Niyama: 5 practices of Self Care

Every month we have a focus or a theme we base our dharma talks around as a means to learn and explore the philosophy of yoga alongside our asana practice.

This month's focus is Niyamas - found in the second of Patanjali's 8 limbs of Yoga. Niyama is the Sanskrit term for a duty or observance. There are 5 of these observance: 

1. sauca - cleanliness

2. santosha - contentment

3. tapas - discipline

4. svadhyaya - study (of scriptures)

5. ishvara pranidhana - study of Brahma 

“They are choices we make for physical and mental discipline, which include cleanliness, contentment, and kriya yoga: practice, chanting and study, and devotion.” Eddie Stern. Niyamas are practices we do to take care of ourselves (body, mind, spirit). Often referred to as ethical codes of yoga, these five observances are geared to help us clean the inner and outer environment of our being.

When we practice regularly the desire to live by these principles naturally arises as a means to take better care of ourselves and what we engage in on all levels of existence. Our lives begin to be transformed, and it starts with a dedicated asana practice. The process arises naturally from within, it cannot be forced, if it is it will not last. We can practice some things and establish some simple routines, but the real change happens from inside. At first the tendency is to resist the change, because let’s face it, change is uncomfortable, but then eventually the energy it takes to resist change becomes too overwhelming and we begin to lean into it. Before you know it Yoga arises within you. 

The byproduct of living by these principles is that we begin to experience great energy, inner strength, clarity and a desire to keep the discipline needed in order to progress on our spiritual journey and slowly unbind ourselves from that which keeps us stuck in some form of suffering.

A blog post by Bibi Lorenzetti.

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