Our discussion begins with yama, which covers our attitudes towards our environment, how we live in the world. Here we discuss the first two yama; ahimsa and satya........

 

Ahimsa - one of my favourites and all other yama and niyama flow from here, it is like the foundation of yoga practice! Ahimsa means non violence, do no harm, to be considerate for all living things, to protect, preserve all life. Ahimsa also encompasses kindness, friendliness and peacefulness.

   Desikachar describes ahimsa in his book The Heart of Yoga, as 'Consideration for all things, especially those who are innocent, in difficulty, or worse off than we are.' (pg 175)

   You may recognise ahimsa from class as I often refer to this when it comes to safety in asana and pranayama practice. Not to push or become competitive or compare ourselves to others as it only results in negative self talk and possibly injury, which clearly doesn't serve us. 

   Ahimsa includes conscious choices about the way we act towards our families, friends, work collegues, members of the community and even those we come into contact with via internet, especially those that may cause us to rise up. 

   Conscious choices about what we eat, how we live our life and finding the middle road, when being stuck on principles may cause harm to ourselves or others, these are all aspects of ahimsa. As is looking after our environment, which nurtures our planet and our future.

   Developing ahimsa results in the virtues of gentleness and peacefulness. 

 

Satya - honesty, truthfulness, do not lie. Satya is the opportuinty for us to find our truth in all situations. This is an area that we often find ourselves compromising, how do I speak and act my truth? How do I find truth in my thoughts, actions and words? 

   One of the key aspects is not lying even if it pleases us and allows us to cover the truth. I find it interesting that we cover up lies by calling them 'white lies' or 'little white lies' which is really only making a decision that a lie is alright to tell. 

   When I use the salutation 'om satyam' when closing a letter, email or class, it is to indicate that the words are spoken or written with the intention of truth. 

   The truth always begins with 'SELF,' we are responsible and accountable for our level of honesty in thought, deed and spoken or written word. Discernment is an integral part of satya, especially knowing when to speak out or be silent if harm may be caused by the truth.