The eight limbs: Yamas and Niyamas

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 Mandala by Margot

Our yoga mat is the perfect place to uncover the mind, body and spirit connection. The physical postures or asanas build strength, suppleness and balance in the body, however, they also provide a space to observe up close our habitual tendencies towards ourselves and others. Yoga is much more than just twisting, balancing and striking a pose, in fact, it could be said Yoga is the art of living. The eight limbs of yoga written by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras (threads) are practical steps to help the average person reach self-realisation or enlightenment (a continuous and sustained bliss state). The eight step ladder allows us to deepen our yoga practice with the goal of reducing or even eliminating suffering.

To recap, the eight steps are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. In classes we have explored the yamas or restraints. These are codes of behaviour to assist in building or strengthening moral and ethical conduct towards others and the environment. The yamas: ahimsa, satya, asteya, bramhacharya and aparigrapha. See blogs below on my understanding or interpretation of the yamas, in particular, how they play out on the yoga mat. It is through observing, without judgement, our behaviour toward ourselves that we can begin to explore how that is reflected in our treatment of others and the environment. For example, if we treat ourselves harshly always looking for perfectionism and viewing ourselves without compassion then we will cast a similar eye over others behaviour and not be able to see them through kind eyes as a reflection of ourselves.

The act of integrating and practising the yamas into our daily lifes creates positive change and this can be strengthen further by looking at the five actions that make up the second limb of yoga, niyama. The five niyamas are tools by which we can refine ourselves and help us to lead a happier and more content life. The five niyamas are saucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya and ishvara pranidhana. 

Om shanti,

Margot