Yoga with Dawn

After about a month of exploring the Yamas together, we’ve come to brahmacharya, the fourth of the fifth Yamas, and possibly the most controversial. According to John Philp, the root word is brahma, Sanskrit for “deity”; char means “walk” and ya means “actively”. Hence, the literal translation is “walking with God”. In layman terms, it means self-control or abstention from sensual indulgence which can include everything from over-eating to hoarding.

The reason why it is considered controversial is because brahmacharya is almost always translated to mean celibacy. I do not know why such a broad term has been coined in such a narrow manner. I actually find it strikingly ironic that we pigeon-holed brahmacharya to mean celibacy in a time where sex is more and more present in advertising and entertainment and even Yoga (The Love Guru, anyone?).

Yes, broken boundaries of Gurus sleeping with students while preaching the importance of celibacy. This “allegedly” happens. But unfortunately, I will not talk about any of those alleged incidents here (I’ll leave it up to the curious to research on your own) because I am trying to integrate ahimsa and satya as much and as best I can, and talking about what Gurus (might) have done in the past is neither along the lines of the first two Yamas.

“If I’m not going to talk about it then why bother bringing it up?” you ask? Because I think it’s important to know that too much of a “good” thing can be bad, and that at the end of the day, Yoga is about balance. For example, Richad Faulds from the Kripalu board of trustees told Yoga Journal, “Brahmacharya was over- emphasized, and to the extent that we enforced it as a lifestyle, we created dysfunction.”

As a result, I loosely interpret brahmacharya to simply mean not over-doing things. For those who know me well, you know that I am extreme in many ways, giving things 150% or nothing, and this is not an easy Yama for me. I felt the need to mention that so you don’t interpret this Yama or this blog post as a finger wagging at you, but rather as a reminder that we all struggle and we all need to be reminded to use our energy wisely.

Being an extremist can mean different things to different people: working out incessantly, over-eating, over- shopping, spending too much time on the Internet, constantly cutting people off while they’re talking, hoarding, even reading too many Yoga and/or meditation books, and the list can go on and on. What I try to do when working with this Yama is to pick one thing that I do excessively (start off small so you don’t shock your system) and then practicing not doing it. A lot of times, at least for me, I am avoiding something when I act out my over- excessiveness. Instead, I try to be with whatever rises (usually anxiety at the beginning) and see what acting or not acting out this habit can reveal to me. Often times, I am surprised. By simply being aware of the emotion or memory you are avoiding, it gets easier not acting out. But like a diet, it is a lifestyle, not a one-time exercise. Constant practice and awareness is usually needed to keep habits of over excess in check.
As I like to do, I am going to leave you with a quote from T. Guillemets:

Asteya is often translated as “not taking what is not explicitly given to you” (yes, I am aware there is a double negative in the definition that makes it slightly confusing). As with all the Yamas and Niyamas, there are so many levels to this, ranging from the most obvious to the not so obvious. For example, it can mean not printing personal documents using the printer and paper from work. On a more subtle level, Asteya can also mean giving credit where it is deserved. When I have tried to work Asteya in the past, I noticed I would try to find loopholes. I would justify not asking permission to take something with “Well for sure she/he would give it to me anyway.” But over the years, my practice has been fine tuned enough to know that even that is a violation of Asteya to some degree. Please take that last statement with a grain of salt – I believe practices such as these are relative and in order to progress we need to start where we are. What I mean is to start with baby steps – you can begin by simply being aware of the times you take something without asking, then move on to asking for permission, then make it more subtle as time goes on.

Like all things, there is a fine line and unfortunately, Asteya can have a negative impact without us even realizing. In order to fully embody the practice of Asteya, a certain trust needs to be present. A trust that allows us to not act from a place of fear of scarcity. When this groundedness is not there, it can result in us acting out in fearful ways in the name of Asteya. A great example of this is copyrighting styles of Yoga in the fear that it will be shared without seeing a portion of the profits.

