“One who sees divinity in all is a brahmachari.”  –B.K.S Iyengar And now here we are ready to explore the fourth yama, yay! If you haven’t read any of the last posts and are saying to yourself, “Yama, wuh?”, here’s a little information to bring you up to speed. The yamas comprise the first limb of the eight-limbed path of Raja yoga, and they are they ethical disciplines that we practice so that we can be in harmony with ourselves...

Read More

“When abstention from stealing is firmly established, precious jewels come.”–Yoga Sutras The third yama is asteya, which means nonstealing. At first, as I contemplated this yama, my mind jumped in with, “But I don’t steal. So this yama is a no-brainer. Yeah, I got this. I don’t shoplift, I don’t take anything that I haven’t paid for. Ok, next yama?” Whenever my mind says something like that, I should listen for a warning bell going off,...

Read More

“Truth should be told when agreeable, should be said agreeably, and truth should not be said that does harm; however, never lie to give pleasure.” –from the Mahabharata After my last post, you’re so excited about how awesome being honest is that you’re ready to run out and shout every last thing you’re thinking and feeling from the rooftops, because the whole world needs to know your truth, right? Not so fast, my little yogis and yoginis!...

Read More

If the mind thinks thoughts of truth, if the tongue speaks words of truth and if the whole life is based upon truth, then one becomes fit for union with the Infinite.” –B. K. S. Iyengar The second yama is Satya, truthfulness. “Ok,” you may say to yourself, “I’m an honest person. I don’t lie. Well, maybe except for a little white lie every now and again. And that’s ok, isn’t it?” A commitment to the truth means that we vow to be honest in...

Read More

To me, nonviolence means: gentleness, self-control, kindness, and compassion. It isn’t simply the absence of violent behaviors, it is the awareness of the potential for our actions to be harmful and to deliberately choose what will benefit instead of hurt. Violence can be acted out physically, verbally, and mentally–toward others and toward ourselves. If we are to be nonviolent at our core, we need to choose in each moment thoughts,...

Read More