This entry was posted on Nov 14, 2024 by Charlotte Bell.
In a latest put up, I wrote concerning the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The Eight Limbs are a framework for working towards all facets of the system of yoga. The primary of those limbs is named yama.
I contemplate yama to be the muse of the entire system. Yama means “restraint.” On this context, restraint refers to utilizing clever discrimination to think about your actions on this planet, so that you simply create an moral floor from which to behave. The yamas are usually not commandments, nevertheless. They’re pointers for making a peaceable life by means of your actions on this planet. The yamas ask us to think about whether or not the actions we want to undertake are prone to trigger hurt or to result in happiness—for ourselves and others.
Like all of the limbs of yoga, yama is a follow that we refine as we evolve in our lives. Making use of the ideas of the yamas in our lives requires that we contemplate them anew with every state of affairs we discover ourselves in. So, being conscious is essential. The truth that there aren’t any hard-and-fast guidelines makes the follow dynamic, and permits us to deepen our understanding as we transfer by means of our lives.
What follows is a quite simple, very quick synopsis of the yamas. Every one is worthy of a lifetime of research and follow. Should you’re desirous about inquiring additional, my first e-book, Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply, devotes a chapter to every yama, and consists of methods you possibly can incorporate the yamas into asana follow. The data beneath can maybe act as a springboard for additional inquiry.
The 5 Yamas
Ahimsa (Non-Harming)
If yama is the muse of the Eight Limbs of Yoga, then ahimsa is the muse of that basis. All the opposite yamas are refinements of the idea of non-harming. Ahimsa asks us to think about the doable penalties of our actions. It additionally asks us to pay attention to our intentions. Alistair Shearer defines ahimsa as “dynamic peacefulness.” I like this manner of describing it, as a result of means we’re not merely avoiding inflicting hurt. We’re deliberately cultivating a peaceable approach of being, in order that over time, appearing with kindness and care turns into computerized.
Satya (Truthfulness)
Truthfulness is the muse of all our interactions on this planet. To ensure that any relationship to develop and thrive, it should be primarily based in reality. Being untruthful harms us by strengthening untruthfulness as a behavior. It harms others as a result of they will by no means really feel secure after they can’t belief our intentions, phrases or actions. Right here once more, mindfulness is essential. As a way to acknowledge—after which act from—fact, we have now to know what’s true within the first place. We do that by wanting deeply at our beliefs, habits and motivations.
Asteya (Non-Stealing)
Asteya asks us to chorus from taking what just isn’t supplied. This consists of materials items (cash, valuables) and likewise mental property. So we don’t “assist ourselves” to others’ possessions if we’re not invited to take action. In the identical vein, asteya guides us to ask permission and to credit score others after we share their phrases and concepts.
Brahmacharya (Clever Use of Sexuality)
Our sexual power is the supply of our creativity. It’s a highly effective power that has nice potential to result in happiness, or to trigger hurt if we misuse it. Sexual encounters should all the time be consensual, and should not be employed merely for our personal self-aggrandizement. The misuse of this power, particularly by folks in positions of energy, is ubiquitous in all walks of life—together with the yoga world. Like the opposite yamas, clever follow is sophisticated. Donna Farhi’s e-book, Instructing Yoga: Exploring the Instructor-Scholar Relationship, delves deeply into the teacher-student relationship, together with the follow of brahmacharya.
Aparigraha (Non-Greed)
In line with Buddhist follow, greed is among the three sources of struggling. (The others are hatred and delusion.) It’s a supply of struggling as a result of it could by no means be glad; it could solely be quickly quelled. Once we get no matter it’s that we wish, we might really feel glad, at the least for some time. But it surely’s not lengthy earlier than another want arises, and leads us to pin our hopes on the following object we expect we should have. Greed applies not solely to materials possessions, but additionally to relationships, experiences and the necessity for consideration. The true sources of happiness is contentment, gratitude and appreciation for our lives as they’re. This doesn’t imply we shouldn’t attempt to attain our aspirations. It merely signifies that we perceive that all the pieces in our lives comes and goes. Happiness is out there to all of us, and its potential is already inside us. The antidote to greed is to follow generosity. Once we domesticate a behavior of giving, we perceive extra deeply the enjoyment of letting go.
Simple Does It
Typically it could appear overwhelming to attempt to incorporate all these ideas into your life. I recommend committing to follow one by one. It may be useful to decide to, say, a yr working towards a single yama. The deal with one precept may help you incorporate it into your life extra simply. Resolve which of the yamas resonates most deeply for you. Then start to use it to the alternatives you make in your life.
About Charlotte Bell
Charlotte Bell found yoga in 1982 and started educating in 1986. Charlotte is the creator of Conscious Yoga, Conscious Life: A Information for On a regular basis Apply and Yoga for Meditators, each revealed by Rodmell Press. Her third e-book is titled Hip-Wholesome Asana: The Yoga Practitioner’s Information to Defending the Hips and Avoiding SI Joint Ache (Shambhala Publications). She writes a month-to-month column for CATALYST Journal and serves as editor for Yoga U On-line. Charlotte is a founding board member for GreenTREE Yoga, a non-profit that brings yoga to underserved populations. A lifelong musician, Charlotte performs oboe and English horn within the Salt Lake Symphony and people sextet Crimson Rock Rondo, whose DVD gained two Emmy awards.
