While there are many forms of yoga today, they all trace their roots back to the text “Yoga Sutra” and Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga, most commonly associated with Ashtanga yoga, described within. These meditation and yoga limbs are the philosophical foundation behind the different yogic practices. Some forms of yoga emphasize one or more limbs over the others, but the basic eight limbs are what is prescribed by yogis as a plan for taming the restlessness of the heart and mind, aligning the spirit, body and emotions for optimal healthful living. All eight limbs are considered equal. However, depending on your unique life experiences each day, you may emphasize one limb at a time as you bring your body, mind and spirit into balance.The Eight Limbs are:
Yamas – Morality as expressed towards all others in the Universe
Niyamas – Personal, internal ethical observances
Asana -- Physical practices of your body
Pranayama – Controlled breathing exercises affecting your energy force
Pratyahara – Self control of the senses
Dharana – Focus, concentration and inner perception or intuition
Dhyana – Meditation of divine and spiritual concepts
Samadhi – Enlightenment and unification with the divine
The Yamas and Niyamas are explained below:
In Ashtanga yoga, there are 8 limbs of philosophy to practice in thought, words and action to bring us inner peace, happiness and purpose in our lives. The first two, the Yamas and Niyamas, include 10 ethical principles to practice observing and living in order to understand your intuitive nature and potential. Your life is a masterpiece of art if you choose to perceive it that way and if you choose to craft it that way. What is your legacy? What Yamas and Niyamas are meaningful for you? How do they connect to your thoughts, words and actions every day?
The principles are in Sanskrit and I have spelled them phonetically for you in ( ).
The YAMAS
Ahimsa (ah-heem-sah): non-violence
Satya (sot-yah): truthfulness
Asteya (as-tay-yah): non-stealing
Brahmacharya (brah-mah-char-yah): non-excess
Aparigraha (a-par-i-grah-hah): non-attachment
Satya (sot-yah): truthfulness
Asteya (as-tay-yah): non-stealing
Brahmacharya (brah-mah-char-yah): non-excess
Aparigraha (a-par-i-grah-hah): non-attachment
Ahimsa (ah-heem-sah): Non-violence. Transform anger into appreciation and compassion. Say hello to a passer-by. Be forgiving of what you perceive as mistakes you've made. Transform guilt and regret into acceptance. Own your thoughts, words and actions rather than project your "residue" or "baggage" onto others. Cultivate inner awareness and be gentle with and mindful about your thoughts, words and actions. Ahimsa.
Satya (sot-yah): Truthfulness. If you are honest with yourself about your beliefs, perspectives and opinions, only then can you be honest with others. Live your truth. How does your truth resonate with you and how does it breathe in your thoughts, words and actions? Recognize when your truth changes or evolves. Advocate for yourself and honor others when they advocate for themselves. Even when you disagree with someone's opinion, respect them for adhering to their truth. Learn from each other's Satya. Satya.
Asteya (as-tay-yah): Non-stealing. Avoid the temptation to steal material items from someone else or to steal information from someone's email or phone, for example. Allow someone to finish their words in conversation without interrupting. Only spend money that you have. When you trust that yourself and everyone is taking care of his/her island as they need to, you have no need to steal. You are self-sufficient, secure and confident enough within yourself to get what you need and want in life without trespassing boundaries that sweep you into unbalanced and unhealthy territories. Asteya.
Brahmacharya (brah-mah-char-yah): Non-excess. Live your life in moderation. Balance. Avoid over-thinking, over-spending and over-obsessing, for example. You know when you are living for today when your mind is focused on the immediate task or contemplation at hand versus dwelling for long periods of time on the past or future. Take time to reflect on how you have balance in your life. What do you spend the majority of time thinking about, speaking about and doing? Is your balance enhancing you? Brahmacharya.
