The Yama's

The Yamas

by Steve Johansen, Hummingbird Pilates and Yoga

 

I’ve been writing for quite a few months now, about foundational Yoga poses, without even talking about the foundation of Yoga itself, and what that really means to me.  We often think of Yoga as a physical practice because this is what we see people doing in yoga studios and in the media.

 

I like most people, started my Yoga journey focusing on the physical practice (the Asanas or poses, which are described as the 3^rd limb of yoga). To improve my practice, I started introducing the 4^th limb, the Pranayama, control of my breath, just as I would have done if I was looking to improve my running. It took time to master my Pranayama and when I did it slowed me down and made me think about what I was doing! And more importantly why I was doing Yoga. This is when I started to introduce the Yamas and Niyama’s the 1^st and 2^nd limbs of Yoga. Ultimately this is what transformed my Yoga, from just a physical practice, into a Mindful Yoga Practice.

 

Yoga is made up of 8 equally important parts, called limbs, that work together in union, or as I like to consider them, in balance or harmony with one another.  The first 5 limbs, are how we as individuals, interact with the world around us. The Yamas, Niyama’s, are about our moral and ethical conduct and self-discipline. The Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara. Are about our physical wellbeing, control of our breath and our five senses. The last three limbs are the Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi are about looking inward to the mind, developing concentration, meditation, and ultimately enlightenment.   

 

In previous articles, I have written about the Asanas and talked about controlling the breath, the Pranayama the 3^rd and 4^th limbs working together, but today, I’m going to talk about the 1^st limb of Yoga, the Yamas.

 

The Yamas are universal morality, they are 5 observances or guidelines of things that we should try not to do to help us to live in a right and proper way within society, through our words, our actions, and even our thoughts. We all know we shouldn’t do these things to other people, but all too often, we don’t apply them to ourselves.

 

Ahimsa…(A-himsa) Non-Harming. A translates as NON and Himsa as Harming.

For me, this means going through life, doing the least amount of harm to all sentient beings, by word, thought and deed. For not example not telling yourself you’re stupid when you forget something, or dumb when you don’t know the answer.

Practice tip: try being more accepting and forgiving of other people and yourself.

 

Satya…(Sut-ya) Truthfulness. That’s easy right? But how often do we tell a white lie, to protect somebody else's or even our own feelings. A quote that resonated with me was: “When you want to help people, you tell them the truth. When you want to help yourself tell them what they want to hear.” So, ask yourself, what is it you want to do? For me, this is about seeing things as they really are, not how we would like them to be.

 

Asteya…(Ash-Taya) Non-Stealing. We in the west tend to think of stealing, as taking someone else’s property, instead think of it as “Take nothing, that is not freely given”. Taking advantage of        someone else’s ideas, generosity, or time. However,  Asteya applies just as much to you for example; not tying your best, is stealing your opportunity to experience your best.

 

Brahacharya…( Bram-A-Char-rya) translates as Moderating the senses or Chastity. Obviously, this   means making good life choices, not eating or drinking to excess, but also, it’s about not     allowing ourselves to be distracted, by the stuff  that is going on around us, by the things we see, or hear, or the thoughts that pop up in our heads.

 

Aparaigraha…(A-par-I-gra-ha) non-possessiveness. A = Non, Pari = Things and Graha = To grasp.    There's a Yogic maxim which says, “All things of the world are yours to use, but not to own.”              In essence Aparaigraha is not just about jealousy or greed, it's about excessively trying to        gain, and hold on to things like money, possessions and not being too attached to the result,

Practice tip: Try not to worry about the outcome of our efforts, instead focus on each moment, on       what you are saying, doing and how your moving, rather than focusing on the result.

 

 

 

For those of you who would like to know more of the benefits of the Yamas and how they apply in practice, you join me at my studio using this free pass code HPYFREECLASS. My gift to you.