Yamas and Niyamas
If you’ve read about the eight fold yoga path you might be interested in understanding what the Yamas and Niyamas are. Seen as ‘moral codes’ these two are divided in their own principles which can be interpreted in many ways. Living by the Yamas and Niyamas contributes to a more conscious and present way of being. In this post I explain the separate principles and its possible applications for you to be read and processed in your own unique way.
YAMAS
The Yamas are the roots of the tree of yoga shaping the foundation from which the rest will grow. They can help us become more conscious of how we treat ourselves, and eventually how we treat the world around us. Yama tells us what to avoid doing because it would be harmful to the individual and to society.
AHIMSA - non-violence, ‘himsa’ means hurt and ‘a’ means not. Ahimsa can influence the way we treat ourselves, it becomes apparent that all the negative thoughts you have towards ourselves are harmful. It can also reflect in your asana practice by choosing to be more gentle in your practice if that is what your body needs right now.
SATYA - truthfulness, are you honest towards yourself? And do you speak the truth towards others? It could be that you are trying to please others in order to be kind, you could ask yourself whether you are being truthful to yourself by doing that. You could question who you are helping by being nice. Of course this is not an encouragement to be mean, because you have seen with ahimsa that intentionally harming ourselves and others is never the aim, neither by words nor by actions.
ASTEYA - non-stealing, reflects on more than just stealing physical things, it also reflects on the desire or want we have towards physical things. Can you bear to see your friend happy with something you cannot have? Can you allow others to have things that you don’t have?
BRAHMACHARYA - control of sensual pleasure, often translated as right use of energy which I prefer. It can lead us to ask ourselves ‘where is my energy directed?’ and ‘is the person I am sharing that energy with also giving me energy?’.
APARIGRAHA - non-greed, forces us to look at how we long for certain things in the future. We might want more physical things, such as cars, clothes, etc. But we might also long for more in our yoga practice, how many times do we step onto the mat with the desire to be able to do that pose or reach even further behind our toes? Aparigraha teaches us to give without expecting something in return, it helps us to approach our practice amongst many other things with more patience and steadiness.
NIYAMAS
Niyama, the trunk of the tree, reminds us what we could do for the good of the individual and society. Niyama is the trunk of the tree. Saucha and santosha relate to physical health and happiness of mind. Tapas, svadhyāyā, and ishvara-pranidhana, allow one to reach the highest state, to be free and to become one with the soul.
SAUCHA - cleanliness, relates to our physical health. You can become more conscious of what you eat and ask yourself ‘is what I bring into my body contributing to my physical health?’. Sometimes the answer to that question is ‘no’. But since the mind is a product of food, the food you eat will influence your mind. So in the end what matters most is becoming aware and with that awareness you start choosing what is best for your body and mind at that specific moment.
SANTOSHA - contentment, relates to happiness of mind. The ability to be content with where you are in life right now, or what you are doing, or how you are feeling, or what you have is important when it comes to psychological health. Can you accept where you are now?
TAPAS - discipline, or the burning desire for spiritual development. It is tapas that wakes you up in the early morning to start your day with a yoga practice, and usually once the first pose or sun salutation has been done santosha(contentment) follows.
SVADYAYA - self-study, a big part of following the path of yoga is to observe yourself, your body, your habits and your muscles. In order to become more conscious you need to observe what you do, how you act, how you eat, which will help you live up to the Yamas and Niyamas.
ISHVARA PRANIDHANA - self surrender, part of bhakti-yoga; the yoga of devotion. This is described as the moment you let go of the ego and surrender yourself to God, or a sense of the divine, or a feeling of being an expression of the universe. Instead of separating ourselves from others and our surroundings we start to feel a sense of connectedness between all things on earth. Recognising this connectedness and allowing things to happen naturally is a part of this step of the path.
Feel free to interpret this information in your own unique way. Though if you are interested in learning more about the Yamas and the Niyamas I would recommend you to read The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.
Sources: B.K.S. Iyengar. 2002. The Tree of Yoga. Shambhala Productions.
