Would you believe that you can practice yoga from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep? You don’t need a yoga mat, or yoga clothes, or even a yoga teacher – all you need is to grasp the principle of one yama or niyama (the first and second limbs of yoga), like ahimsa, and commit to the practice.
What is Ahimsa?
Ahimsa means ‘non-violence’, and is the first of the yamas, or external disciplines. To practice ahimsa is to avoid all forms of violence, not only to others, but also to yourself. At a surface level, this obviously means refraining from physically hurting anyone, or anything, including yourself. In the later instance, you could consider some of the ways in which we hurt ourselves, like eating poorly, abusing alcohol or drugs, contaminating our bodies with toxic chemicals through consumer cleaning and beauty products, or depriving ourselves of sufficient sleep.
On a psychological level, this particular yoga practice cuts to the core of our relationships. In this yogic invitation to avoid violence, we begin to consider the myriad of ways in which we actually cause harm. As you go through your day practising ahimsa, notice your thoughts towards others: the person that cut you off in traffic, or your inner-dialogue about the annoying co-worker. Do you find yourself getting caught up in thoughts of anger or jealousy?
Violence Towards Others — and One’s Self
Then notice your outer reactions to these thoughts, and how you might be hurting someone with your words, or if not directly, then in theory if they had heard your thoughts. You will probably notice, once you start to walk this path of anger and negativity, that in the end, even if your words, actions or thoughts did not in any significant way hurt the other person, you are left in an uncomfortable mental and emotional state of negativity.
In terms of the psychological ways we hurt ourselves, your yoga practice would involve being aware of the negative thoughts you have about ourselves on a daily basis. This process of actually hearing our inner dialogue is powerful and reveals the self-limiting concepts that we all harbour. For example: what goes through your mind when you make a mistake (even the smallest one), or when you fail to succeed at any goal (whether it be to do your taxes today, or to getting that promotion)? How do you feel when you have these negative reactions?
Practice Love and Compassion
The yoga of non-violence invites the yogi to explore the practice of love and compassion. When our thoughts are directed towards loving, non-judgmental awareness, on and off the yoga mat, we can release the negative energy of fear, selfishness, jealousy and judgement. Shifting your habits towards a mental state of understanding, patience, self-love and worthiness has a profound effect on our mental and physical health, and overall happiness. This practice is the absolute foundation of what it is to be yogic.