| |
No, these are not animals from Africa. These are abstentions (yamas) and observances (niyamas) that are observed within the yoga philosophy. It is important to remember that yoga is a practice of body AND mind. So these yamas and niyamas are practiced not only through one's actions but also through one's words...and very importantly...through one's thoughts. It is considered relatively easy to control the body, but oh so difficult to control the mind!
Did you know that Dolphins have a "see right through you type" vision? For example, they can sense, or in essence, see if your food is digested or not. So they can easily tell if someone is nervous or jittery. What if we were able to see right through others? If we were able to see whether someone was telling us the truth? If our thoughts were handed right out on the table along with the deck of cards... do you think something else might replace card games then?
As you read through the following yamas and niyamas, ask yourself if when these actions come into your life do your thoughts and words correspond. This is not meant to be a guilt trip exercise... it is meant as an exercise in awareness.
These yamas and niyamas were first recorded thousands of years ago by an Indian Sage named Patanjali into an ancient text called, "The Yoga Sutra." It was the first written recording of ancient practices of yoga that, up until that point, were only learned orally from teacher to student. In this text, Patanjali put into writing what he learned from his teacher, who had learned from a lineage of other teachers ... and now, thousands of years later, this sutra (simple thread) is available today for you to read. My Yoyoga renditions are meant to encourage you to read and reflect more on this simple thread and how it weaves through your individual life. I encourage you to read further on these yamas and niyamas. The original sutra was written in Sanskrit. There are now many translations of The Yoga Sutra on the market by various authors.