Niyama - 2nd Limb Of Yoga (2/8)

This talk covers the 2nd limb of Yoga known as Niyama (internal disciplines). The previous talk covered the 1st limb of Yamas which is about external ethics. Once we have worked on that, we are now in a good position to turn inwards and follow internal disciplines. The Niyamas are Saucha (cleanliness), Santosha (contentment), Tapas (heat of discipline), Svadhyaya (self-study), and Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God/Universe).

Transcript

Okay,

So now we're going to talk about the second limb of yoga called Niyama,

Which is translated to inner observances.

And these are duties that are directed towards ourselves and are intended to build character and support us through our journey of self-realization.

So the first limb was Yamas,

Which is related to the outside world,

And now these are inner observances that you can take on as Niyamas.

The Niyamas are Saucha,

Which means cleanliness,

Santosha,

Which means contentment,

Tapas,

Which means the heat of discipline,

Sadhyaya,

Which means self-study,

And Ishvara Pradidhana,

Which means surrendering to a higher power.

So let's start off with the first,

And that's Saucha,

Which is cleanliness,

And this extends to your mind,

Body,

And spirit.

So in an obvious sense,

Keeping a clean room and having clean clothes has a profound effect on your practice and also your well-being as well.

And the whole point of cleanliness in this aspect is to rid your body of impurities,

Which will kind of interfere with your practice.

So in the Hatha Yoga Pradivika,

There are different practices you can take on which can help add to this cleanliness.

So you can do practices such as using a Nadi pot,

Which will basically stick that up your nose and it'll kind of clear out any of the mucus from your nose and that kind of purifies your body in that sense.

And there are also different yoga breathing exercises such as Nali,

Which is an abdominal breathing exercise,

Massage breathing exercise.

And then you can also choose to eat organic foods rather than ones with pesticides.

I mean,

That's kind of like a no-brainer,

But that's part of it also.

And then keeping a very clean room and space like a meditation quarters or even your sleeping arrangements has an effect because a cluttered room is also cluttered in mind.

And you'll also notice this in meditation halls such as Zendos,

Where it's very empty,

Very clear,

And there's not much extra things added on.

It's very clear and that allows your mind to become empty as well.

Now the second niyama is Santoṣa,

Which is contentment.

And that means basically being happy where you're at right now.

So there are things in nature,

You know,

Matter,

Which is known as prakṛti,

And that's always in flux.

So things come and go,

People come and leave,

Job situations come and go.

So you want to be very accepting of the nature as it is right now and just understand that things come and go and nature is very impermanent.

It's very similar to the Buddhist emphasis on life is impermanent.

So just accept that things are going to come and go and to be content with it.

And I also find that personally,

Gratitude lists also help with this aspect of being content with where you're at right now because you are writing down things that you're happy for in this present moment and that allows you to enjoy life as it is rather than thinking that once you achieve this and this,

Then you'll be happy.

So it's all about self-acceptance and that starts with accepting the present moment as it is.

Now the next niyama is Tapas,

Which is the heat of discipline.

And this is basically bringing a certain amount of fire or energy towards your practice.

So meditation shouldn't be something that we're kind of slack.

I know we tend to picture just monks,

So this is just kind of sitting blankly and there's nothing really going on inside.

But rather it's a certain vigor that you bring towards your practice and Tapas can help burn away the impurities.

If you've ever gone to like a kind of a more intense yoga class,

You know that afterwards you feel almost a little bit free because you've effectively taken that energy or inner fire and you've transformed yourself within that period of time and the heat will burn away the impurities.

And Tapas can be balanced with Ahimsa,

Which if you recall is the first one of the few Yamas and this is related to non-violence.

And you can balance that heat,

Which if it's unchecked it can build up into aggression and abuse.

So by practicing Ahimsa,

Which is non-violence,

You can make sure that you're more mindful with the heat you're building up and you can always lower the flame if it tends to be a little bit too high with contentment,

Which is santosha.