Aparigraha (a-par-i-grah-hah): Non-attachment. The Buddha and the yogi gurus say the only thing you can truly attach to is the breath and the moment, the now. Someone said to the Buddha, "You won a million dollars." The Buddha replied calmly, "Oh." The next day, the same someone said to the Buddha, "You lost the million dollars." The Buddha replied calmly, "Oh." The Buddha accepted his win and his loss in the same way. Whether he has a million dollars or not, the Buddha is still happy. Rely on your inner happiness rather than on material items to bring you happiness. The elation you feel when you buy something new fades in time. Can you rely on someone else to make you happy? True happiness comes from within yourself. And it is then that you can share your happiness and give and receive love deeply. Yes, it is a challenge when we experience loss or pain. We want to cling to what’s in our comfort zone. Tune into the breath and resilience will flourish. True happiness is constant. When traveling along your path called life, set your goals and have the end result in mind, but avoid attaching to the end result. Envision it ahead of you, but stay tuned into the breath and tuned into each moment along the way. Let go of control and power and accept what is. What will be will be. When we don't attach to life in anticipation-mode, we live in the moment and accept all that presents itself to us. Every moment is what it is. Look into yourself and see your happiness. Look into the eyes and into the heart of a loved one and know that this moment is the most beautiful moment. Look into the eyes and heart of a challenging situation and breathe into its offering. Treat every moment this way and your happiness will be constant. Sit under a tree and be happy. Aparigraha.
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As with the five Yamas, the five Niyamas designate an obligation to observing and living ethical principles in thoughts, words and actions. The Niyamas take you deeper into yourself. This is a practice of removing distractions and clutter from your life so you can set clear intentions, live your potential and fulfill your legacy with happiness.
THE NIYAMAS
Saucha (sow-chah) purity
Santosha (san-tow-shah) contentment
Tapas (tah-pahs) self-discipline
Svadyaya (svod-y-eye-yah) self-study
Ishvara Pranidhana (ish-var-ah-prah-nee-dah-nah) surrender to the cosmic consciousness
Santosha (san-tow-shah) contentment
Tapas (tah-pahs) self-discipline
Svadyaya (svod-y-eye-yah) self-study
Ishvara Pranidhana (ish-var-ah-prah-nee-dah-nah) surrender to the cosmic consciousness
Saucha (Sow-chah): Cleanliness. Purity. Simplicity. Purge the corners of your conscience and the corners of your house. Take time to cleanse the mind and body of toxins. Eat fresh foods from the earth and invigorate your body and mind with water. Purge “junk” and “old stuff” from the corners of your house. Cleanse your life of overstimulation and of distractions. Too much clutter separates you from your true self. Set the intention to cleanse. Observe what energy within yourself you no longer need. Exhale it out in the form of gray dust and trust the universe will transform it how and where it is needed most. The gray dust may transform into the birth of a new maple tree. The gray dust may transform into an inventor’s epic idea or a philosopher’s epiphany. Exhale the gray dust and then bring purity to yourself by inhaling light. The more toxins you dissolve, the more light you can inhale into yourself. This light may be in the form of Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. This is a sacred process that occurs through your thoughts, words and actions. Savasana (Corpse Pose) is when the body and mind experience the true essence of Saucha. The inhales and exhales during your yoga practice invigorate Saucha. When resting at the end of a yoga class, the remaining specks of gray dust seep out from you during the exhales and the light seeps into you during the inhales. It is a gentle process. When bowing in Namaste, you recognize that you and those around you are pure forms of energy, big orbs of radiant light. Everyone is the same. Evaporate the complexity and be happy. “Be” the purity of nature, fresh salads, the fine lines of calligraphy and a new born baby. Saucha.
Santosha (san-tow-shah): Contentment. Be happy with what you have. By humbled by your half-full glass. You filled it up. Be humbled by the half-empty glass. That space is an incentive to get creative with ways to fill it up. Your life is not only a glass but a masterpiece painting. Be content with every brush stroke you've made - the beautiful ones as well as those brush strokes you consider mistakes and that you want to cover up. Let them breathe. They offer life lessons as much as the brush strokes that have brought you immediate peace and happiness. Observe and reflect in stillness and silence. Look around you and observe what and who you are thankful for. Wallow in gratitude. You are alive and well. Santosha.
