heal and grow.
Compassion also helps us understand each other and empathize. Self discipline is good for you. Good for your health. When you exercise and are outdoors, you are engaged. You feel better as endorphins are released. It’s a great way to strengthen your body too.
However, Too much compassion leads to laziness and too much self discipline leads to ruthlessness and negative talk.
The solution lies in finding the balance between these two: self compassion and self discipline also known as the art of compassionate self discipline. Being compassionate with yourself is actually being truthful with yourself.
Get Connected!
Do watch and subscribe to Navin’s YouTube Channel: His blogs are therapeutic too . Click hereto
Find out how multi-talented Navin is. To name a few his mesmerizing playlist and blogs are just what you need in your low days to boost you.
In the words of Navin: To continuously wake up each and every day, and make an intention to plant flowers in our life, despite the fact that human reality is sometimes filled with despair, unhappiness, disconnection, and hate, is the work that is required of us when we heal.
Don’t forget to register here for Navin’s upcoming creativity and mental health workshop on 10th August, 2021.
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