Asteya- Walking the Path of the Yamas and Niyamas

Asteya translates to non-stealing.  From the book The Yamas and Niyamas:

We steal from others, we steal from the earth, we steal from the future, and we steal from ourselves.  We steal from our own opportunity to grow ourselves into the person who has a right to have the life they want.

Asteya doesn’t just mean not taking objects that don’t belong to you.  It means so much more. 

When we compare ourselves to others we either feel more or less than them.  This leads us to either feeling jealous, cheated or maybe better than them and we might become arrogant.  To level the playing field, we steal from others by one-upping their stories and successes; their excitement; their troubles and their suffering.  Whenever we take a situation away from someone and make it about us, we are stealing from them.  Instead, we should try to be present for them.  Listen actively.  It is not always necessary for us to explain our own story in order for our friends to know that we understand them.  Our friends know our stories and that is why they come to us in the first place.  A common example of this is what I call The Better Vacation.  Ever told someone about an upcoming vacation or trip you had planned and they then told you about all the “better” places they have been.  Did they steal a little of your excitement?  Had you ever told someone about a terrible thing that you were going through and they followed it up with their own terrible story from the past.  Ugh, stealing another person’s pain is the worst.  We should stay present when communicating with the people that fill our world and remember that each one of us has something unique, special and sacred that no one else has and it takes each one of us to make the world go around. 

In a relationship, when you give freely and receive equally, in other words, when both partners are giving equally, it creates a place for both partners to replenish themselves.  When one partner is “super” partner and gives more than the other, that partner eventually becomes depleted.  Like constantly going to the bank and taking money out but only making small deposits that won’t sustain the account.  Having an energetic imbalance creates resentment and often leads to a loss of the relationship or divorce.  If trusted by someone, do not take advantage of that trust.  When we steal from our relationships, or don’t honor our relationships, we steal from what that relationship will become or where it could go in the future. 

We should also remember that we are just visitors of this earth.  One day we will no longer occupy our physical space.  Nothing is really ours.  Everything belongs to the earth.  All of our material possessions are really just borrowed goods.  We cannot take them with us.  When borrowing from our earth, don’t take anything without replacing it with equal or more value.  Like when borrowing something (yard tools, crockpot, etc.) from your neighbor we should return it in the same or better condition.  The same applies to the earth.  We should make every attempt to leave it better than we found it.  Reduce, reuse, recycle and make every attempt to conserve and clean.  Like we came after the many generations before us, we will come before the many generations after us.  It is our responsibility too.  When we steal from the earth, we are also stealing from the future.

Also from the book The Yamas and Niyamas:

The excess in our bodies, our calendars, our closets are all signs that we are living as if there is no tomorrow and no one to live here after we are gone.  If we stop long enough to gaze at what is laid out before us, to let the mystery of beauty and the wonder of the seasons sit deeply in our soul, our hearts cannot help but burst forth in thanksgiving and gratitude to life itself. 

Sometimes we steal from others or the earth when we are afraid that we won’t have enough.  Be confident in your abilities to provide.  Remember:  There is more than enough to go around. 

Stealing from ourselves is probably the most common form of disobeying asteya.  All versions of self-harm, our lack of belief in ourselves, low self-esteem, judgments, criticisms and demands for perfection are ways we steal from ourselves and rob us of our sparkle.  The ways we live in the past or future and the walls we build up, drain our ability to grow and expand into our full and true selves.  Shift the focus in.  We need to go within to find out who you we and who we want to become instead of focusing on what others are and have.  When we search for what our dreams are, we can our build up the knowledge we need that will allow us to support and sustain our dreams and create an environment that allows us to obtain them.  When we shift the focus in and honor our true selves, we are unable to steal from others or the future.  Take the time to shift the focus to live and honor the true self, to find passion and happiness, to mourn and work through sorrow and to forgive.  Shift within and live your best self. 

Asteya and Yoga:  Perhaps we steal when we rob ourselves of our own potential by neglecting a talent, or by letting a lack of commitment keep us from practicing yoga.

Sources: 

Adele, Deborah. The Yamas & Niyamas. Duluth, Minnesota: On-Word Bound Books, 1949. 59-74. Print.

Desikachar, T.K. The Heart of Yoga. Revised Ed. Rochester, Vermont : Inner Traditions International, 1995. 99. Print.

Bachman, Nicolai. The Path of the Yoga Sutras. Boulder, Colorado : Sounds True, 2011. 153-156. Print.

Hanson Lansater, Judith. "Beginning the Journey: Living the Yamas of Patanjali." Judith Hanson Lasater. Judith Lasater, 1 Jan. 2010. Web. 2 May 2014. <http://www.judithlasater.com/writings/beginningthejourney.html>.

My Blog:  Hapy, Isshe. N.p., n. d. 2 Apr 2014. <http://isshehapy.blogspot.com/2014/03/walking-path-of-yamas-and-niyamas-ahimsa.html>.

Satya - Walking the Path of the Yamas and Niyamas

Satya, translating to truthfulness or actively becoming the truth of the universe, not only means speaking the truth (nonviolently as in ahimsa), but more importantly means living your truth.  Be authentic.

Finding your truth means stripping away all the lies and judgments you tell yourself and replacing them with your needs, desires and observances.  Are you becoming the person you want to become?  From The Yamas and Niyamas:

“Living the life that cries to be lived from the depth of our being frees up a lot of energy and vitality.”

