The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice - Softcover

Adele, Deborah

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0974470643 ISBN 13: 9780974470641

Verlag: On-Word Bound Books, LLC, 2009

Inhaltsangabe

The first two limbs of the eight-fold path of yoga sutras—the basic text for classical yoga—are examined in this spiritual guide to the practice of yoga. Foundational to all yogic thought, they are considered to be the guidelines to the yoga way of living that free individuals to take ownership of their lives, direct them toward the fulfillment they seek, and gain the skills to choose attitude, thought, and action. The first five guidelines are referred to as the yamas—a Sanskrit word that translates to "restraints"—and encompass nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, nonexcess, and nonpossessiveness. The last five are referred to as the niyamas, or observances—purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender. A self-study section at the end of each chapter may also be used by instructors for group discussion.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Deborah Adele holds master’s degrees in both Liberal Studies and Theology & Religious Studies. An ERYT500, she carries yoga certifications in Kundalini yoga, Hatha yoga, Yoga Therapy, and Meditation. She is also trained as a Gestalt practitioner and a Somatic Educator. For over 14 years, Deborah brought her combined knowledge of business and her in-depth knowledge of yoga philosophy to build Yoga North, now a thriving yoga center. Currently she is writing, teaching, consulting, and engaging her own personal practice.

 

Deborah worked for three years as a consultant with a firm out of Boulder, Colorado, where she combined the concept of body and breath with organizational development skills to improve leadership and management in various businesses around the country. She wrote a regular wellness column for the Duluth News Tribune and has authored two CD’s, The Art of Relaxation and The Practice of Meditation. Deborah currently owns Adele & Associates, a company whose goal is to increase clarity, productivity, and right-living in individuals and systems. Deborah is a keen and innovative thinker, and, in whatever venue she finds herself, consistently uses her knowledge and training to support others in living a life imbued with balance, clarity, and well-being.

 

In addition to her business and yoga experience, Deborah has made several trips to India for study and exploration. She feels it is important to continually ask ourselves the question, “What does it mean to be human?” by putting ourselves in places we can be challenged and changed, by telling ourselves the truth, and by sitting in some form of prayer, meditation, or reflection daily.

 

Deborah currently resides in Duluth with her husband Doug, a Lutheran minister, where their conversations around spirituality remain lively. Her life is enriched by their two sons and four grandchildren.

 

To learn more about Deborah visit her website: www.DeborahAdele.com.

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The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice

By Deborah Adele

On-Word Bound Books

Copyright © 2009 Deborah Adele
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-0-9744706-4-1

CHAPTER 1

Ahimsa

Storms rage about me. I calm my heart and send out ribbons of peace ~ peace.

~ C.L.

Nonviolence

Ahimsa

In the Karate Kid movies, Mr. Miyagi at first appears to be a silly, rather harmless little old man to seventeen year old Daniel. Mr. Miyagi is humble and unpretentious; he sits around for hours trying to catch flies with chopsticks, tends his bonsai trees, and doesn't even seem to bat an eye when provoked. But as the movie progresses and bullies threaten both Daniel and Mr. Miyagi, Mr. Miyagi springs into defensive action. Daniel's eyes are opened to the incredible ability of this old man who skillfully takes on a team of karate opponents larger and younger than he is. From that point on, Mr. Miyagi becomes Daniel's mentor in the art of skillful defense, true friendship, and the art of living.

Nonviolence may appear to us like Mr. Miyagi first appeared to Daniel. It can look so passive and unimportant that we can easily ignore its presence and the subtleties of its power, wondering what the fuss is all about. And yet, in Eastern thought, nonviolence is so valued that it stands as the very core and foundation of all yoga philosophy and practice. It is as if the yogis are saying that if we don't ground our lives and actions in nonviolence, everything else we attempt will be precarious. All of our achievements and successes, hopes and joys stand on faulty ground if they do not stand on the foundation built by nonviolence.

Killing and doing physical harm are grosser forms of violence that are easily seen and understood. However, nonviolence has many subtle implications as well. When we feel hurried, afraid, powerless, out of balance, and harsh with ourselves, we may find ourselves speaking words of unkindness or even exploding with a violent outburst. As our awareness of these nuances grows, we learn that our ability to be nonviolent to others is directly related to our ability to be nonviolent within ourselves. Our inner strength and character determine our ability to be a person of peace at home and in the world.

