The Yamas & Niyamas: The 10 yoga guidelines to skillful decisions and to a wholesome life
Yoga is a sophisticated system that extends far beyond doing yoga poses, it is a way of living.
When approaching this topic, I ask you the following question: “how do we gain mastery over our choices when life seems to toss us around with its ups and downs, many demands, and many voices telling us what we need and what’s wrong with us?” The answer, we should turn our focus inwards.
In yogic philosophy these two rare gems of wisdom sit as the first two limbs of the 8-fold path outlined by Pantanjali*. These two pillars, the Yamas and Niyamas, are often seen as a code of conduct for living a good life and are believed to be the foundation of our yoga practice. When we feel lost or overwhelmed, we can turn to our yoga practice. By honoring the union yoga provides for our live, we progress towards “the path” of creating a more mindful life by cultivating more “wholeness.” The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two pillars of the 8-limb path that leads us to enlightenment. These pillars each have five sub-bullets of ethical disciplines that help us take those steps towards clarity.
Yamas, a Sanskrit word that directly translates as “restraint” list the first five disciplines often referred to as a moral code. These include Ahimsa (nonviolence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (nonstealing), Brahmacharya (nonexcess), and Aparigraha (nonpossessiveness).
Nonviolence: Turns us from harming self and others to kindness and compassion for self and others.
Truthfulness :Turns us from lies and half-truths to expressing our uniqueness and authenticity.
Nonstealing: Turns us from theft to cultivating new skills and abilities.
Nonexcess: Turns us from greed to appreciation and pleasure without excess. The Process of moderation.
Nonpossessiveness :Turns us from attachment to intimacy without possession.
The Niyamas often translate to “observances” or “positive duties” that have to do with our approach to life. These outline recommendations of habits for healthy living. The Niyama disciplines include Saucha (purity/cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (discipline/enthusiasm), Svadhyaya (self-study), and Isvara Pranidhana (surrender).
Purity: Invites us to cleanse our bodies, our speech, our thoughts.
Contentment: Invites us to fall in love with our own life.
Self-discipline:Invites us to consciously choose discipline and growth.
Self-study: Invites us to know the self.
Surrender: Invites us to pay attention to what life is asking of us.
If we are to really benefit from the yoga practice, we need to take the lessons learned off our mats and into our real lives. It is said that if you practice one, the others will naturally follow. Your approach to these teachings is supposed to be unique to you and your experience, so let the lessons come to you and trust your intuition as you begin to cultivate them in your own life.
*The 8-fold path outlines the practice of yoga understood by Pantanjali in the Yoga Sutras.
Yoga is a sophisticated system that extends far beyond doing yoga poses, it is a way of living.
When approaching this topic, I ask you the following question: “how do we gain mastery over our choices when life seems to toss us around with its ups and downs, many demands, and many voices telling us what we need and what’s wrong with us?” The answer, we should turn our focus inwards.
In yogic philosophy these two rare gems of wisdom sit as the first two limbs of the 8-fold path outlined by Pantanjali*. These two pillars, the Yamas and Niyamas, are often seen as a code of conduct for living a good life and are believed to be the foundation of our yoga practice. When we feel lost or overwhelmed, we can turn to our yoga practice. By honoring the union yoga provides for our live, we progress towards “the path” of creating a more mindful life by cultivating more “wholeness.” The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two pillars of the 8-limb path that leads us to enlightenment. These pillars each have five sub-bullets of ethical disciplines that help us take those steps towards clarity.
Yamas, a Sanskrit word that directly translates as “restraint” list the first five disciplines often referred to as a moral code. These include Ahimsa (nonviolence), Satya (truthfulness), Asteya (nonstealing), Brahmacharya (nonexcess), and Aparigraha (nonpossessiveness).
Nonviolence: Turns us from harming self and others to kindness and compassion for self and others.
Truthfulness :Turns us from lies and half-truths to expressing our uniqueness and authenticity.
Nonstealing: Turns us from theft to cultivating new skills and abilities.
Nonexcess: Turns us from greed to appreciation and pleasure without excess. The Process of moderation.
Nonpossessiveness :Turns us from attachment to intimacy without possession.
The Niyamas often translate to “observances” or “positive duties” that have to do with our approach to life. These outline recommendations of habits for healthy living. The Niyama disciplines include Saucha (purity/cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (discipline/enthusiasm), Svadhyaya (self-study), and Isvara Pranidhana (surrender).
Purity: Invites us to cleanse our bodies, our speech, our thoughts.
Contentment: Invites us to fall in love with our own life.
Self-discipline:Invites us to consciously choose discipline and growth.
Self-study: Invites us to know the self.
Surrender: Invites us to pay attention to what life is asking of us.
If we are to really benefit from the yoga practice, we need to take the lessons learned off our mats and into our real lives. It is said that if you practice one, the others will naturally follow. Your approach to these teachings is supposed to be unique to you and your experience, so let the lessons come to you and trust your intuition as you begin to cultivate them in your own life.
*The 8-fold path outlines the practice of yoga understood by Pantanjali in the Yoga Sutras.