Strip yourself naked to become more alive and only cover yourself up with the truth of you.  Seek to find your truth and when you find it, live in it kindly.  When satya is practiced with ahimsa, the rest of the yamas and niyamas become much easier.  If our thoughts, words and/or deeds are harmful, we are not practicing yoga, even if those thoughts, words and/or deeds are true.  When our thoughts, words and actions align, our intentions are more likely to come true.  If not aligned, they carry much less power.  The truth liberates!

You may think negatively and make judgments about your job, status, appearance, etc.  This negative thinking is harmful and not in harmony with ahimsa.  Notice and make a habit of turning judgments into observances.  I may think, “I am fat,” but I could easily switch this to an observance like, “I am not comfortable at this weight.”  Following that up, I might think, “I need to lose weight,” but to align my observances with my desires, I need to create an action on which to follow, like, “I will start being more active and making healthier eating choices.”

Notice the judgments you make regarding all things and persons.  Make a habit of turning them into observances.  Judgment vs. Observation:  Instead of "This room is a mess," use, "This room does not meet my 'need' for order." The first sentence is a judgment; the second one is an observation.  Judging others and/or ourselves puts us in a box and labels us bad.  Instead say, “I am having trouble with this right now,” or, “I can’t do it yet.”

What are some lies you have told yourself?  Why?  What did you protect by telling this lie?  Was it necessary?  What would you risk by telling the truth?

Practice satya when communicating with others and communicate only what you believe to be true.  Do so in a way that is non-harming (in compliance with ahimsa).  Use clear, honest, appropriate and helpful communication that considers both short and long term consequences.  Before even saying anything, ask yourself:  Is it necessary?  Is it true?  Is it non-harming?  If you can answer yes to all three, proceed.  If not, stop and evaluate what the right way to proceed would be.  You might have on the ugliest shirt I have ever seen and ask me if I like it.  Telling you that I think it is ugly would not serve anything and would create harm.  Instead I might say “It is completely your style” or “It fits you well”.  Surely you can find something true to say that won’t hurt.  Do not speak unpleasant truths and do not lie.  It’s like mother’s voice in the back of your head saying, “if you don’t have nothing nice to say, don’t say it at all.”

Ask a loved one to tell you a truth about themself that they haven’t shared before.  Take a risk and share a truth about yourself.  Take an even bigger risk and go first. 

Be wary of gossip. 

Seek out the truth from all sides, cultivate it.  When necessary, notice and learn from misperceptions.  Spreading gossip is like breathing negative energy into the world.  There are enough people in the world spitting out this type of energy.  Use your words and breathe to spread positivity. 

Practice living in harmony with satya and ahimsa for a week (or even longer) keep a journal of your observances and experiences. 

The practice of satya is about restraint: about slowing down, filtering, carefully considering our words so that when we choose them, they are in harmony with ahimsa.  It creates an atmosphere that allows us and others to find our truths and to learning and growing in them. 

Walking the Path of the Yamas and Niyamas - Ahimsa

The yamas (5 restraints) and the Niyamas (5 observances) are the first two limbs of Astanga (eight limbs of yoga).  The other limbs in order are:  asana (poses); pranayama (breathing); pratyahara (tuning out sensory distractions); and the last three limbs are turning inward (meditation) as follows:  dharana (choosing an object); dhyana (focusing on the object); and Samadhi (object receives full attention).

Ahimsa (Nonviolence)

Ahimsa is the foundation of the yamas and niyamas.  Without the practice of ahimsa the other yamas and niyamas fall apart or away.  The practice of ahimsa is to live with kindness in our thoughts, words and actions.  It is to eliminate the negative thinking.  Whether that thinking it aimed towards ourselves, towards others or objects, we should try to eliminate any thinking that devalues. 

The first step was to observe my thinking, words and actions and then recognize when I veered off the path of ahimsa.  My observation was, not surprisingly, that I frequently had negative thoughts about myself.  While I had negative thinking about others and certain objects and didn't always use words and actions centered on kindness and compassion towards those either, my primary negative thoughts, words and actions were with regard to myself and my current weight and body image.  “I don’t like the way my body looks.”  “I need to lose weight.”  “I am not sexy anymore.”

While watching a recent episode of Duck Dynasty, I heard Phil talk about how his wife is like a 14^th century art paining, in which all the paintings are of beautiful “plump” women and not of bony, skinny women.  It reminded me of my recent visit to the Minneapolis Art Institute, where I saw hundreds of renaissance art pieces, where the women, angels and men were ALL a little on the plump side, and very, very beautiful.  Perspective is what gave me my negative self-outlook.  While society’s current definition of beautiful may not “fit” my body, my definition does.  My body preforms beautiful actions and processes every single day.  It carries me from place to place, guarantying I will always be right where I am needed.  It houses and protects my mind, heart and soul.  It processes the food I put into it, uses it for energy and eliminates the toxins.  It creates a space to give others a welcoming embrace.  My body is a beautiful thing. 

When I would observe the negative behavior towards myself, I would stop, apologize to myself and correct the behavior by reminding myself of the positive qualities I had forgot about.  At the beginning, I was apologizing a lot!  These behaviors were like habits and it took some practice to correct this.  I still find myself get caught up in the negativity.  However, I am able to observe these behaviors much more quickly. 

Ahimsa is to live with kindness, complete kindness, in the way you touch the earth, in the way you feed the soul and in the way you hear the spirits sing.  

Namaste!  

Isshe