And you've also noticed this right now with the current trend in modern yoga where it's very much physical focused,

It's almost like a workout where everyone's competing with each other.

So I think for in that instance they can definitely benefit from a practice like santosha,

Which we just learned about,

Where you're just content with where you are.

Although you're still bringing that fire of becoming the best person you can be,

It is balanced by accepting yourself and loving yourself where you're at right now.

And then the next niyama is sadhyaya,

Which is self-study.

And this is understanding the self,

But more specifically your true nature,

Your inner self.

And this can also mean kind of understanding yourself and your thought patterns and what causes your ego to flare up.

And it's basically the mastery of self and then also the mastery of your inner self.

So the way to do this is you can repeat a mantra like a om or something like that where if you repeat it enough,

Long enough,

Your whole being becomes infused with that particular mantra and then you fall into a kind of silence where you experience your true nature.

And in the Zen tradition,

There is something called a koan,

Which is very similar actually.

It's more like a riddle that you repeat yourself like,

What is the sound of one hand clapping?

It's not meant to answer that logically,

But rather the phrase is so mystical that it causes your mind to just silence.

And another one you can use is just repeating it yourself,

Who am I?

And if you repeat that into your head,

You might come up with an answer,

But then you want to think,

Okay,

But who is that person that thinks of this answer?

And then you kind of go backwards.

And the point isn't again to answer logically,

But rather to get into a space of stillness.

And that's the right approach to these kinds of mantras or koans,

Just to become into a space of stillness and then you can really discover your true nature.

And I also personally find that there are other practices you can take on which can help aid you in self-study and understanding yourself.

And one could be journaling.

I've also done a talk on chakra journaling as well,

So you can go check that out.

But essentially by journaling you can write down your thoughts and put it onto paper.

So this way you're more clear about the things that are going on in your life and what you need to improve on.

And then you can also study ancient texts such as the Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras for understanding.

And then lastly,

The last Niyama is Ishvara Pradhinana,

And that means surrender to God.

And Ishvara means God.

And fun fact,

My name is Ishar,

Which is a variation on Ishvara,

Which is God.

So in this Niyama,

You are surrendering to God,

Or you can call it the universe,

Life energy,

Something that's higher than yourself.

And it's more of a big picture concept,

So to really understand it's more so letting go.

If you take an action,

You take that action fully,

But you let go of the results.

And you're just being okay with the universe handling certain aspects.

You're not trying to control everything,

But there is an aspect of letting go here and surrender.

And in the Bhagavad Gita,

Which is a classical Hindu text,

Lord Krishna,

Right,

He talks to Arjuna and he says,

When you take on an action,

You should be not focused on the fruit of the result,

Or the fruit of the action,

So you're not focused on the results of your particular action that you're doing,

But rather you should be focused on the process itself.

So it's becoming very mindful of what you're doing,

But you're not doing something for something in return.

And you should never be focused on the results,

But rather the process of doing something.

And this has an aspect of surrendering,

Letting go,

Because you're doing something very fully,

And then you're just letting go and trusting,

Really trusting that the universe has your back and things will work out for you.

And this relates to your intuition as well,

So this is just trusting that everything is going to work out.

And this takes time as well,

Just to understand yourself and understand what your intuition is really telling you,

Because sometimes it can be clouded by other people's opinions.

So this takes some time of really quiet solitude,

To really understand what you want to do and then focus on that,

But then again,

Not trying to control the action,

But rather just doing your work,

Showing up,

And then letting go,

Receiving.

So this is the second limb of your yoga,

Which is Niyama.

And basically by adhering to the first limb and second limb,

Yamas and Niyama,

You've created a good foundation to now build your spiritual practice,

Because as I mentioned,

From the limbs going forward,

The practice becomes more subtle,

So if you have a nice foundation,

Then the practice will become deeper and it becomes more beneficial to you.

Thank you.

Reviews

I know I have heard these lessons before but it's always so good to hear them again thank you. ☮️💖🙏