Hello and welcome.
My name is Avon,
And this is my very first offering on this app,
And I'm glad that you're here.
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This is my first of a five-part series on the Yamas of the Yoga Sutras.
The Yoga Sutras were compiled by Sri Patanjali of the Buddhist teachings about two thousand years ago.
They are the complete yoga path,
The guidelines and framework for living a content and realized life.
In the second book of the Sutras,
We find the eight limbs of yoga,
The eightfold path of enlightenment.
Sutra 2,
28.
Through the practice of the eight limbs of yoga,
The distortions of individual perception are destroyed,
And the light of true wisdom brings clarity of consciousness.
The Yamas are moral qualities that are necessary for connection.
They're behavioral foundations,
And they make our life more comfortable as we cultivate the relationship to ourself,
To the world around us,
And to the divine.
This talk will be followed on by the second of the Yamas Satya.
Today,
We begin with Ahimsa.
Sutra 2,
35.
By becoming peaceful,
We experience inner harmony,
And all outer discord ceases.
We'll be exploring,
Reflecting,
Affirming,
And meditating upon Ahimsa today.
The traditional translation of Ahimsa is non-violence.
This is peacefulness and compassion.
There's so much discord in the world around us,
And that can really affect our peacefulness within.
We can initiate change through the practice of non-harming of ourselves and others.
We can become aware and tend to our anger toward ourself and toward others,
And our reactive behaviors.
We can have respect and care for self and for others,
And we can cultivate this through our thoughts and actions.
The practice of Ahimsa,
Compassionate kindness,
Loving understanding.
Some practical steps.
Be patient with yourself and with others.
Forgive yourself of something,
And forgive another of something.
Express gratitude toward yourself and toward someone else.
If someone's rude or unkind to you,
React and respond kindly to them.
Lend a listening ear to someone who needs to be heard.
How could you be more peaceful and respectful with your own physical body?
How could you be more peaceful within your thoughts,
Your thoughts toward yourself and toward others?
Does your lack of peace contribute to a lack of peace in your home or in your workplace?
I'll be guiding you through a Ahimsa meditation and affirmations.
So making yourself comfortable either sitting up or laying down,
Somewhere that your body can be at rest.
Making sure that your temperature will be just right,
And taking any props or materials that you might need so that you can drop into this meditation.
Allowing the body to settle into stillness.
Allowing the whole body to become heavy and relaxed.
Closing down the eyes.
Relaxing through your face and jaw.
Relaxing through the top and back of your shoulders.
The arms and legs relaxed and heavy.
And bringing your awareness to your breath.
Just the natural breath without any alteration.
If the mind wanders away,
Gently guide it back to focusing on the breath.
Bringing your awareness to your chest,
To your heart center.
The space of compassionate kindness,
Unconditional love and peace within.
And sense a softening around the chest and the heart space.
All holding and tension.
Releasing.
Every exhale,
The heart space softens.
And visualizing a warm pink healing light through the chest.
Healing,
Softening and relaxing.
Imbued with the beautiful peaceful energy of Mahimsa.
Which was imbued by icons such as Mother Mary,
Mother Teresa and the energy of the deity Kuan Yin,
The goddess of compassion.
A warm healing pink light from the heart space.
Permeating throughout the whole torso.
Through the legs and arms.
Through the feet and hands.
Through the neck and head and face.
The whole body bathed in a glowing healing pink light.
Nurturing ourselves,
Our physical bodies and our minds.
And bathing you in peacefulness.
And silently repeating to yourself after me the Ahimsa affirmations.
I breathe in peace.
I breathe out stress.
In my thoughts,
I practice peace.
In my actions,
I practice peace.
In my words,
I practice peace.
I feel harmony with all.
In each situation,
I practice loving kindness.
Calling the pink healing light back to the heart center in the chest.
Soothing any tension.
Feeling a sense of compassion and unconditional love.
And begin gently deepening the breath.
Bringing more air up into the lungs.
The breath slowly stirs the body into some gentle movement with the fingers and toes.
And keeping the eyes closed,
Wrapping your arms around you and giving yourself a nurturing big hug.
And when you're ready,
Slowly opening the eyes to a gentle gaze.
And taking your time,
Back into your surroundings.
May you go well practicing Ahimsa.
Blessings.
