8 Limbs of Patanjali Yogastura – First Limb Yamas
The Yoga teacher training strives to highlight some of the most basic elements of yoga as specified by the Patanjali yogasutra. Patanjali talks about Eight limbs of yoga, Which he has explained it in 196 sutra – verses.
Yamas are one of first limb of the Patanjali yoga sutra. Well in very simple terms, Yamas are the various self ethnical virtues that need to be practice on path of hatha yoga. The journey toward self starts with self discipline.
Yamas – self ethnic virtues
The word Yama means reining in, and the essential purpose of the Yamas is bringing in this restraining and awareness factor. According to Patanjali yogasutra, there are five key Yamas that need to be mastered. These includes:
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Ahimsa: Non violence
Practicing non-violence and extending compassion to all beings around you, Here it is same for self also. One needs to be loving and caring to self. Many time we run over ourself, hurt ourself because of our neediness, trying to prove ourself better than other. Same we do while doing Asana on the Mat, ahimsa is respecting bodily limits. We also need to be aware of not hurting someone with words, violence is not just physical, it can be emotional, verble and physical. By slowly becoming aware of this we gain mastery over it.
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Satya: truthfulness
This is quite a challenging Yama, where many questions arise, It is difficult in this world to follow this Yama,truth is that we have to start somewhere. Commitment to oneself to speak truth is a healthy thing, this society has trained us from childhood to lie. which has lead us to a phycological stress, sickness, Being in phoney world we have forgotten to be truthful to self and others. Yoga supports honesty. questions is how? where and when honesty of words and actions to start? Just start and it will follow slowly in life. When there is confusion about if I can speak the truth or not, will it destroy or hurt someone, as we,do not know sometimes what is truth in that moment. In those situation better to keep silence.
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Asteya: Non stealing
It has more meaning than just Non stealing, sometime in life we do not know, what all we steal, its not just material things, also Time, Emotion, Love, Attention.Not to steal anything that does not belong to us, that is very important. Becoming aware of this habits of stealing attention and time, will help us to grow towards selflove. A very important lesson to learn here.
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Brahmacharya: Moving towards Godliness
A very misunderstood concept has been about this yamas, so many social people do not like to call them self yogi, or do not want to do yoga just for this reason. The word brahmacharya is translated is celebacy by many people. If the word is made of two words, Brahma+ charya Brahma means Godliness, Charya means moving towards. This yama means to do things which takes us towards godliness, Anything that you do is doing with a pure intension of compation. In this world, We are obsess with sexuality, which is not supporting to go inwards, even an advertise for a washing powder will include sexy woman. With this yamas, we are staying aware of sexual energy. Not being obsess with it not letting it over power us, but transforming it to higher centers, keeping our vitality with self. Chastity of character. Also the any desires they are creating distance between us and godliness. Being aware of that is called Brahmacharya.
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Aparigraha: Non Possessiveness
Last but very important one. Non possesiveness, Means no desire to own things. We all want more and more, and when we have material things we are not statisfied, we look for emotional, mental security, with having more possessions, basically we all have deep longing in heart which we try to fulfill with possessions, we can call it is for security, health, love, but that deep longing is for union with the godliness, we get disconnected from godliness at birth, therefore a big hole in the heart, and to fulfill this gap we start collecting, slowly greed takes over, we become possessive, This yama tell to be aware of that feeling, Letting go the excess baggage, material, emotional and physical
So in a way these Yamas as behavior codes that every yoga teacher will stress upon and has now become an integral part of the 200TTC. These valuable life lessons are seen as bringing in balance of the inner and exterior being and helping you to enjoy a more peaceful and healthy life in harmony with existence.
These Yamas find great importance in Patanjali yogasutra and have been considered as sacred universal vows. The most striking aspect of the Yamas is that any Yoga teacher would highlight is the need to be practiced in a balanced and comprehensive manner during Hatha yoga teacher training, explaining with examples how to bring this yamas on the and off the mat in life.. It is not just about physical restraint. The Yamas talk about restraint of the mind, action and even your words.
Conclusion
Therefore the reason these Yamas find such prominent position in authentic yoga teacher course is that the best yoga teacher training program strives to provide you with the most comprehensive yogic experience. No yoga training is considered complete without bringing these Yamas into position. Given the unending opportunities and powerhouse of strength that Hatha Yoga encapsulates, these Yamas help to bring in order amidst chaos.
About Diya Yoga
We are team of dedicated seekers whose aim is to bring light into the people’s life using yoga techniques. Yoga is not just Asana, yoga is a lifestyle, staying in the modern world, it has become difficult to stay happy and clear in mind. Yoga guides us towards the eternal blissfulness. Our teachers are there to guide students in to deeper understanding of yoga philosophy. It is important for us that our students go back home with transformation from this training.
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