Yoga Sparks by Carol Krucoff

Author:Carol Krucoff
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781608827022
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Published: 2013-07-14T16:00:00+00:00

52. Clutter-Busting Practice

The cleanliness and orderliness of our homes can both reflect and influence our state of mind. An extreme example is the disorder of compulsive hoarding, a pathological behavior characterized by excessively accumulating possessions—often items without value or usefulness. But acquisition doesn’t have to reach this irrational level to become problematic in our lives.

“Americans have been on an acquisition binge for decades,” Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Anna Quindlen notes in a Newsweek column headlined “Stuff Is Not Salvation” (2008). An important question we should ask ourselves, she writes, is “Why in the world did we buy all this junk in the first place?”

The yogic principle of aparigraha (greedlessness or nonhoarding) can help free us from the tyranny of being smothered by too much stuff (see Letting Go, Yoga Spark 24). It’s useful to periodically do a thorough spring-cleaning and get rid of anything you don’t need. Unfortunately, this prospect is often so overwhelming that we do nothing. Instead, take a minute to do quick clutter-busting practices as often as you can. Here are a few examples:

Find one or two items of clothing, pairs of shoes, or accessories in your closet that you haven’t worn in a while and set them aside to donate.

Check the items on one shelf of your pantry and get rid of anything that’s expired or that you won’t use.

Examine one shelf where you store books, DVDs, CDs, games, and so on, and find at least one item to give away or discard.

Take a trash bag out to your car and get rid of anything you don’t need.

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