Day 15: Sutra 2:32 - Niyama
Yama and Niyama ask us to consider the lifestyle, attitudes and behaviour patterns that will foster a serene mind and the conditions for our true Self to emerge.
Yama relates to the attitudes we have towards people and things outside ourselves. Niyama is our relationship with ourselves.
What kind of attitude should we adopt towards ourselves? There are five niyamas.
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Saucha - Cleanliness and self care. This entails taking care of our physical body and keeping it clean. But also caring for your surroundings and environment and keeping them orderly and clean. Our surroundings influence and is a reflection of our inner self.
The food you eat is also part of saucha. If you eat processed foods and foods with artificial chemicals, these are like 'filth' to the body and the body must use energy to flush them out.
Similarly, your clothes, house, car, garden also need to be kept clean and orderly. Why? Because when they are not clean, they hold onto old energy or past energy. Cleanliness means you can move away from the past and come into the present moment.Yoga practices such as the postures (asana) and breathing exercises (pranayama) are ways to attend to inner saucha.
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Santosha – Being content with what you have, the willingness to accept what happens and to learn from our actions.
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Tapas – personal discipline. It refers to heat and the ability to keep the body fit and healthy. It is making choices and decisions that overcome inertia. Tapas requires consistent practice and the urge to grow.
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Svadhyaya – Self-study or study of uplifting texts. Reflection and learning that inspire self-examination, change and growth are svadhyaya.
Self-examination and reflection can take many forms. Take time at the end of each day to reflect on what worked well, what didn't work well and what could work better or be done differently. What role did you play in the outcome. What have you learned about yourself and others.
What are things that happened that you are thankful or grateful for. Before going too bed read works that are illuminating and inspirational for you, meditate, chant, do anything that uplifts you.
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Ishvarapranidhana – Offering the fruits of our actions to God or humanity. Everything we do can be dedicated to God or the world at large. The Divine is in everything and within us as the True Self and so as Sri Swami Satchidananda puts it, offering the results of your labour to humanity, is also offering it to God.
For me, offering my labours to the good of humanity works. Resistance is there when the word God appears because of its link to religion. This may not be the case for you, but yoga is about finding the route or path that resonates with you.
The intention behind the action is key. Once you offer everything to God or humanity and mentally detach from it, you can have a tranquil mind. When there is no attachment, if you succeed or fail, santosha or contentment is there – you accept what has happened and move on.
I was watching the Brit Awards last night and a performer called Stormzy (rapper/Hip Hop artist) won two awards – Best Male Artist and Best Album. The first thing he did when he received each award was to hold them up and say that they were both dedicated to God and that without God none of it was possible.
'Interesting', I thought. He sounded sincere. That's ishvarapranidhana. And who's to say his work isn't illuminating for his fans.
Patanjali says that yoga practices can help us to change our attitudes and behaviour patterns.
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