In the ancient yoga scripture, The Yoga Sutras, sage Pantanjali writes about eight limbs of yoga – the eightfold path to enlightenment. In honor of the Citizen Effect’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge, we’d like to touch on those 8 limbs this month on WelcomeOmDC and bring them down to a practical level. Specifically, how do we/you see these eight limbs in our daily lives? We’ll give our quick take, and welcome you to share yours.
The point of this series is to remind anyone struggling with the task of doing 30 days of yoga to realize that, by definition, yoga is more than just going to class or doing sun salutations at home. Yoga is the union between body and mind, and that union is not accomplished by pigeon pose alone. This is a lifelong practice (the key word) that we’ve taken on and it encompasses how we strive to treat others, how we work to treat ourselves, both physically and mentally, and how we connect the universe around us.
*****
While the yamas, discussed last week, are ”restraints” to follow to cultivate good moral character and purify how we treat others, the niyamas are “observances” to help dissolve illusion and achieve enlightenment from within. Pretty easy, right?
Uh, no. These personal observations can be daunting and go against most everything that our fast-paced, super-sized, upgrade now, consumerism society tells us will make us happy.
Like the yamas, there are also five niyamas:
Saucha: purity – of thought and action, acting from compassion
Santosa: contentment – accepting circumstances and people in our lives how they are, and enjoying the moment as it is
Tapas: austerity/discipline – dedication to daily practice
Svadhyaya: self-study – reflection on the self, studying scriptures or text that connects you to the self
Isvara Pranidhana: devotion to a higher power – surrendering/dedicating the benefits of your practice outside yourself
There are so many ways to interpret the niyamas, and you notice see them every single day.
Recently on my way to work, I’ve been catching myself silently judging people around me, in good and bad ways. “I like that skirt,” “I wish this person would walk faster,” “Must be nice to get to wear jeans to work.” etc. It makes me feel like an evil person when I realize that some of this constant internal chatter is not very nice, and not coming from a pure place, not saucha.
A yoga teacher once told me in class, “If you find yourself thinking something negative, see what happens when you flip it around and make it positive.” I’ve been practicing this lately. If I catch myself about to say something, even in my own mind, that is harsh, I try flipping it around.
For example, instead of being angry at the slow death march of tourists in front of me taking up the entire sidewalk when I’m trying to get to work (in a hurry people!), I silently thank them for visiting and boosting our economy. At the woman who elbowed me, quite firmly (and painfully I might add), as we passed each other on a narrow running path because I didn’t scoot far enough over for her, I sent a silent hope that her running helps works out whatever pain might be in her heart. The flip of my thoughts isn’t always genuine, I am choosing to try to think something different, but with practice, I hope that the flip will eventually be more instinctual.
This has not been easy. I’m cynical. I’m judgemental. Everyone is to a degree, but I realized that the only person my negative, unpure internal thoughts hurts is me. Its poison in my mind and the niyamas might just be the antidote. But like anything else in yoga, even changing one of my natural behaviors will take practice. Its worth a try, right?
So maybe if you’re participating in Citizen Effect’s 30-Day Yoga Challenge and can’t seem to make it class today, try observing your behavior through the lens of a niyama and see what comes up. Tell us about your experience below.
