Part of knowing and loving yoga is knowing about the 8 Limbed Path of yoga as outlined by Sri Patanjali Maharishi. In his second book he defines these 8 limbs and furthermore, defines what the Yamas and Niyamas are.
Yama can translate quite directly to abstain but also, restrain. Think of them as the restraints on the outer world, or maybe interpret them on how you can abstain from intermingling with what the outer world throws at you.
The 5 yamas are named in Sanskrit but defined better in English. They are:
Ahimsa | Non-violence
Satya | Truthfullness
Asteya | Non-stealing
Brahmacharya | Moderation
Apraigraha | Non- greed
Essentially, no matter your profession, religious beliefs, diet or anything else, Patanjali states that in order to be a yogi these observances and restraints must be followed with no exceptions. This bring rise to many heated conversations today with exclusions and exceptions to rules running rampant. If you are a meat eater, you are not a yogi because that is a violent thought towards an insect with the same spirit as you. If you are a hoarder, that won’t work either. If you are promiscuous and disregard the creative energies that abstaining could deliver, that is not the yogic process. We will dive deep into these theories and principles over the next few weeks.
Patanjali put the Yamas first so that people could interact with each other, knowing which actions would lead them to the higher self. Then, the Niyamas come next so we can reign in the mind, thoughts and chatter of the committee up there. In order to have stray or negative thoughts, something must have happened in our external world so that Yamas that come first were absolutely placed there purposefully.
Over the next few weeks we will deep dive into each sutras as it relates to the world and then I may give extra time or stories dedicated to personal practice.
If you have a desire to learn more about The Yamas and Niyamas, I encourage you to sign up for email updates below since many of my monthly emails have a spiritual aspect to them.
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