While many yoga classes today focus almost exclusively on asana, the set of physical postures, perhaps with a little pranayama or breath-work thrown in for good measure, few actually dare to venture into the entire realm of yoga practices recorded by Patanjali in the “Yoga Sutras.” For the ancient yogis, yoga was a way of life, made of a comprehensive set of practices categorized into eight different “limbs” that extended way beyond an hour or two spent on a yoga mat, but reached into each waking action, thought, word and breath.
The Bedrock of Yoga Philosophy
The ancient yogis, or sramanas (wandering ascetics), developed a highly refined set of practices intended to allow the practitioner to perceive “ultimate reality” by transcending the five koshas of the body. In other words, yoga was seen as a way of peeling back these five illusory layers, like an onion, to reveal the core of our true inner nature, or pure consciousness.
The eight limbs of yoga are, in this order: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. The first and second limbs, yama and niyama are interrelated ethical precepts advising our behaviour. They are the bedrock of any yoga practice. The five yamas relate to social discipline, or how we treat and interact with others, and the niyamas focus on personal discipline, or our relationship with ourselves.
What are the Yamas and Niyamas?
The yama and niyamas are not edicts but rather inquiries inviting us to explore our behaviour and how we can harmonize our inner and outer worlds. They are necessary to the overall goal of yoga as practice of self-transformation. If we focus only on asana, then we are only committing to part of the whole, and what’s the point of being able to stand on your head, if you are still an unkind person?
There are five practices of “restraint” in the yamas: “The five external disciplines are not harming [Ahimsa], truthfulness [Satya], not stealing [Asteya], celibacy [Bramacharya], and not being acquisitive [Aparigraha]. These universals, transcending birth, place, era, or circumstance constitute the great vow of yoga” (Yoga Sutras 2.30-31). There are also five niyamas, and they are: Santosha (contentment), Swadhyaya (self-study), Saucha (purity), Tapas (discipline) and Ishvar-Pranidhana (devotion).
Purpose of the Yamas and Niyamas
The practices of the yamas and niyamas are not about overcoming our current behaviour; if we approached it as such, then we would be guided by ego, one of the illusory states of being. The yamas are about observing our behaviour, and our reactions, and consciously choosing how to act, as opposed to our more common function of reacting. Compassionate self observation is central to this shift from reaction to action, and interestingly enough, when we choose not to react, then we are freeing up a lot of energy that will flow and support positive change, in ourselves and others: “Being firmly grounded in nonviolence creates an atmosphere in which others can let go of their hostility”(Yoga Sutras 2.35-39).
In the upcoming “Forgotten Yoga Practices” series, we will explore the power and wisdom of the yamas and niyamas, in an effort to engage with the classic yogic teachings recorded in the Yoga Sutras and to enhance our own yoga practice, on and off your yoga mat.