The Eightfold Path — The Outward Path
This article expands on the first three limbs of the Eightfold path of yoga as discussed in Let’s Get Back To Yoga. Yama, Niyama & Asana are outward quests that help one live in harmony and master the body. These stages prepare us to quiet the mind for Pranayama and Pratyahara, as discussed in The Eightfold Path — The Inward Path.
1. The Yamas — universal moral vows
The first and second stages, Yamas and Niyamas, provide us with a list of values on how to live a purposeful life in a way that facilitates harmony amongst one another. Following these practicers is the key to bringing yoga off the mat and into daily life.
Both the Yamas and the Niyamas speak of action and thought. The philosophy being that because thoughts are manifested into actions, we can work to cut negativity right at the source.
The 5 Yamas are the following:
- Ahimsa, Not-harming — This Yama refers to not harming, inuring, killing or conducting violence. Yoga means union and the practice of nonviolence comes from understanding that harming others is harming oneself.
Let’s check in with the experts here, Mahatma Gandhi said:
“Ahimsa is the highest duty. Even if we cannot practice it in full, we must try to understand its spirit and retrain as far as is humanly possible from violence.”
- Satya: Truthfulness — Refers to truthful thoughts, actions & words (2). This one personally strikes a chord with me because it feels like now, more than ever, we are questioning what we accept as “true”. Imagine a world where we all committed to speaking from a place of truth and could focus on understanding our inner truth.
- Asteya: Non-Stealing — A person should not steal, and avoid the thought to steal from others.
In Light on Yoga, B.K. S Iyengar describes Asteya as,
“Using something for a different purpose than what was intended, or beyond the time permitted by its owner… misappropriation, breach of trust, mismanagement and misuse (1)”
Hmmm, did anyone else catch that irony of that? Yoga was misappropriated when it became a practice of Asana taught for profit instead of liberation.
- Brahmacarya: Impeccable conduct — This Yama refers to the practice of directing and maintaining our energy by being purposeful with where we spend our time. This can look like saying “no” when asked to do something that does not align to our purpose. And even in the practice of doing something that does not align, we want to bring awareness to the energy expended doing that task.
- Aparigraha: Not being acquisitive — The final Yama refers to the concept of non-possessiveness, non-greed and non-attachment. The Bhagavad Gita, one of India’s most famous epic poems, teaches us that by letting go of what we do not need, we can experience the true self at a deeper level.
2. Niyama — internal discipline
The second limb, gives us 5 values that we can follow for internal discipline. These are codes for living an engaged, purposeful life.
- Saucha: Purity — This refers to cleanliness of the mind & body, with a focus on the mind. The body can be maintained through Asana, Pranayama, self-care and basic hygiene. Cleaning the mind from negative emotions such as hatred and greed is accomplished by replacing negative thoughts with positive one.
- Santosa: Contentment — Being unhappy is quite distracting. If you have ever worked at a job you hate, you can related to the everyday struggle. For this reason, Yogi’s are told to practice cultivating contentment. One of my favorite quotes is from The Autobiography of a Yogi when Yogananda’s Guru tells him:
“How quickly we weary of earthly pleasures! Desires for materials things is endless; man is never satisfied completely, and pursues one goal after another (2).”
Recognizing that we as humans will always want more, and practicing mindfulness & appreciation in current state is ket to contentment.
- Tapas: Austerity /Burning Desire — A burning desire to fill ones goal in life. This involves removing distractions that get in the way. I recently watched the RBG documentary and was so inspired by how RBG supported her ill husband and young daughter while excelling at Harvard. When you look at her lifestyle, you see Tapas — a burning fire that kept her studying till 3 AM. After this, I remember making a decision to delete social media from my phone. I truly believe limiting social media is critical aspect for building tapas in our day & age.
- Svadhyaya — Study of the self. This requires turning the mind inwards to understand who you truly are and question what you know about yourself. I had a wise friend once ask me “Do you know yourself well?”. Startled by the question I answered, “Of course I do, I have spent so much time with me!”. Looking back then, I spent 24/7 hours a day convincing myself that I was happy living in Florida, a complete delusion. While we might think we know ourselves, always question what you truly know.
- Isvara Pranidhana — surrender to a higher power. This means trusting that a higher force is guiding us. The force can look like whatever you prefer (cosmos, god, universe, etc.). The critical factor is that when we believe, we tend to suffer less throughout life.
What do the Yamas & Niyamas look like in practice? My recommendation would be to focus on practicing one value at a time with yourself and loved ones while journaling through your experience. Many of us can relate to that one coworker or uncle we just can’t tolerate. So how do we reduce negative thoughts? Ahh once again Pantajanli has us covered with the advice that unwholesome thoughts can be neutralized by cultivating wholesome ones.
3. Asana — posture
Asana, or yoga poses, plays a role in creating discipline and stillness in the mind. When the body is healthy, the mind can reach equilibrium. This steadiness of the mind is the bliss you may experience during Savasana at the end of your yoga practice, and this feeling is just the tip of the ice-burg.
“Asanas have been evolved over the centuries so as to exercise every muscle, nerve, and gland in the body (1).”
While I could go into each one, this has already been done in Light on Yoga, a bible for modern day yoga. The thing to remember is that Asana is a technique used to silence the mind.
How can one practice Asana? Asana can be practiced every morning as a part of your Sadhana, or daily routine. Many speak on the ‘right’ way to practice Asana. Personally, my belief is that if your practice takes you inwards by silencing your thoughts, you are on the right path — So unless you have the willpower to ignore this…
… Cat Yoga might not be the move.
The Niyamas, Yamas and Asana are critical in laying the foundations to prepare for a journey to the inner mind. Check out The Eightfold Path — The Inward Path, to read more about the next stages!
- Chip Hartranft 2003. The Yoga Sutra’s of Patanjali book link
- [1]: B.K.S. Iyengar. 1996. Light on Yoga https://play.google.com/store/books/details?pcampaignid=books_read_action&id=WbA7AgAAQBAJ
- [2]: Paramahansa Yogananda . 1946. Autobiography of a Yogi
- [3]: Yogapedia. 2019. Satya. https://www.yogapedia.com/definition/5354/satya