Tapas (tah-pahs): Self-discipline. The fire within. The art of adhering to your intentions, your goals, your visions and your moral codes in thoughts, words and actions. For example, if you know meditating soothes your anxiety, then do it, especially when you don't feel like it. Observe what tempts you to stray from yourself and determines what it takes to dissolve or ignore those temptations. Although it is said one never strays from his/her path, and that even being swayed by temptations is part of one's path, it is important to recognize shifts in our intentions, goals, visions and moral codes. Are the choices you are making as you meander your path consistently enhancing yourself and others? Discipline yourself to be gentle, to take time to look into the eyes of your loved ones, to revisit and ponder the other Yamas and Niyamas: Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, Aparigraha, Saucha, Santosha,Tapas, Svadyaya, Ishvara Pranidhana. With the discipline Tapas offers, feel the fire of light growing within you. Feel the fire burn unneeded energy you’ve been clinging to and feel the fire awakening new energy within you. Appreciate the balance Tapas offers you. Work. Play. Light. Dark. Day. Night.
Svadyaya (svod-y-eye-yah): Self-study. Introspection. Are you on your path of happiness and inner peace? Are you living the Yamas and Niyamas? Take time to sit under a tree and reflect on how your thoughts, words and actions are adhering to your vision of happiness and inner peace. Observe the imbalances and decide what to do about them. Is an internal or an external shift necessary? Once the necessary shift is identified, act on it with steadfast conviction. Take time to ponder your inner light so you can “be” your inner light. Mindfully transform thoughts and words into action. Commitment to this practice enhances every energy source within and around you. Svadyaya.
Ishvara Pranidhana (ish-var-ah-prah-nee-dah-nah): Belief in the cosmic consciousness. Surrender to the big picture. You are one with everything around you. The stagnancy of a puddle of water in the dessert and the gushing overflow of waterfalls in the Amazon. You are an intricate part of universal energy. Every cell and every atom vibrates to the same frequency. Beneath all the layers of our individual experiences and perceptions, we are the same light. When you recognize this, you are humbled. Trust that you are protected and guided at all times. The universe always knows best. Come into your Self and live the cosmic consciousness. Focus on your dristhtis and follow your breath. Ishvara Pranidhana.
Ponder and practice the Yamas and Niyamas. Yoga is an exploration. Life is an exploration. Be you. Be happy.
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Drishti: A gaze spot such as big toe or navel when engaged in poses. There are nine drishtis. Let your gaze move in the direction of the stretch. Drishtis help us focus internally to the mind and breath so we can avoid external distractions. Calm mind. Calm body. Happy mind. Happy body. What are your drishtis in life? Set an intention and stick to it with conviction.
The Four Agreements
The Toltec tradition ...
1st Agreement: "I will be impeccable with my word."
Say what you mean. Be thoughtful about the words you use to articulate your feelings, beliefs and knowledge. Often people dance around their truth, present their truth unclearly and are therefore misunderstood. Determine in thought how to portray your truth and then portray it through your words and actions with conviction. Being impeccable with your thoughts, words and actions eliminates confusion within yourself and can help prevent confusion when communicating with others. Say less and mean more. Perhaps you can't prescribe how others will receive and perceive your "impeccable word," but you can do the best you can and hope that others do too.
2nd Agreement: "Don't take anything personally."
You can't control other people's thoughts, words and actions, only your own. What is your identity founded on? Do other people's opinions of you determine how you feel about yourself? If someone criticizes you, does that put you in a bad mood? If someone compliments you, does that put you in a good mood? What really matters is what you think of yourself. If someone else is in a bad mood, do you take it personally? If so, it's your ego thinking it's your fault that that someone else is in a bad mood. But it's not your fault. People have a tendency to both project their "stuff" onto others and receive other people's "stuff" as their own. The practice is to remember that you are responsible for only your island. Yes, support your loved ones and be supported by others, but observe the difference between what support and projection look like. Hold your own. Recognize what to let go and what to own. Confidently say, "That is not my stuff" and "This is my stuff."
