THE 8 LIMBS OF YOGA: 1. THE YAMAS -- THE GREAT VOW

I'm loving the Yoga Sutra class at Yoga Circle!  We studied the Sutras as part of our yoga teacher training, but a review and deepening of this study called to me.  It's the heart of yoga and I wanted to learn more.

A couple of weeks ago we visited the Sutras of the Yamas (one of the Eight Limbs of Yoga).  The Yamas are like the Moral Code of a yoga practice.  Yama means control or restraint or regulation.  We must restrain our worst impulses, our default ways of acting that do not contribute to the greater good of self and others.  The Yamas call us into ethical relationship with others.  How we treat others demonstrates in real time the effectiveness of our yoga practice by showing us the quality of our inner state of mind made manifest in the social order.

Here are the Yamas:

Ahimsa -- non-harming; non-violence
Satya -- truthfulness
Asteya -- non-stealing
Brahmacaraya -- energy conservation 
Aparigraha -- non-greed; non-hoarding

Practicing the Yamas is considered to be "The Great Vow" of yoga.  In my study of the Yamas we explored each of these and then during our Asana practice, we grounded each in a series of poses as we literally took "The Great Vow" together.  It was deeply meaningful to me.

The Yamas are to be taken seriously and a yogi/yogini will keep this vow uppermost in his/her mind as s/he goes about the day.  Challenges will arise and perfectly attending to each Yama may feel in conflict or even impossible.

How can that be?  Let's take a closer look:

Ahimsa seems like a no brainer.  Few of us would seek to harm another, right?  We don't go around picking fights or beating people up or even verbally abusing those with whom we come into contact.  But take a step back from the extreme of "harming" and see if you make snide comments, use sarcasm to express yourself, offer a hurtful opinion.  Do you post mean memes on Facebook?  Do you gossip about your officemate?  What if your actions and behaviors feel harmful to another, even if not to you?  Is it harmful to eat foods grown in toxic soils (you may be harming yourself) knowing that a farmworker was exposed to chemicals to give you cheaper lettuce?  Do you engage in negative self-talk, harming your psyche?  Some yogi/yoginis also interpret this Ahimsa as meaning non-harming toward any creature and turn to vegetarianism.  What ways do you think you might be causing harm?  How can you be more mindful in practicing Ahimsa?

Satya, or truthfulness, is another easy one, right?  You likely see yourself as a truthful person.  Yet...how many "white lies" do we tell to avoid hurting someone's feelings?  Friend: "I love my new red dress, don't you?"  You, thinking: "Hmmm....no, it's awful!" You saying, "Yes!  So cool!"  You've just told a lie to try not to harm (Ahimsa in conflict!)  Maybe you could have answered the question with a truth that wasn't a lie: "That is such a vibrant color on you!"  Or how many lies do we tell others (and ourselves) to justify our behaviors, to save face, to avoid consequences?   Satya is also connected to keeping our word -- to following through on commitments to ourselves and others. Truthfulness means taking a close look at our inner motivations and our personal integrity.  Have you caught yourself in a lie?  How can you be more mindful in practicing Satya?

Asteya means not taking from others anything not freely given through mutual agreement.  You are an honest person and would never think of robbing a bank.  You wouldn't go into a store to shoplift.  But do you point out when the waitstaff forgets to charge you for your dessert?  Do you constantly interrupt others, essentially stealing their ability to be heard?  Are you habitually late, "stealing" time from those waiting for you?  Have you ever taken credit for someone else's idea?  How many instances can you think of when you "stole" something that wasn't really yours to have?  How can you be more mindful in practicing Asteya?

Brahmacarya is concerned with keeping us in balance.  We need to conserve vital energy in order to move it in more productive directions.  The traditional interpretations of this Yama deal with sexual energy -- the idea of controlling those urges and cravings and adhering to fidelity and perhaps celibacy.  It is certainly true that sexual faithfulness would fall into this category.  In more modern interpretations we broaden the meaning of this Yama to also include finding balance in our lives; to practicing moderation.  Do you habitually overeat?  Indulge in too many beers?  Work at the office until after everyone else has gone home?  Watch TV until the wee hours?  Work out at the gym compulsively?  Meditate to the exclusion of interacting with others?  In what ways do you feel out of balance and how does this impact your relationships with others? How can you be more mindful in practicing Brahmacarya?

Aparigraha, or grasping, greed, and hoarding leads to separation.  Our Ego wants.  Our Ego identifies with using material objects to define us.  We become possessive.  We shout, "Mine!" like a two-year-old and grieve the loss of our "stuff" as if it had real meaning.  The classic example would be of a person who is a hoarder and cannot part with anything.  Or a miser who hoards money to feel important.  Some lord power over others.  Accumulation and "want" are created by advertising, causing us to feel unsatisfied with life unless we have the latest cool gadget.  Can you relate?   Or maybe you cling to an idea or a dogma and cannot abide an opposing view.  Not hoarding things and ideas can free us to realize all is temporary and will pass from us in time -- even our very lives.  Can you identify any ways in which you are grasping or greedy?  Can you let go?  How can you be more mindful in practicing Aparigraha?

