"Your right is to perform your duty only, but never to its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be your motive, nor let your attachment be to inaction." - Bhagavad Gita
While many people think of yoga as a kind of exercise practice that involves stretching and perhaps some strengthening, it is in its most authentic form a practice of spiritual development.
The Bhagavad Gita is one of the perennial texts of yoga philosophy. One of its central teachings is the yogic discipline of nonattachment. It asks us to become people of service and to perform our actions in life free from any expectations of results or attachment to outcomes.
This is an extraordinary feat to accomplish. We are immersed in a culture that values outcomes over everything. Pause to think about your relationship to actions and outcomes.
I think most of us will be shocked at how attached we are, how fragile our egos are, and how much we hunger for validation in so many ways, whether its money, status, attention, accolades, social climbing, physical prowess… so many things drive us.
We need to be realistic about how deeply we can commit to a practice of nonattachment. The ancient yogis lived monastic lives and were completely dedicated to spiritual life. So while we certainly can work to be more selfless and mindful of our attachments and expectations, we should do so with a generous amount of self-forgiveness and space for the reality of the lives we are living. Finding a middle road on things is also a very yogic principle to take on.
Perhaps think of one area where you could start a practice of nonattachment. It could be in relationships, at work, with yourself, or a variety of other areas. Just pick one and add compassion and gratitude to the practice.