3rd Agreement: "I will not make assumptions."
In response to other people's thoughts, words and actions, fabricating your own reality in your mind can be a defense mechanism against the possibility of being hurt. Making assumptions is an attempt to control a situation. Making assumptions protects us from feeling fear. However, this practice fuels your ego. And your ego is responsible for how you perceive your reality. For example, if you're waiting for a phone call from someone and she never calls, assumptions may swarm your mind about why she isn't calling. You might find you attach to one of those assumptions, you deem it truth and it becomes your reality. Then your thoughts, words and actions stem from that truth that you have fabricated. You convince yourself that your truth eases your conscience and heart, but you feel fear erupting inside of you anyway. Rather than making assumptions and getting all worked up for nothing, trust that what will be will be. The universe always knows what it is doing. It always knows best. The only thing you can truly control is your own mind, your own perceptions. If your mind habitually relies on your expectations and assumptions of what other people should be doing, you will be sweetly disappointed again and again. In a situation where you feel intimidated, you question someone's intentions and you are tempted to assume the worst could happen, trust your intuition. Send that person a beam of light. Gravitate to the good just as a flower gravitates to the sun. Energy's intention is positive if we choose to perceive it that way. Our thoughts manifest into words and action.
4th Agreement: "I will always do my best.”
All that really matters is right now, so make the best of it. Pretend that each experience is the last chance you'll have to partake in it. Soak up the essence of each opportunity, even those that bore you or that don't seem to benefit you. Transform your perception. "How can I make the most of this situation?" If you are crying and it feels good to cry, then cry like you've never cried before. If you are laughing and it feels good to laugh, then laugh like you've never laughed before. If you are in a grumpy mood, ask yourself, "Is this my best?" Perhaps the grumpiness is your best and only you can determine that. Accept and honor each moment as it is. Observe with gentle intention and avoid judging yourself too harshly. If you feel regret about past thoughts, words and actions, know that you did the best you could at that time in your life. We change in every breath. We acquire new learnings, realizations and wisdom in every moment. So is there ever a wrong decision if we make decisions based on our knowledge, experiences and intuition in the moment? Accept and honor who you are in this moment ... and in the next ... and in the next. Do your best to recognize how the thoughts, words and actions that you deem your best are impacting you and others. Extract your best by shifting and sifting what needs shifting and sifting. "I will always do my best."
5th Agreement: “Be skeptical, but listen to learn.”
How do you perceive your thoughts, words and actions? How doyou perceive others’ thoughts, words and actions? How do others perceive their own thoughts,words and actions? How do others’perceive your thoughts, words and actions? Wow, that’s a lot to ponder. Simply, observe and honor what is truth toyou. We absorb and filter many forms ofenergy in every breath. Have a keenintuition and intellect regarding the thoughts, words and actions that define you. Keep your antennae alert while listening andlearning, absorbing and filtering. Your thoughts, words and actions areyours. Communicate from the core of yourtruth. And listen to how others communicate from the cores of theirtruths.
International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers
How do you perceive your thoughts, words and actions? How doyou perceive others’ thoughts, words and actions? How do others perceive their own thoughts,words and actions? How do others’perceive your thoughts, words and actions? Wow, that’s a lot to ponder. Simply, observe and honor what is truth toyou. We absorb and filter many forms ofenergy in every breath. Have a keenintuition and intellect regarding the thoughts, words and actions that define you. Keep your antennae alert while listening andlearning, absorbing and filtering. Your thoughts, words and actions areyours. Communicate from the core of yourtruth. And listen to how others communicate from the cores of theirtruths.
International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers
Listen to the vibration of the earth's intuition, to your own intuition:
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