As Yoga Journal puts it: “Asteya refers to the stealing that grows from believing we cannot create what we need. We steal because we misperceive the universe as lacking abundance or we think that there is not enough for everyone and that we will not receive in proportion to our giving. Because of this, Asteya also consists of rooting out the subconscious beliefs of lack and scarcity that cause greed and hoarding.”

On the Yoga mat this fear of “not enough” results in us (as students) holding back in poses because we fear there might not be enough energy to give. By believing this we may be cheating ourselves of the full experience of each pose. In Buddhist practice, a way to counteract any feelings of scarcity or even greed is to practice generosity. Sometimes, we don’t act out our thoughts of generosity because a split second after that thought is created, the fear of scarcity creeps in. If Asteya is a practice that seems daunting, and approaching it head on doesn’t seem accessible, try working it a different way and be generous.

If you still aren’t sure, consider Deepak Chopra when he says:

The second Yama is satya. Sat is the root word which means “truth”, and when the suffix ya is added, it changes the term to mean “truthfulness in word and thought.” It can also be extended to include actions, towards ourselves and all other sentient beings.

What that means on the Yoga mat for students is that if we have tight shoulders and instead puff out our rib cage, reach our heels way down as our backs round in Adho mukha savanasana, or use our arms to prop ourselves up instead of our back muscles in Bhujangasana, it is a lie. Consequently, as teachers, if we push our students past their edge into a place that is above their level just so we can make them “work”, it is a lie. They are lies because we are not respecting what is true in that moment.

Although it takes a lot of fine tuning, we need to turn inwards before each class, as well as continuously during the class, to really see what is possible in each moment. I stress this because sometimes we practice from memory – if we were able to touch our toes the last time we did Uttanasana then we tend to just shoot for the toes the next time around. But as each moment is different, so is each pose, no matter how many times we’ve done it in the past.

As students we need to be able to assess ourselves with all honesty, and allow ourselves to work at our own level, even if it’s not the same level we were at just a little while ago, and even if it’s not the same level as everyone else in the Yoga class. As teachers, we need to create an environment in which we allow students to work at their own level, without needing to make excuses or to explain themselves to anyone. In order to harbor this type of sacred space, we need to get in touch with the part of ourselves that lies when we practice. The more we are able to cultivate satya in our own practice and life, the easier it will be for the students around us to do the same.

As John Philp wrote, an unfortunate paradox in Yoga is trying to decide what came first – the desire for perfection or the depiction of perfection as something to desire – it is a classic chicken-and-egg dilemma. In my opinion, no pose is worth the trouble if it is done at the expense of ahimsa and satya. Let me end by quoting the inspirational Mahatma Gandhi.

According to John Philp, author of Yoga, Inc., the 20th century resulted in more chaos and killing that all the past centuries combined. And with no end in sight to wars, genocides, and the new thing being terrorism, this century looks to be unfolding no differently.

How I understand the first Yama of the 8-limb path, ahimsa, to be is non-violence in thought, word, and deed. Himsa means violence, and with the a preceding it, it is translated as non-violence. Ahimsa is one of the basic teachings of such major religions as Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. I think it’s also worthy to note that this is the first (Yama) of the first (limb of 8). To me that means it’s ultra important. Everything else (with the emphasis being on everything) depends on this.

As Yogis, we all know of the incredible healing qualities of the practice, so why is it being so hurtful? If there is someone or something at fault, it’s not the 5,000 year old practice. Bringing ahimsa on the mat is quite the challenge, however. In a Yoga class, ahimsa very easily gets left at the door. So many times Yogis feel pressured to “keep up” in class, either with the teacher or with the super bendy bodies placed right next to us, resulting in over-stretching, over-bending and over-straightening (hyperextension of joints damages them in a gradual way). This doesn’t totally surprise me though, especially since we in the West have been more concerned with the external benefits of Yoga since, after all, we did dive in head first to the 3rd limb, the physical aspect of the 8-limbs of Yoga.
National safety commissions are seeing a direct effect of the absence of ahimsa (does that make it a-ahimsa?).

