Friday, February 4, 2011

The Yamas and Niyamas 2011: Ahimsa

The first limb of Patanjali's 8 limbed yoga is the Yamas which translate to mean a "restraint that we willfully and joyfully  place on ourselves to focus our efforts...that allows us to head toward fulfillment of our dharma, or life purpose."    The very first yama the ancient sage discusses is ahimsa which is commonly taken to mean practicing non violence.  Ahimsa is the first step to becoming mindful of what we are feeling and therefore staying present--this being paramount in the practice of yoga.  By feeling what we are feeling in the physical body, we can prevent hurting our bodies and practice non violence first and foremost on ourselves.

While this practice sounds logical and maybe makes you think "well, duh of course, I'm not going hurt myself," it's not that easy.  When we hit the mat, whether at home or in a class, we encounter ourselves, our thoughts, our emotions and the dreaded EGO!  This latter part of ourselves is often what can make us stop practicing ahimsa and start working too hard in that twist or triangle pose.  We may think that we need to bring our belly to our thighs in a forward fold because the teacher said so and because that skinny girl next to us is doing it!  Crazy but true.  Our ego can talk us in to doing unhealthful things under the guise of seeking approval or trying to win, be first or be best.  As a dreadfully competitive person myself, I admit that this is something I struggle with both on and off the mat.  As mentioned in an earlier post, the ego has it place in our lives to help acheive goals and to help us support ourselves and our families.  If not in check however, it can be detrimental by causing us to heedlessly follow it down dark and dangerous paths where our bodies may not be ready to go.  Our yoga practice is a time when we can exercise being non-competitve and non-indulgent to our ego.   This is when we need to stop, listen to the ujjayi breath and feel what is actuallty happening in the body. 

Aadil Palkhivala, an Iyengar teacher, says that by feeling what we are feeling we are actually prevented from hurting ourselves.  To push beyond our physical limits requires that we actively strive to do so thereby disassociating from what we feel.  Pushing beyond our physical limits happens separately from feeling and being in touch with the body  These are two different actions and we can't do them at the same time.  Thus, if we actively associate with the sensations in our body, we have stopped pushing the body.  So to practice non-violence to yourself, simply feel what you feel.  No harm shall come your way on the mat as a result.  This being said, we do want to exert ourself and challenge the body in order to receive the benefits of our practice.  Remaining mindful and centered, however, should prevent pushing beyond our physical limits.

Ahimsa goes beyond our asana practice and into our lives in other ways, of course.  It goes without saying that we should never be violent toward our fellow man.  But what of other sentient beings on this planet?  What about the planet itself?  Vegetarianism a common way many yogis practice ahimsa.  Some yogis are practicing vegans, pescetarians or flexitarans as my lovely friends Nancy calls herself.  Whatever your choice regarding food, maybe choose to shop at your local farmers market, buy organic, fair trade products or free range meats, poultry, fish and/or eggs.  Essentially, make conscious choices regarding your food for your body and the planet in an effort to practice ahimsa. 

So friends, be kind to your body, the earth and all sentient beings.  All it takes is feeling what you're feeling and making conscious decisions in order to practice ahimsa.  As you practice this first yama, know that you, like Gandhi said, will be the change you want to see in the world.  Namaste and see you in class.

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