Niyamas (Internal-restraints) Ethical guidelines for the yogi pertaining to her daily activities. Observances of one’s own physical appearance, actions, words and thoughts.
Niyamas (Internal-restraints)
Ethical guidelines for the yogi pertaining to her daily activities. Observances of one’s own physical appearance, actions, words and thoughts.
These also are 5 in number,
Shauca (Purity):
Cleanliness, orderliness, precision, clarity, balance. Internal and external purification. Cleanliness.
Santosa (Contentment):
Equanimity, peace, tranquility, acceptance of the way things are. Contentment.
Tapas (Heat):
Burning desire for reunion with God expressed through self-discipline, purification, willpower, austerity, and patience. Self-mortification.
Svadhyaya (Study of the Self):
Self-inquiry, mindfulness, self-study, study of the scriptures, chanting and recitation of the scriptures. Searching for the Unknown (divinity) in the Known (physical world). Scriptural Study.
Ishvara Pranidhana (Devotional offering to the Lord):
Surrender to God, open-heartedness, love, “not my will, but Thy will be done,” willingness to serve the Lord. Surrender to God.
Relevance. Learning the lessons of the Yamas and Niyamas is a daily one. In particular, I have to consistently move my inner dialogue for being self-judgmental. I can get into the mental state where I draw conclusions about myself, and my self-worth from what I have achieved (at work, at home or on the mat). Ideally I should be able to honestly (Satya) acknowledge that I have not done by best (i.e. take responsibility), however stay present to consider and learn lessons why (but not then draw conclusions about myself for that situation).
/ 3
