Introduction

The Yamas

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Unwholesome thoughts can be neutralised by cultivating wholesome ones
– Yoga Sutras 2:33

If the Yamas are guidelines for living with, and our attitudes towards others then the Niyamas are guidelines for living with, and our attitudes towards ourselves.  There is no point living an externally “yogic” life if, when we are with ourselves, we throw it all out of the window.

So what are these five Niyamas?

1.  Shauca (Purity)

2. Samtosha (Contentment)

3. Tapas (Auserity)

4. Svadhyaya (Self Study)

5. Ishvara Pranidhara (Surrender to the Lord)

(I try my best not to mention “God/god/goddess/the Lord” etc on this blog or in my teaching.  I know what I believe and that is very personal to me and I like to give other people that personal space when it comes to their spirituality as well.  But when stripped down to it’s bare bones Ishvara Pranidhara is about trusting in the flow of life a little bit, surrendering some of our worries and trying not to obsess over minutae.  I once read some wise words from the Dalai Lama that went a little bit like this (I’m paraphrasing I’m afraid).  When worrying about a situation ask yourself if you can do anything to change it.  If you can, do it.  If you can’t why worry?  That, to me, is Ishvara Pranidhara)

Apart from Ishvara Parnidhara I haven’t written about each individual Niyama this week because I want you, dear reader, to notice what springs to your mind about your life when you read each of the five words.

I think each of the five Niyamas are open to individual interpretation, just as the Yamas are.  They are also works in progress for each of us.  We can’t beat ourselves up every time we feel we’ve “broken” one of them; each time we eat “unpure” food, each time we think bad thoughts about others, every time we buy something we probably don’t need.  In fact we can’t look on slip-ups as “breaking rules” or we’ll never get over the guilt.

What’s important is to watch the way we behave towards ourselves, observe whether these behaviours fit into the guidelines of the Niyamas, and if they don’t, just think about how we can change those patterns of behaviour the next time.  Sometimes it can take a lifetime to change patterns of behaviour.  And that’s OK too.

Living life in accordance with the Yamas and Niyamas isn’t going to suddenly bring spiritual nirvana.  Instead an observance of these ten guidelines can give us a place in which to practice all 8 limbs of yoga together as best we can.  The Yamas and Niyamas are a foundation, not an absolute.

Think nice things, be kind to yourselves and others, smile a lot and you’re well on your way!

Missed part 1?  Read it here.

The first limb of yoga according to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is made up of the five yamas.  These are often translated as moral restraints similar to the Ten Commandments of the Old Testament.

I don’t like this view particularly.  The words “restraint” and “commandment” smack of rules and dogma to me.  I went to Catholic school and at Catholic school there is one great big thing that is cultivated alongside education.  Guilt.  I cannot tell you the number of times I was told I would burn in hell  (don’t get too excited, all of the crimes were petty – apparently one burns in hell for running with scissors though, so think on!).

I don’t think guilt helps anyone and I think if we try too hard to live the five Yamas as rules at all times we end up beating ourselves up if we find we’ve broken one.  So I prefer to think of them as guidelines.  Things to consider when moving through life.

The Ten Commandments are kind of black and white.  You must do this or else!  The Yamas veer towards shades of grey, and life is all about shades of grey, about doing the best that you can in a given situation.

The Yamas are also up to individual interpretation allowing us to choose our own path.  I want to be able to make my own decisions about life.  Yes, I will look to others and to texts and stories for advice, but ultimately I want to decide what to do by myself, not be told by an ancient set of rules.  And if other people interpret them differently, well that’s OK too.  I don’t for a minute assume that because I think something is right, it is right for everyone.

So let me give you a little Suburban Yogini soundbite for each Yama, my intepretation, no rules, no dogma.

1.  Ahimsa (non-harming) – Be kind to myself, I deserve it.  Because until I truly love myself, how can I love another?

2.  Satya (truthfulness) – Speak my own truth and be honest with myself.  Respect every individual perspective and angle of vision.

3.  Asteya (non-stealing) -   Learn to differentiate between what I want and what I need.  Don’t drain myself in jobs I hate or waste money on things I don’t need.  Be aware of stealing another’s time or energy and always remember there is enough of everything (including time, even if it doesn’t always feel like it).

4.  Brahmacarya – Now this is a tricky one!  Often translated as celibacy or sexual abstinance, I believe it to be more about moderation.  This is another example of individual choice.   It is not about the nature of the sexual relationship but the attitude towards it – being conscious and present.  And of course, trying to be non-judgemental of others’ choices and others’ reactions to the sexualised world around me.

5. Aparigraha (greedlessness) – Let go and trust.  Loosen my hold on situations that are bad for me.   Don’t hold on too tight to those I love, let them be free.  Notice when I am being self-centred and open up my heart instead.

Ultimately as your practice of yoga deepens you will find you are living your life according to your interpretations of the Yamas each and every day and you will find that they are not so hard to live by after all.

But these are my interpretations and they are rather simplified – blog posts are not meant to be thousands of words long after all!  Please do go out there, read up on them, come to your own conclusions and share! I would love to hear what you think!

source

I write a lot about asana, the physical practice of yoga. The yoga we all know from our classes. I also write a lot about yoga as therapy, how it helps my scoliosis, my sore back, the physical symptoms of fibromyalgia.

But asana is only a small part of this yoga. The most common part, granted, but still such a small part. And I feel I don’t address the other elements of this amazing, life-changing practice enough. I realised this as I wrote Friday’s post. And I realised that I don’t address these other parts because they are so much harder to write about, so much harder to find clarity in.

I have been teaching Hatha Yoga for nearly five years now. I can create asana sequences off the cuff. I can tell if someone has tight hips or a sore back or neck issues as they walk into a room. These things have come to me naturally after years of practice, practice, practice. 90% of the classes I teach focus on asana, and because of this I feel I need to push myself to write more about the other parts of yoga.  Create clarity for myself before I teach to others.

Yoga, like many mystical practices, was originally practiced by renunciates; those who chose to live away from the world to find oneness with Spirit. Consequently, it can be hard for those of us who want to live in the world, watch TV, listen to rock music, drink Pina Colada, get caught in the rain, whatever AND live a life dedicated to yoga. It can be more than hard; it can be downright overwhelming to try to incoporate yoga into ordinary life.

As most of you dear readers already know, sometime around 4000 years ago the great sage Patanjali (or many great sages going under the pseudonym of Patanjali) decided to compile the Yoga Sutras; a series of verses covering this all encompasing practice which have arguably become the foundational text of yoga. In the second chapter Patanjali lays out the 8 limbs, the 8 important parts of yoga that the practitioner must incorporate into their lives, of which asana is just one.

Over the next 8 Tuesdays I want to look at each of these limbs in turn and write about my interpretation of them, how I try to incorporate each limb into my very westernised, very chaotic life; a life very much rooted in the real world.

I hope you will enjoy my ramblings!

“Now the practice of yoga begins”
Yoga Sutra 1.1