There is so much to explore, learn, and internalize in our yoga practice.  I hope you've enjoyed this stroll through the Yamas and hope you'll also explore practicing these ethical guides.  You will not do it all perfectly and must use your powers of discernment to untangle conflicts, using your own integrity as your guide.  Yet even if done imperfectly, living in balance with generosity, truthfulness, compassion, and an awareness of the temporary nature of our human lives can ground and root us in the "now" while also providing a framework to live with increasing confidence, joy, and freedom.  It's a practice worth pursuing; will you take The Great Vow too?©

Namaste, donnajurene
Photo Credit:  www.pixabay.com
Resource:  The Path of the Yoga Sutras - A Practical Guide to the Core of Yoga by Nicolai Bachman.

LET'S GET REAL

I've been blogging away lately about deep and sometimes confusing yogic philosophy.  I'll get back to that, but let's take a break today and get real about a real life, every day, normal, and relatable topic.  Underwear.

I hope I don't offend anyone here, but I have to confess that I'm not very well-informed about yoga underclothing so I'm diving in with my confusion.

At Yoga Teacher Training, we talked informally (it was not part of the curriculum) about what to wear under those form-fitting yoga pants.  We even had a show-and-tell about a certain thong-type garment that appealed to some and appalled the rest.  Do you care if you have visible panty lines?  Or do you take all reasonable measures to ensure you do not?  Do your undies ride up in all the wrong places or ride down under that little pooch of a gut about halfway through class?

I'll confess.  I strive for comfort over style:  I don't care if you can see my panty lines and my more than a little pooch of a gut sometimes captures the upper elastic on my undies and takes it hostage too far south of my waistline and I have to go in and readjust.  Maybe you've noticed.   I'm on a quest to lose the pooch rather than resort to another type of undergarment.  But that's just me being stubborn.

As for the upper regions of underneath, who out there can recommend a perfect yoga bra?  I have a bunch of "sports bras" that have that little removable padding in the cups.  Yesterday I didn't notice until half way through class that the padding on the left side had somehow migrated over itself, doubling the thickness on the upper half of the cup, creating a bulging "shelf" that bisected my breast.  I tried to ignore it.  I tried to tell myself something so insignificant didn't matter a bit to my practice -- not to how I did asana nor to the calming of the fluctuations of my mind.  But my mind was totally fluctuating over this wardrobe issue.

I was in the front row, facing the other side of class, absolutely convinced that everyone could see my abnormally lumpy left side and either be concerned or inwardly laughing.  I tried to surreptitiously slide my hand in there to readjust, but there was no easy fix.  I'd have to leave and get partially undressed to fix it, so I prioritized my practice and just let it be.  But the minute class was over I fixed it and vowed to do a better job of looking in the mirror next time before I dash out the door to class.

There must be a remedy for these errant undergarments.  There must be a perfect brand of yoga undie-clothes that can remove the obstacle of discomfort and disfigurement that can be such a distraction to performing the perfect Tree Pose. (I blame the bra for my lack of balance yesterday.)

If you have any tips, please share in comments for all of us.  I really need some help here.  My yoga bliss hinges on solving this problem.  ©

Namaste, donnajurene

NON-ATTACHMENT

In my study of yoga, mindfulness, and Buddhism one theme repeats throughout -- non-attachment.  What does this mean?

Well, we make plans and plans often go awry.  How do we respond?  For me, it's usually with frustration, disappointment, even grief.  I want things to go the way I expect them to go!  Otherwise why even try?  Why plan, organize, and put forth effort if we have no control over the outcome? The heck with it, right?  Wrong.

Remember in the last post I said I got lost in my Prakriti -- that big bag of life experience we carry on our backs that we erroneously think is the real us?  This is the place of habits.

We have a certain way of doing things.  We always do them that way.  They are habits of thought and action that are often repeated without intention or thought.  We put our shirt on before our pants; we brush our teeth before we wash our face; we drive to work on auto-pilot; we eat that extra cookie; we worry about our weight; we rise up from a forward fold arms sweeping up from our sides to reach over our heads in exactly the same way every single time; we expect people to be predictable, etc.

These habits form "grooves" in our brain.  We act without true intention; without thinking.  The Sanskrit word for this is "Samskara" -- the endless chatter in our minds; the repetitive habits of our actions.

To interrupt these habits, which can be unconscious and limiting, we must practice relentlessly.  What does this mean?  It means practicing mindfulness.  It means whenever you find yourself in a familiar thought or action pattern -- or Samskara "groove"--  we consciously replace it with a new, more helpful thought or action, or Vairagya.  This unrelenting practice of awareness is called Abhyasa.

