Namaste,
My name is Jasmine Clemente and I'll be sharing some ancient yogic philosophy highlighting the significance of the yamas and the niyamas which are the first two limbs within the eight limbs of yoga.
But what are the eight limbs of yoga?
Well,
Just imagine a tall ladder with eight steps reaching high into the heavens.
The yamas and the niyamas are the first two steps on that ladder,
Serving as the foundation that provides the knowledge and inner strength needed to climb all the way to the top towards enlightenment.
Furthermore,
The yamas and the niyamas are a set of moral codes that when practiced and embodied create a much more peaceful life for yourself and those around you who benefit from your healing presence and conscious mindfulness.
In a moment,
I'll go down the list explaining each one of the yamas and the niyamas by separating them into two groups.
The first half are the yamas and the second half are the niyamas.
Let's begin.
The first yama is Ahimsa which means non-violence.
Ahimsa means not to be violent physically,
Emotionally,
Verbally and even spiritually to other people including yourself.
It includes yourself because immediately we think we don't want to harm another person but sometimes we have negative self-talk,
We put ourselves down and Ahimsa is not complete if it doesn't include you as well.
So instead of harming yourself or harming another person,
Show them respect.
The second yama is Satya which means truthfulness.
This is not just about saying the truth about how you feel in the moment but sometimes we need to wait for the right moment to say exactly how we feel.
We still need to be mindful of how our truth may affect another person.
This doesn't mean that we lie to them because we don't want to hurt their feelings because we don't want to deceive them.
Being honest is much more honorable but there is a way to say the truth and there is a time and that is being respectful and mindful of someone else's feelings when we express our truth.
The third yama is Asteya,
Non-stealing.
This means not only do we not want to steal objects,
Money and resources from other people but we also don't want to steal their time or their energy or their feelings.
So be mindful of someone's schedule,
Be mindful of someone's lifestyle.
Don't lead them on,
Don't steal their time.
Time is something that we cannot get back.
Do not steal their ideas that they work so hard for.
Be collaborative,
Be honest with them if you like their idea and you'd like to work together but don't be sneaky,
Don't steal.
The fourth yama is Brahamacharya which is abstinence.
So this doesn't mean that you just can't have sex until marriage for example but it does mean to have some restraint and to hold back.
This is why priests and some very highly religious figures don't have sex and practice abstinence.
We don't have to be so extreme to never have sex as it is a very natural part of life and it's how we all got here but we want to be mindful of our bodies,
Our time and hold back and preserve our energy,
Our sexual energy,
Our creative energy and not give in to impulse,
Not give in to lust,
Not give in to distractions but to hold our creative and sexual energy back to manage our energy better so we are more clean and pure when we do give it.
The fifth yama is Aparigraha,
Non-greed or hoarding.
This yama means that we do not need to take more than we need.
What happens is when we take more than we need,
We hoard it,
We hold it because it's too much.
It's like having a lot of food and you cannot eat it all so the food ends up going bad.
It expires while your belly can only consume but so much so why have more than you need?
This is an example when it comes to finances,
Assets,
All types of things.
It doesn't mean that you shouldn't be abundant.
It doesn't mean that you shouldn't desire more and expand.
There is a time to expand gradually.
There is a time for it all to happen,
Where all things work together in harmony but if you only think about yourself selfishly and you take just for you and you alone,
That is hoarding and things will go bad because it's not meant to be for just one person.
The second half are the Niyamas and we will begin with Sausha which means cleanliness.
To clean our physical body which is our temple.
To clean our mind from dirty thoughts.
To come clean by being honest.
To come clean by not having toxic substances within our bodies,
Not consuming drugs or anything that is toxic to our physical body but being more mindful of wanting to consume clean,
Healthy food,
Drinks,
Thoughts and ideas.
What you see on TV,
What you listen to on the radio.
To be clean in your mind,
Body and spirit.
The second Niyama is Santosha.
This means to be happy and content with where you already are in life,
Despite wanting more but just being content with what you already have in the present moment.
The third Niyama is Tapas which means discipline and passion.
It is not enough to just be disciplined in an area where you do not feel passionate about because then it becomes redundant.
It becomes a routine,
An obligation that you don't want to do.
What we encourage is being disciplined in the area where you feel passionate and it lights your soul on fire.
This will make you want to become better at that focused area.
It will make you want to wake up earlier.
It will make you want to study more.
It will make you want to become greater in that area,
Possibly even a master because there is a burning desire within to want to achieve greatness in that area.
The fourth Niyama is Swadayaya which means self-study.
This is to reflect on who you are,
What your skills are,
What your strengths and weaknesses are and not only studying yourself but studying whatever it is you choose to study,
Any subject.
It makes you a better person when you study.
The fifth and final Niyama is Swadayaya which means surrender.
This is when you surrender to a higher power,
To source energy,
When you have faith that there is something bigger and that we do not control everything.
We surrender only because we have worked on ourselves so we don't need to blindly surrender to anything that can actually brainwash us but we surrender to something higher because we are clean,
We are honest,
We are harmless,
We are disciplined,
We are grateful,
We are trustworthy and that's why we can make the choice to surrender to something greater than ourselves which is usually love.
Thank you for listening.
Namaste.
