The Fifth Yama: Aparigraha or Non-attachment

September is coming to a close, and so we wrap up our Yoga Month exploration of the Yamas in my Monday Morning Meditation class with the fifth yama, Aparigraha (a-par-ee-gra-ha), which means non-accumulation and non-attachment. Aparigraha is often described as freedom from materialism, greed, and possessiveness, as well as freedom from fixation on and attachment to particular outcomes.

When we flip this to an affirmative way of thinking, we talk about acceptance, generosity, openness, and equanimity. A key practice in support of this yama is the cultivation of 

In our Monday Morning Meditation class on September 20th, we'll be invited to reflect on this practice in our own lives. Class is 7:30 to 8:00am ET, online, and free.

I ask you to keep our beloved studio, owners Jennifer and Gary French, and all our teachers and students in your hearts and send them loving thoughts in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The first floor studio had damage from storm surge flooding, but repairs will be underway quickly. All classes will continue online, so make sure to sign up for the online class link. 

Link for class registration: The Yoga Sanctuary

The Fourth Yama: Bramacharya or Moderation

                                         

Welcome to week four of Yoga Month!

This week, our topic is the fourth Yama, Bramacharya (Brah-mah-char-ya). 

If you google this word, you will find a lot of talk about celibacy and restraint of all sensory pleasures. But while refraining from engaging in sensory delights may have been a necessary restraint for the monks, who were yoga's first practitioners, it's not realistic, or even desirable, for the majority of the human race.(Think how quickly the human race would become extinct!) 

So let's start with breaking down the translation of this Sanskrit word and then explore what it can mean for ordinary people trying to live their lives in connection with society.

Literal Translation:

• Brahma = Infinite
• Charya = To walk or to live

So, the literal translation of Bramacharya is Walking into the Infinite.

But that's still not very clear with regard to how to implement this concept in daily life, is it? Let's keep going and see if we can help it make sense.

I like this statement about Bramacharya from Sejal Shah, because I think it explains the essence of the idea nicely:

Bramacharya is detaching from the small things in life in order to connect to the infinite.

SO, The practice of Bramacharya in any ordinary life really means to practice moderation in all things, in order to live a more peaceful, meaningful life.

It means moving beyond the small attachments of life - which can actually become very large attachments and even obsessions and addictions - and toward a deeper connection with the greater divine - or infinity.

Our attachments to sensory pleasures, be they food, drink, sex, drugs, material possessions, wealth, stuff, or habits, are all the small attachments. The pleasure we get from them is fleeting, and we can get caught up in a cycle of needing more and more of something in order to reach the temporary high we crave. 

Our cravings and obsessions originate from a sense of lack - we are trying to fill up something inside us that feels, often subconsciously, empty. Perhaps we feel unloved - by others, but perhaps more importantly, by ourselves. Bramacharya, practiced in conjunction with the other yamas, is  part of the path to self-love and less suffering.

It's important to understand that we are not being asked to forgo the delights of living! Food, drink, loving beautiful things. enjoying physical pleasures, working hard, playing, goofing off, getting exercise, or building wealth for our financial security, are not bad things to be banished! We are not being asked to live in a cave, eat gruel, and toil the land. We are simply being asked not to become so attached to worldly delights that they become the point. 

And remember, moderation implies a kind of coming to the middle. So it's possible to go overboard in the other direction! Perhaps you need to sing, dance, eat, play, and rest MORE!

As Oscar Wilde told us:

As with all the yamas, we can test our behavior back to our primary practice of Ahimsa or non-harming. If our behavior is causing harm, to ourselves or others, then we need to explore the roots of it and work toward making adjustments. It's simply that - to see our habits, assess their meaning in our lives, and make changes as needed. 

We'll meditate on this yama in our Monday Morning Meditation class on September 23rd. Class is online-only, free, and runs from 7:30 to 8:00am ET.

Register via the link: The Yoga Sanctuary

The Third Yama: Asteya or Non-Stealing

Throughout September, The Yoga Sanctuary is embracing the theme of Traveling the World of Yoga.

In our Monday Morning Meditation class, we are honoring that theme by exploring the Yamas, which are the yogic principles that guide our behaviors. This week, we will explore the third Yama, Asteya.

Asteya means non-stealing. So once again, there's a similarity to the Ten Commandments, where we are told, Thou Shalt Not Steal.

But just as with the first two yamas, non-harming (ahimsa) and honesty/truthfulness (satya), in yoga philosophy, we are asked to look beyond the obvious wisdom of not stealing other people's stuff, and to consider the many less obvious ways that we can "steal" from ourselves and others.

When viewed from this expanded perspective, the realm of what behavior constitutes stealing can be very eye-opening!

