The Yamas of Yoga

Thousands of years ago a sage called Patanjali wrote down a set of guidelines for living a life of freedom and balance.  This great work was called the Yoga Sutras and to this day it remains one of the most important texts about yoga.

Patanjali described yoga as a practice of 8 parts, or limbs.  Here is a brief overview of the first limb of yoga - the Yamas:

The Yamas are 5 moral disciplines which give ethical guidelines for living life mindfully.  

1. Ahimsa: non-violence, non-harming
This yama is a reminder to have respect and compassion for all living things, including yourself. 

2. Satya: truthfulness
Using words carefully so they do not harm others. Being honest and not exaggerating or bending the truth.

3. Asteya: non-stealing
Stealing comes from feeling that there is not enough, and that something in life is missing. Practice Asteya by acknowledging the abundance that is already present in your life, and by recognising the little ways in which you steal from yourself and others (i.e. not getting enough sleep, being late for appointments, taking more than is actually needed).

4. Brahmacharya: self-restraint and moderation in all things  
Using your energy wisely, channelling it in the direction you want it to go, not wasting it in ways which will not add value to your life.

5. Aparigraha: non-possessiveness, non-hoarding  
This is different from Asteya, as it refers to jealously guarding what we have and what we want. Practice Aparigraha by being generous with what you have, letting go of what you don't need and not being resistant to change.

If you are interested in learning more about the Yamas and their guidelines for living a life of peace and accord with yourself and those around you, I recommend  this website which offers a serious of short videos explaining each Yama in more detail. 


This week I am visiting... Sarah Raven's gardening website www.sarahraven.com  

Sarah Raven is a gardener, writer and TV presenter who runs a gardening and cookery school in Sussex.  She is an advocate of growing flowers to cut and bring into the house and has written a number of books on this subject - Grow Your Own Cut Flowers being one of my favourites.  

Sarah has a mail order business selling seeds, seedlings, gardening and kitchen equipment. The website (and the catalogue) is visually appealing with beautiful photographs by renowned garden photographer Jonathan Buckley.  The site is easy to negotiate and full of useful information about growing seeds.  Especially useful is the "seeds to sow now" section which tells you what to grow month by month.  I am like a kid in a sweetshop when I order from this website and I tend to get a bit carried away! This year I intend to choose carefully and not over-order!  

Sarahraven.com is currently offering 15% off seed purchases up until Sunday 23rd February. Quote SOW14 to claim your discount.

This week I am making... Baked Peaches

This is such a simple dessert and soooo delicious.

You will need:

4 ripe peaches or nectarines
100g amaretti biscuits crumbled finely
2 tablespoons brown sugar
20g butter
raspberries to serve
ice cream or greek yoghurt to serve

Ingredients

Here's how to make them:
1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 6/200degrees c
2. Cut the peaches in half, de-stone, and place cut side upwards in a buttered oven-proof dish
3. Sprinkle the peaches with the brown sugar
4. Spoon the crumbled Amaretti biscuits over the peaches
5. Cut the butter into tiny pieces and dot on top
6. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes
7. Serve with raspberries and ice-cream or greek yoghurt

This week I am growing...Lillies

Another quick and easy job that will reward you a hundred times over this summer with long-lasting, scented flowers. 

Lillies are bulbs which can be planted any time between autumn and early spring - so I'm not late planting these! Hooray!

Choose your bulbs at the garden centre (or www.sarahraven.com where they are cheaper). They should be large and plump. They cost about £1.99 per bulb and you need at least 3 to plant together to form a decent clump. They are good value because they need little aftercare and will flower year after year.  I chose Lilium Regale, a large white lily known for its delicious scent. 

You can plant the bulbs directly into the ground if you have well-drained soil, but I like to plant them in pots which I can move around the garden to fill any gaps in the border.  Half fill a good sized pot with a mixture of grit and multi-purpose compost (lillies don't like to sit in wet soil so the grit helps with the drainage).  Place the bulbs on the compost pointy end up and then cover them with more grit/compost mix to fill up the pot. Label them and then wait for summer! At the end of the summer you can move the pot to a sheltered position for the winter and give them a feed of general purpose fertilizer.

Plant in groups of 3

Plant pointy end up

One word of warning:  lillies are the favourite food of lily beetles. You will need to inspect your lillies regularly once they are in leaf, and if you see the bright red beetles they should be picked off and disposed of. This is a challenge for a yogi practicing Ahimsa (see above). I have been known to collect buckets of snails and take them to the woods rather than kill them, but I'm not sure how to repatriate a lily beetle!