Niyamas

the second limb of yoga are the niyamas and they flow seamlessly from the yamas, the first limb that deal mainly with our social interactions. What we arrive to now is more personal in its nature, an inner observance of our own conduct and what many consider to be the core practice of our yoga. This is really about our inner relationship with our essential self, while the yamas focused in how we related to the world - and at a certain point we find how this all blends together, the intimacy of self and world. That's the true and pure spirit and practice of yoga, the realization of this union. 

again, like the yamas, there are five niyamas to our practice, and just as before these are guidelines, suggestions and to be undertaken with a certain grace and understanding. We are not meant to approach any of our practice with a rigid sense of adherence, that everything must be perfected in the shortest time possible, holding ourselves to an impossible standard. These are suggestions that meant only to lead us to a greater peace of mind, a true and lasting happiness and realization of joy, and to approach them with anything less than a gentle and easy enthusiasm simply leads us astray from our original intention. 

it's all meant to be approached with joy.

practiced with a sense of love. 

and with this we come to the five niyamas - 

Saucha: which is purity, cleanliness of body, mind, and spirit. 

Santosha: is to be content, practicing non-judgement with ourselves and our practice, as well as with others, it's just a gentle way of being, abiding in our true nature. 

Tapas: and here is perhaps my favorite, this is where we commit fully to our practice, having a burning enthusiasm for our approach to what we do, a passion for what we consider essential to our lives, such as art, meditation, or a physical expression such as asanas, or some other form of movement. We give ourselves full to the motion. 

Svadhyaya: self reflection, studying our inner world with great observation, bringing light to our own pure aware nature. This could also be the practice any sort of inquiry, simply turning inwards at any odd moment of the day to reflect directly upon whatever's happening now and residing in it's flow. 

Ishvara pranidhana: our last niyama, surrendering to ourselves, recognizing our highest nature is tied to life itself and it's eternal flow. We could call this turning to God, or just as easily letting go of our personal control, ego, and accepting ourselves as connected to a higher power. I prefer to think of this as simply surrendering to life, allowing myself to relinquish the need of always being in control. 

and there are the five niyamas, guidelines, suggestions really for an easy way to live. What they offer us is an alternative from a more selfish approach to life, observances that place a focus on our inner-world experiences and less so on what the modern world emphasizes as important. These niyamas are meant to be approached quietly, a personal practice that leads to contentment, joy, and a deep appreciation for our lives. Like all yoga, it's a subtle practice, deepening over time, eventually finding ourselves seamlessly connected to the world. That our practice is indeed...

simply our connection. 

~

Peace, Eric