Every morning I get up and pour my cup of coffee and make a slice of whole wheat toast with butter and jam.  Every morning, without fail.  This is what I do.  I like it.  I don't even stop to think if this is what I really want, if it's good for me, it's just what I do.  (Samskara)  But lately I've decided that may not be the best and most nutritious breakfast for me.  I'm noticing I don't feel great after this breakfast.  What would happen if instead I prepared a cup of Auyvedic herbal tea and a small bowl of oatmeal?  That might help calm my tummy issues, provide me with more nutrition, and help me lose a little weight.  But that breakfast just doesn't feel right!!!  Until I get into the new groove -- Vairagya.

Will this solve my digestive problem?  Well, it might.  Or it might not.  The new "groove" also becomes a Samskara if I don't continue to practice Abhyasa -- the unrelenting practice of being in the present moment.  The present moment might find me feeling better or it might not.  I must practice non-attachment to the outcome of my practice!  I must find a "no groove" place where each moment is new and each thought or action is meant to be noticed in this moment, not with an eye to the past that no longer exists nor to the future that will never come.  I have to keep practicing.

This is all so confusing, isn't it?  We Westerners of the rugged independence ilk, who value hard work and goal-setting to achieve our desired outcome have a hard time letting go of attachment to that work and the outcome we want.  Yet how often do we stay in a state of repetition, of a swirling mind that never stops, of habits that have long outlived their usefulness?

This state of Samskara can only be interrupted with intentional noticing.  We can then make intentional changes.  And then we practice noticing that!  And we practice some more with more noticing and then maybe we make more changes.  We are not really trying to find the perfect outcome.  We are only practicing awareness of the present moment.  And really, the present moment is all we have, the only real thing, and our attention to it is the point.

I get that this is a hard concept.  I am only now finding a glimmer of understanding of it with my second course of Yoga Sutra study and a revisit to some Buddhist and Hindu teachings.  I find it challenging and also freeing to realize that I can't control anything, really.  I can only be present to this moment and trust that I can notice and take action that serves me in the now.

Give it a try. Notice a habit of your own or a thought pattern that drives you crazy.  Get quiet and take note.  Really notice what you are doing and thinking.  No judgement.  Then do or think something more helpful, if that is appropriate.  Just for now.  Don't get caught thinking this will solve or change anything, even though it might.  Just notice and make a change.  See how that feels.

Samskara is the old, maybe not useful, groove.
Abhyasa is the unrelenting practice of awareness.
Vairagya is the new groove to try on.
Non-attachement is no groove at all.  Just be here now.

Have fun exploring!©
Namaste,  donnajurene

Thanks to Elizabeth Gray at YCS for her wisdom and teaching of the Yoga Sutras.  Hope I got some of this information almost right.  I'm not attached.  LOL

I FORGOT

Well.  Humility comes in all sizes.  I got a huge dose recently.

Oh yes, I did the yoga teacher training and was feeling pretty proud; pretty confident; pretty, you know, special.  LOL   I learned all about Asana (the poses), Sutra (the philosophy), Pranayama (the breathing) and Anatomy (the body).  I learned first and foremost that yoga isn't about poses, it's about calming the fluctuations of the mind. Everything we do is in service to that outcome.  I know that!

I know about Prakriti -- the big bag of "ego", what we identify with, our roles and thoughts, past and present experiences, etc.  And I know about Purusha -- the unchanging pure awareness that is our true Self.

And I know that if we don't still the mind we grow confused and come to believe we are the fluctuations of the mind -- that all those things that change and evolve and disappear over time are really"us"; really important, really real.

Well, as a spiritual being in a human body I am also of the opinion that we do experience all those things as real as our default.  How could we not?  We have to learn about the higher Self that observes the craziness.  And sometimes we forget.  Sometimes Prakriti grows so big and bold and heavy and all consuming that there is no room for any notion of a higher Self, an observer.

That happened to me recently, right after graduating from my teacher training.  I forgot everything and I abandoned all I knew, all I had learned, and fell into full immersion in a personal/relationship situation that blew the doors off my yoga practice.  I cried through a couple of yoga classes and stopped going for awhile; I forgot my diaphragmatic breathing;  I couldn't even begin to access the wisdom of the Sutras; and my body, oh my poor body, was flooded with cortisol (the stress hormone) for about 2 straight weeks -- my sympathetic nervous system in Fight, Flight, Freeze mode every minute of the day and night.  I didn't sleep much.  I lost weight. (Always a happy side effect of trauma!)  I saw no end in sight.

But to my credit, I never give up.  I read.  I researched.  I got support.  I talked and talked and talked to the person I had the issue with.  We eventually found common ground and while that ground may still be a bit shaky, it's solid enough not to fall over right now.

Yesterday I went to the first class of the Sutra series at Yoga Circle and to my delight found five of my yogini teacher training friends there too.  We had all come back to learn more from our guru, Elizabeth.  I went to her gentle yoga class this morning too and realized I was finding my way back on the path of calming the fluctuations of the mind -- the true purpose of Yoga.

With repeated study, reminders, exposure to the amazing wonders of yoga, I trust that I won't be thrown so far afield next time this human life gives me a challenge.  Because, life is hard.  Thankfully the  antidote is simple, if not always easy.  We just have to remember to use it.

Namaste, donnajurene

Photo Credit:  www.pixabay.com