Eight LIMBS OF YOGa: YaMAS and Niyamas

There are eight limbs of yoga, all of which come from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

• Yamas :  Universal morality
• Niyamas :  Personal observances
• Asanas :  Body postures
• Pranayama :  Breathing exercises, and control of prana
• Pratyahara :  Control of the senses
• Dharana :  Concentration and cultivating inner perceptual awareness
• Dhyana :  Devotion, Meditation on the Divine
• Samadhi :  Union with the Divine

The Yamas are broken into five characteristics. Yama means to “bridle or rein.” Patanjali used it to describe a restraint that we willingly and joyfully place on ourselves to focus our efforts; self-restraint can be a positive force in our lives, the necessary self-discipline that allows us to head toward the fulfillment of our dharma, or life purpose. Practiced daily these moral virtues will accomplish the inner quest that makes you whole.  Also try incorporating these yamas into your yoga practice.

• Kindness/Compassion– Ahimsa
• Do not kill or hurt people and maintain compassion towards yourself and others.
• Be kind and treat things with care; this includes you’re body; caress it when in poses don’t force it.
• Truthfulness – Satya
• Be truthful in your feelings, thoughts, words and deeds.
• Be honest with yourself and others.
• Forcing your body into a pose or straining it is dishonest; let your ego go and be truthful to your body.
• Abundance/Not stealing - Asteya
• Take nothing that does not belong to you. And take nothing that has not been given to you freely. 
• Avoid holding back in a posture/not sinking into a pose to your full capacity; the pose you are in will give you the energy to do it.
• Continence/Self Restraint/Abstinence/Sense Control– Brachmacharya
• Our life force is limited and precious; using our energy wisely will help us possess the resource to live a fulfilling life.
• Practice responsible behavior with respect to moving toward the truth
• Use minimum energy (effortlessness) to achieve a pose; use small muscles to activate large muscles and be one with your mind while in pose; practice breathe and flow from pose to pose.
• Channel lines of internal energy and power during poses and everyday life.
• Engaging mulha bandha as it conserves the life force in poses; pelvic energy can be channeled up into the heart and thru the crown of the head.
• Self-reliance – Aparigraha
• Take only what is necessary; do not take advantage of situation or act greedy
• Only take what you have earned
• Discover your own self so you no longer feel the need to covet what someone else has/is
• Practice your own practice; do not compare what you can do with others; focus dristi inward (dristis means gaze)

The Niyamas are broken into five characteristics; meaning “rules or laws” for our personal observance.  Practiced daily, these moral virtues will accomplish the inner quest that makes you whole.

• Purity – Saucha
• Keeping different energies distinct
• Practice cleanliness
• Chanting OM at beginning/end of class as well as having students mats in an energy line/circle
• Contentment – Samtosha
• Be happy with where you are
• Tell students to smile and accept how far they have come be calm and relaxed in face
• Austerity – Tapas
• Heat and perseverance; intense desire for advancement
• Listen to your body and don’t force a pose
• Study – Svadhyaya
• Study of oneself
• Look within and feel what’s going on inside with your body
• Practice a pose, return to anjali mudhra and feel the effects/changes
• Devotion/Surrender to God – Ishvara pranidhana
• All part of universe
• Intention and effort will help you attain your goals but results are up to the Devine

Posted by Raina on Monday, September 1, 2008

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