What is Yoga?
In today’s world, most of us think of yoga 🧘🏽♂️ as a creative combination of twists, 🥨 bends and balancing ⚖️ poses. While this definition is certainly an accurate one, it’s only partially so. The widely popular physical practice of yoga is just one small piece of the larger yoga pie 🥧. Yoga, in its entirety, is actually an eight-part lifestyle system. The physical practice is just one ☝️ of those eight pieces. Each component carries its own weight, significance and impact on our lives.
This book 📕 focuses on richly detailing the first two ✌🏼of the eight limbs of yoga: the Yamas and the Niyamas! What are these two limbs and 🧐 how do they apply to us? Let's find out!
1. Yamas
The yamas, a Sanskrit word meaning ‘restraints’, includes a list 📝 of five things that we should practice in our daily lives.
The five yamas are:
~ahimsa (non-violence) 🕊️
~satya (truthfulness) 🗣️
~asteya (non-stealing) 💰
~brahmacharya (non-excess) 🙅🏽
~aparigraha (non-possessiveness) 👩❤️👩
Each of these 5 yamas carries more meaning than the obvious names suggest. For instance, most of us know that behaving violently is a big no-no, but violence 👊🏼 isn’t always just about physical force. Violence can also mean speaking to ourselves or others 🤬 in ways that are intentionally cruel and harmful.
Satya isn’t just about not lying to others, it can also mean being honest with yourself 💖 in little ways, too. For example, did the train 🚂 really slow you down on your way 🚙 to work or was that just a handy excuse that you used in order to avoid admitting that you’re struggling with time management?
2. Niyamas
While the yamas serve as guidelines for our external behavior in the world, the niyamas can be viewed as an internal behavioral compass 🧭. The word niyamas is a Sanskrit term meaning ‘observances’ and they are recommendations for simple daily living.
The five niyamas are:
~saucha (purity) 🧼
~santosha (contentment) 🥰
~tapas (self-discipline) 🏊
~svadhyaya (self-study) 🪞
~ishvara pranidhana (surrender) 🧖🏽♀️
The niyamas are a bit more straightforward than the yamas. What you see is what you get in a sense.
Purity means both personal hygiene and also purity of mind. 🫧
Contentment can be applied inwardly as a steady state of acceptance of what is, a full awareness and appreciation of the present moment. ❣️
Tapas is self-discipline, doing things that benefit your well-being whether you feel like it or not, like waking up early or eating salad. You know the drill. 🥗
Svadhyaya, self-study, is getting to know yourself in an intimate way. How do you think and why? What is your present physical state? What are your needs? Self-study is an integral part of yoga practices as many are centered around self-awareness. 📚
As this article from yogaglo explains, ishvara pranidhana 💜 means:
“Surrendering ourselves to something bigger than us – whether we call it God, nature, or the universe – is at the heart of ishvara pranidhana. We spend so much of the day in our own heads, listening to the endless chatter of our thoughts, and flitting from one worry to the next. This pattern is so ingrained in us, but it’s almost always in an effort to control our circumstances and gauge how we’re doing. But relinquishing this control (or, as some would say, our false sense of control) to something bigger than ourselves is the goal.”
Alice G. Walton
When I was undergoing Yoga 🧘♀️ Teacher Training, I was so intrigued by these two limbs. I craved more in-depth information, so I decided to research books 📚 on the topic. After spending WAY too much time searching 💻 for the ‘perfect’ book on the subject, I stumbled upon Deborah Adele’s book appropriately titled The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice. Upon reading an excerpt and some rave 💥reviews, I knew this was THE one and I was not disappointed. I devoured it upon arrival and now keep it on my yoga bookshelf as a valuable resource that I reference again and again.
Already read it? Let us know your thoughts 💭 in the comments!
If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you will enjoy it as much as I have! I give it a SOLID ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️!
Get it here: The Yamas & Niyamas | The Bookshelf (healthisharmony.com)
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