Living the 10 Yamas on the International Day of Yoga

“Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day-to-day life and endows skill in the performance of one’s actions.”

– BKS Iyengar

Yoga is a 5000 year old practice that brings benefits far beyond stretching and bending and increasing your flexibility. Yoga is much more than getting your sweat on or being able to touch your toes.

The International Day of Yoga was created in 2015 to take yoga back to its roots and halt the commercialization that has crept into it over the last few decades. The International Day of Yoga is held on June 21st, the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere due to the fact that it is the longest day of the year and is related to the time when yoga was first shared.

The theme for this year is Yoga for Humanity. In this chaotic world this is the perfect theme to help you take your yoga practice off of your mat and into your life. Making the Yamas, the first limb of yoga, the very foundation of your yoga practice, roots your yoga journey in the principles that seek good for all.

These are a few asanas to help you align Yoga for Humanity into your yoga journey:

• Tadasana (Mountain Pose) - standing firm for justice

• Peaceful Warrior - seeking peace for all

• Warrior II - reaching for peace & balance for all

• Cobra - opening your heart to peace

• Forward Fold - seeking from a different perspective

Tadasana - Mountain Pose - Standing Firm For Justice

Peaceful Warrior - Viparita Konasana - Seeking Peace For All

These asanas will bring you great value as you travel along your yoga journey. They are all centered and grounded in peace & love and help you continue to develop an awareness and sensitivity with your body, energy, ego and spirit.

Warrior II - Virabhadrasana II - Reaching for Peace & Balance For All

Cobra - Bhujangasana - Opening Your Heart To Peace

Founding your yoga practice on the Yamas, the 1st Limb of Yoga lays the groundwork for you to flourish and grow for years to come. In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, one of the key classic yoga texts there are 5 Yamas (II:30,35 - 39). In some other classic texts, such as the Yoga Yajñavakjya, which precedes the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, there are 10 Yamas.

The 10 Yamas in the Yoga Yajñavakjya are:

1. Ahimsa - Non-Harming

2. Satya - Truthfulness

3. Asteya - Non-Stealing

4. Brahmacharya - Moderation

5. Daya - Compassion & Kindness

6. Arjava - Sincerity & Non-Hypocrisy

7. Ksama - Forbearance & Forgiveness

8. Dhrti - Steadiness of Mind

9. Mitahara - Controlled Diet

10. Sauca - Purity

Recognize the value of including these principles into your yoga practice to help humanity in these trying times on the International Day of Yoga.

Namaste…