Our yoga practice follows the 8-limbed path as set out many centuries ago by Patanjali in his book of yoga sutras (see my blog post here to learn more about this great sage and his work). In the western world our yoga tends to focus on the third limb, asana - the physical postures of yoga, with a little less focus on the following 4 limbs: Pranayama - breath control, Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses, Dharana - concentration and Dhyana - meditation.
The first two steps on the path of yoga are the Yamas and the Niyamas. The Yamas are five principles that form an ethical foundation to live by and the Niyamas are five practices of personal discipline to help know the Self better.
The first of the five Yamas is Ahimsa, which translates as non-harming or non-violence. Ahimsa asks us to offer kindness and compassion to all living beings including, and especially, to ourselves. We must learn to live in a way that causes as little harm as possible - to others, to the earth we live on and to ourselves. If we take care of ourselves we feel better and life flows better - the world around us feels our good energy and responds to it in a positive way.
If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I am an advocate of taking time to pause in your busy day for a mindful cup of tea, to take a bath, do your yoga practice, have a massage and get outside in the natural world. All these things are your practice of Ahimsa.
Other, more subtle ways of practicing Ahimsa might include making healthy decisions about what to eat and drink, spending time with people who lift you up rather than drain your energy, noticing how you manage your time and not allowing others to steal it (it's precious) and noticing negative, harmful self-talk and choosing to replace the critical words with kinder ones.
Noticing the areas in which you tend to get stressed can be really helpful - you can then do something to change the pattern. Do you leave yourself enough time so that you are not rushing? Do you put off doing things which really need to be attended to? I mention these two harmful habits because I have struggled with them in the past. They caused me personal stress and anxiety but I was also causing harm to others - indirectly and non-intentionally but they had an impact nevertheless. Through mindfulness towards Ahimsa, and the other teachings of the eightfold path, I have become more aware of doing what I can do to protect my energy, and be kinder to myself and others.
The work is never finished though - us human beings have a tendency to forget then remember, then forget and remember again. So let your yoga practice serve as your reminder to take care of yourself and therefore others. Sometimes a gentle nudge from a loving friend or family member, some journal writing, a timely blog post or a weekend yoga retreat will help too.
Which brings me back full circle to that lovely weekend of yoga, good company, warm sunshine, beautiful surroundings and a small group of women doing a fabulous job of practicing Ahimsa :-)
If you're inspired to pay more attention to Ahimsa why not take a relaxing bath before bed using just 4 simple ingredients.
Lavender and Peppermint Bath Salts
1 cup of Epsom salts (you can buy this in the chemist, health food shop or online)
5 drops of Lavender essential oil
5 drops of Peppermint essential oil
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
Pour the 4 ingredients under the running tap, and swirl them around in the water. Step carefully into the tub (the olive oil can make it slippy) and relax for at least 15 minutes. To keep the bath as natural and effective as possible don't use any soap or other man-made products.
The Epsom salts naturally contain magnesium which is a wonderful muscle relaxant and will leave your skin feeling smooth and soft. Magnesium is vital for "strong bones and teeth, balanced hormones, a healthy nervous and cardiovascular system, and well functioning detoxification pathways." (click here to read more about magnesium from the Weston A Price Foundation). Bathing in Epsom salts is a good way to increase your magnesium intake as well as provide a relaxing bedtime ritual to help you get a good night's sleep - double Ahimsa value!
Continuing our journey exploring the teachers who have influenced yoga as we know it today, we take a massive leap in time to the late 1800's when the first yoga teachers started coming to the west. Swami Vivekananda was the first to share the teachings in the US and England but, again, they were philosophical and religious teachings rather than the practice of physical postures. It wasn't until the 1920's when Tirumalai Krishnamacharya opened the first Hatha Yoga School that the physical practice of yoga became more widespread. Through his dedicated work at his school, and through many lectures and demonstrations around the world he transformed Hatha yoga from a dying art known only to a few monks into a holistic healing system practiced by thousands.
Some of Krishnamacharya's students, namely Pattahbi Jois, BKS Iyengar, Indira Devi and his own son TKV Desikachar continued his work to promote the benefits of yoga - we'll take a look at them next week. They developed their own styles and schools which form the basis of the many different types of yoga that we can choose from today. Whichever style you practice, it's a safe bet that it has it's roots with the teachings of this one man. If you'd like to know more about T. Krishnamacharya take a look at this in-depth biographical article here.
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| Krishnamacharya |
And finally, two videos for you to enjoy....
Take care of yourself - go have some fun!
Take care of others - consideration and compassion for all beings
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