In 2005 the US Consumer Product Safety Commission reported over 5,000 yoga-related injuries, up four times as much from 1,300 in 2004. Although the number of yoga injuries is relatively small compared with those from other recreational sports, there is still no excuse since Yoga is often seen as and used for therapeutics. The point of this blog post is to not criticize certain schools or certain students or certain body types, but I think it is also noteworthy to mention that reports indicate that Yoga performed in a heated environment is the most detrimental. Trisha Lamb, former head of the California-based Yoga Research and Education Center, is astonished at the fact that people in their 20′s have degenerative discs. I, myself, have seen many beginner students in class with flexible spines so they straighten their arms completely in bhujangasana or urdhva mukha savanasana without awareness. Even though they are encouraged to not lift so high so that they can build the proper muscular support for the pose, one look at the others in class and back they go with straight arms. In a world where microwaves replace a lot of home cooking, people emphasize the short-term benefits but don’t realize the long-term effects.

According to Time magazine, in the US, only about 16,000 of the 70,000 instructors are certified. That’s less than 23% of the instructors out there! I’m sure those numbers are lower in Canada (the total number of instructors, the number of certified instructors), but I’m sure we are not far off.

So how can you make sure you practice ahismically despite the odds against you?

• Make sure you practice with a teacher this is certified. But not just that, there are a lot more criteria to consider.
• Do what feels right for you in your body at that moment. There’s no need to make excuses to yourself or for yourself. The essence of Yoga is listening to the messages of your body, but not to the demands of the ego.
• Do not worry about offending the teacher if you’re not doing what they’re instructing. If they’re offended, that is something they need to explore and work on, not you.
• Ahimsa is an important lesson, but not always an easy one. Sometimes, it can be the practice of an entire lifetime (or several lifetimes). Regardless of how hard it may seem, it is of utmost importance we integrate this into our lives, on and off the mat, because our thoughts become our words and our words become our actions.

The backbone of modern Yoga is Pantanjali’s 8-Limb Path, in which each stage is a preparation for the next. In Sanskrit (Yoga’s ancient language) , it’s called Ashtanga where ashta means “eight” and anga means “limb”. Keep in mind that this is not to be confused for the widely popular style of Yoga of the same name, Ashtanga (as if this wasn’t already confusing enough).

For those who are unfamiliar with the 8-Limb Path, it is as follows:

1. Yamas: deal with our ethical standards and sense of integrity. There are five – nonviolence, truthfulness,nonstealing, abstinence, noncovetousness.
2. Niyamas: have to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. Again, there are five: cleanliness, contentment, austerities, study and scripture and self, surrender to God.
3. Asana: we all know this one – the bendy physical postures that we (in the West) know as Yoga
4. Pranayama: control of the breath
5. Pratyhara: withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana: concentration
7. Dhayana: meditation
8. Samadhi: a state of ecstasy

The sad truth about these limbs is that most Yogis wouldn’t know which way is up when looking at this list. As John Philp says in his book Yoga Inc., most people come to Yoga for the physical workout and dive right in to the third step, asana, without even knowing about the first two steps, or the important foundation they provide. I’m in no way trying to belittle anyone who has taken this route. I, as a matter of fact, followed this path when Yoga found me 9 years ago. What happened to me, as does with most Yogis, is that the practice opened me in such a way that I wanted to learn more about it. As a result, I backtracked down the 8-Limb Path and learned more about the Yamas and the Niyamas. After studying them and integrating with them into my practice did I begin to realize how important these first two limbs were. They truly are the foundation of the entire practice. If this feels like information overload, don’t fret. For the next weeks I plan on going over the Yamas and the Niyamas in detail, pulling from my own experiences and sharing how you might want to consider integrating them into your life, on and off the mat.

Trisha Lamb, former head of the California-based Yoga Research and Education Center, says about the first two limbs “If you follow them, everything unfolds very beautifully and with integrity.” So let’s try it – let’s unfold (and fold and twist and bend for that matter) beautifully and with integrity.