Yamas - Ahimsa: Non-violence

I should probably properly introduce the Yamas and Niyamas. They comprise 2 of the 8 limbs of yoga. That's right, yoga is about more than just postures/asanas. I cannot reiterate this enough, in the western world we have such a skewed perception of yoga due to the influences of social media and the proliferation of yoga studios that don't interweave the other limbs of yoga in their teachings.

The Yamas and Niyamas can be considered the ethical guidelines. I like to look at the Yamas as how we relate to and interact with the outside world, guidance as to how to react to others and the world we live in. The Niyamas relate to our interaction with the inner world, our self and our spirituality. Others say the Yamas are things not to do, while the Niyamas are things to do. Regardless they are extremely important aspects of yoga that should be given full attention.

Those of you who know me are probably sitting there chuckling, those of you who don't know me are going to learn something about me here. I may not be the most god-fearing woman, nor am I the most spiritual. That being said the Yamas and Niyamas really resonate with me and I strive daily to practice them.

There is much more beyond Santosha which I've shared before.

The first of the Yamas is Ahimsa. Ahimsa roughly translates to Non-Violence. This is a relatively straightforward concept for most people to understand. When we interact with the outside world we don't want to be violent, we don't want to hit things/kill things (even that spider who snuck up on you).

Ahimsa goes beyond that. Violence can be perpetrated beyond the physical ways we often think of. When you want to act non-violently you should also consider emotional violence as well as physical violence. Words and actions can hurt people much deeper than not striking someone, it really means to care for others in both words and deeds, to be careful not to hurt them.

Another aspect to be considered is the way we interact with our self. Part of the external world is our physical and mental being, and we shouldn't be violent toward our self. This can be particularly difficult as we have self doubt, negative self talk, if we over analyze things that we have done and berate our self. That is all violence against our self.

Be non-violent to yourself and others, this is about way more than not killing the spider.

-Desk Dwelling Yogi