                                            

How might we steal from ourselves? Here are just a few ideas:

• When we worry excessively about the future or dwell too much on the past, we steal our own joy in the present
• Engaging in belittling or limiting thoughts about ourselves prevents us from actualizing our full potential
• Fixating on specific outcomes robs us of exploring possibilities that might be better!
• Being envious of others steals our happiness and harms our relationships

       

What are some of the ways we steal from others that are less obvious than the act of physically taking their stuff? Again, just a few possibilities:

• A pattern of always being late steals other people's valuable time
• Hogging the conversation or constantly interrupting steals the other's person's voice, steals from the pleasure of engaging with you, and robs you of hearing other perspectives and ideas
• Taking credit for someone else's idea or work is...stealing from them

                   

As always, we tie behaviors back to the first and foremost yama, Ahimsa, which enables us to recognize that these more subtle forms of theft are harmful to our relationships and to ourselves. This exploration can feel a little harsh, because applying the asteya principle to behaviors that we often excuse as being personal quirks that we think of as just the way we are, or harmless, reveals them to actually be far more harmful than we thought! 

Behaviors are not just the way we are, they are the way we choose to behave.

But remember, the point of this exploration is not to berate ourselves and add to our misery! The intention is to SEE our our thoughts, words, and actions, in a new light. 

  

Once seen, we have the ability to change our long-standing and often unrealized or acknowledged behavioral patterns, and in doing so, bring less suffering to ourselves and to others.

The Yamas certainly give us a lot to think about! We'll be invited to reflect on this in our Monday Morning Meditation class on September 15th. Class is online-only and free, from 7:30 to 8:00am.

Class link: The Yoga Sanctuary Schedule

Satya: The Second Yama

Hello! 

Continuing with my September YOGA MONTH theme of Exploring the Yamas, for our next Monday Morning Meditation class, we'll invite exploration of the second yama, Satya.

Satya is the Sanskrit word for truth. 

So the second yogic principle that guides our actions is truthfulness and honesty. Comparing again to the Ten Commandments, we remember this one: Thou Shalt Not Lie. This is very specific: Don't tell lies. But in yogic philosophy, the principle of honesty and truthfulness is, as was the case with the first yama, non-harming, broader and more complex than simply not telling lies. 

Satya means to be honest and truthful in your thoughts, words, and actions. This means not just speaking the truth, but also living and speaking YOUR truth. Being honest with yourself, and living your life with honesty in every way - by honoring your gifts, in the work you do, in the way you speak to yourself with your thoughts, and to others with your words, and in all of your actions and interactions. 

There is an added dimension to this concept, as the Yamas always ask us to test our behavior against the first and foremost principle - ahimsa or non-harming. So for example, when speaking to another person, we might ask ourselves if the truth we are about to tell them will be harmful to them. This is not always clear cut! In this example, we are being asked to really think before we speak. We are not always required to speak!

In our Monday Morning Meditation class on September 8th, we will be invited to reflect on Satya in our own lives. Join us from 7:30 to 8:00am ET online through The Yoga Sanctuary. The class is complementary and the link to register is here: The Yoga Sanctuary.

Non-harming, the First and Foremost Principle of Yoga

 Hello and Happy Yoga Month!

Throughout September, each of our Monday Morning Meditation classes will use one of the five guiding principles called Yamas (say it with a Boston accent - yah mahs) as our theme. This is a complimentary, online-only class through The Yoga Sanctuary that runs from 7:30 to 8am ET. You can join from your bed if you like, with fabulous bed head hair, and in your jammies! 

The first of the Yamas, which are guidelines for how we comport ourselves in connection with other people and the planet, is Non-harming. The Sanskrit word for this is Ahimsa, which is composed of the root, himsa, which means to cause pain, and the prefix a, which means not. (Keep using your Boston accent for pronunciation).

So, above all things in life, do not cause pain. Do Not Harm. This first yama underlies all the others, and is what we test against when we aren't quite sure what the right course of action is. More on that in the weeks to come!

Most everyone is familiar with the first of the Ten Commandments, Thou Shalt Not Kill. That rule is very clear and quite specific. Ahimsa is similar, but you can see right off that it is broader and more encompassing than simply not killing other living beings. Ahimsa refers to refraining from committing violence in all its forms - thought, speech, and action - towards ourselves and others.

                                 

           

When we inflict harm on others with our thoughts, words, or actions, it is an outward expression of the conflicts that are going on inside ourselves. And as we've all learned, when we wound others, we also wound ourselves, so our behavior can create quite a vicious cycle.

With this expanded concept of what it means to harm, we can reflect on the many ways in which we maybe harmful to ourselves. Here are just a few examples:

• Thinking undermining thoughts like, "I never do anything right," or "I don't deserve to have good things happen to me" 
• Constantly criticizing ourselves
• Subjecting ourselves relentlessly to feelings of guilt and shame
• Taking on too much responsibility
• Excessive worrying
• Over-indulging
• Harboring resentment or anger toward others

You get the idea. 

So, we begin by understanding ourselves and the roots of our behaviors, and this is what we will be invited to explore during our first Monday Morning Meditation class of September.

Hope to see you there!

Here's the link to register: The Yoga Sanctuary Class Schedule