In the Karate Kid movies, Daniel did not go to karate school to study. Instead, he became skilled at karate by learning how to move through the daily chores of waxing cars, sanding wood, and painting fences. In much the same way, we grow our capacity to be nonviolent by learning how to move through the everyday challenges of life and by addressing the things that precipitate our tendencies toward violence. Ahimsa, or nonviolence, literally to do "no harm," calls forth from us our most brilliant and best self. Our capacity to be nonviolent depends on our proactive practice of courage, balance, love of self, and compassion for others.

Finding our Courage

We only have to look around us to see that fear abounds. It abounds in cowardly faces that turn away, in violent attacks, in walls of protection, in bins of possessions, in numerous unkind words and gestures. In an abundant world, hoarders take more than their share leaving others lacking. Wars are started and fought to seize the goods and keep the power. All around the world, children's innocence is destroyed by abuse and horror. If we look closely, we can trace all of these acts of greed, control, and insecurity back to their root: fear. Fear creates violence.

If we are to begin to address these fears, we need to know the difference between the fears that keep us alive and the fears that keep us from living. The first kind of fear is instinctual and built in us for survival. The second kind of fear is fear of the unfamiliar. The unfamiliar can become an abundant place for our exploration once we realize this fear lives only in our imagination. It is only our minds that have created the turmoil in our gut and kept us hostage to the possibility of our own lives.

An example of fear that lives only in the imagination, might be sky diving. For me, the thought of jumping out of a plane at a high altitude and remembering to open my parachute somewhere along the way, sends cold shivers down my spine and giant rumblings of fear in my gut. All of this is happening in my body in this very moment, and yet I have never experienced this activity. For me to walk into this fear, I would first imagine a different scenario for myself, something that looks like adventure and fun; something where I am competent and collected as I jump from heaven to earth. And then, were I really to step into my courage, I would call a pilot.

Seeking out people and experiences we would normally avoid provides a fertile place to learn new things about ourselves and about life. Even those we might call enemies have much to teach us. People we have previously avoided will open up new ways of thinking and will give us pieces of ourselves. As we walk into our fears with both people and experiences, we will find that our sense of self has grown. Our view has expanded; the world suddenly looks like a bigger place, and we are more competent to navigate in it. As we expand ourselves into these new places, our minds and hearts grow more open and we have less need to be violent. Thus, to create a life and a world free of violence is first and foremost to find our own courage.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to be afraid without being paralyzed. Courage is found by facing our fears – the small ones, the fat ones, the embarrassing ones, and the really big, scary ones. To live the fullness that our own life is inviting us into, we often have to let ourselves be afraid and do it anyway. If we keep ourselves safe, how will our courage grow? One of the reasons for Gandhi's unmatched power was that he continued to stay with life; he didn't run when life got too confusing or difficult. He stayed and learned from the moment, and in the process he became a skillful leader no one could match and a force that no one could stop. For Gandhi, fear became a stimulus to develop his courage.

Creating Balance

Courage demands our best self and that is a self in balance. Think about the times you were "short" with others because of too much work to do, or too much caffeine and sugar, or a restless night of sleep. Imbalance in our systems is almost a certainty for violence, as the "disease" we feel within finds its way to expression outwards. Balance creates harmony within us, and harmony within naturally expresses itself in external actions that are harmonious. Dr. Phil Nuernberger emphasizes the importance of balance when he says, "The deep harmony of balance is my most precious commodity and I guard it fiercely."

Creating balance in our lives is not an easy thing. We are a hungry, noisy people, bombarded with stimulation and advertisements that promise to grant us our deepest desires. If we are not on purpose with creating balance for ourselves, we can easily fall victim to false promises and fill every breathable space with appointments and activities and all the responsibilities that go with a full agenda. It is anti-cultural to claim any space that is simply space, or to move with any kind of lingering, or to take time for closure. We are bombarded and we bombard ourselves. And if we have any doubts, our calendars will reveal the truth of our craziness. The repercussions are inescapable, immeasurable violence to ourselves and those around us.

Like the body, the mind and soul need time to digest and assimilate. Like the body, the mind...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: On-Word Bound Books, LLC
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2009
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0974470643
• ISBN 13: 9780974470641
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 192
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: preigu GmbH & Co. KG; mail@preigu.de; ; Lengericher Landstr. 19; Osnabrück; Niedersachsen; 49078; Deutschland