Yoga is the cessation of the movements of the mind. Then there is abiding in the Seer's own form. ― Patanjali
Fresh out of the presentation at the Center of Universal Light by the well-known yoga teacher, I embark on the journey of writing this essay. I named it by combining the title of the talk with the title of the book authored by the speaker. I have been a dedicated yoga practitioner for nearly 10 years, so to have a seasoned person presenting the ten principles, the ten moral codes of yoga was a delight. But we'll start with the definition and a brief history tour before we move on.
The word 'Yoga' is derived from the Sanskrit root 'Yuj', meaning 'to join' or 'to yoke' or 'to unite'. As the name suggests the goal of yoga practice is the achievement of harmony (unity) of the body, mind, and spirit. It is a high order, especially because of the familial inner chatter, the fullness of the mind, which is our default state. At the same time, many of us live in disharmony with our bodies and spirit. Yogic practice is a mechanism to "shape" our mischievous and unruly minds because, in order to reach the state of liberation from suffering, we need the help of the disciplined mind. It is a crucial first step in “a long walk to freedom.” You have probably heard the quote, “The mind is a wonderful servant but a terrible master." * Do you agree? If you don’t, please stop complaining about your lack of willpower, which leads to self-sabotaging actions and excessive use of the smartphone. Don't bring up promises you can't keep. Particularly, do not blame yourself or anyone else, but accept how things are currently and release the negative energy to be used to create, in the words of Sri Preethaji, a beautiful state of mind.
Now, let's turn our attention to the person regarded as the "father of yoga." His name is Patanjali. He authored the text known as Yoga Sutra (threads of wisdom) laying the foundation for the theory and practice of yoga. This "book" is composed of 195 aphorisms that organized a 5,000-year-old knowledge of yoga and divided it into eight practices, the so-called eight-limb yoga path. They include: Yamas and Niyamas (codes of conduct); Asanas (yoga postures), Pranayama (breath control), Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), Dharana (concentration of the mind), Dhyana (meditation) and Samadhi (transcendent state of oneness). These practices are like threads that lead to the cessation of suffering caused by: ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, and possessiveness.
I hope that with this brief introduction we realize that yoga is much more than body postures called Asanas. Our speaker didn’t come to the Center of Universal Light to teach us the Asanas. To dispel this common misconception about yoga, she immediately assured us that we were not expected to put our legs behind our ears. She said it with the sense of humor of a former New Yorker. Then she explained how she got the idea for her book about the 10 principles of yoga. To be true to the words of the speaker, let me quote from the book: “In October 1998, I was camping 7,000 feet up on Mount Shasta, taking a time out to just be in the ethereal energy. One evening, propped up on pillows, sitting in my van's bed, I decided to do a Tarot card reading by candlelight. As I looked up each card in the Tarot book, I found an explanation for the card along with reflection questions and affirmations. Suddenly, the idea came to me a format like this would be a wonderful way to teach the principles of Yoga, the Yamas and Niyamas. That night and the next few days, I dashed off the first draft of the book, with the words flowing to me as if channeled through my heart to my pen. The following year, I returned to Mount Shasta and completed the final draft which I offered to you in love and light.” **
Voila! With the previous writing, I was trying to lay the foundations for our speaker's presentation on the ten ancient ethical and moral principles found in the Yamas and Niyamas of the Yoga Sutra. She began the session with the practice of opening the heart chakra by placing the hands connected by the thumbs over the area of the heart of the chest. With this hand gesture, we shifted our focus from our mind to our heart and felt the energy of the heart under our hands as it filled the room. In this symbolic way, she introduced “the heart of Yoga”, the ten ancient principles that help us thrive. In her book YogaLife, she calls them 10 steps to freedom because by using them we cultivate harmony with ourselves and with other beings by increasing conscious awareness, personal reflection, and freedom from self-imposed limitations. ** When applied in our lives, they foster a stronger sense of peace and wellbeing in all actions and interactions.
What, then, are the Yamas and Niyamas principles? The Yamas are a list of restraints in one's actions, words, and thoughts that may cause harm. The best-known Restraints are: Ahiṃsā (Non-harming); Satya (Truthfulness); Asteya (Not stealing); Brahmacharya (Moderation); and Aparigraha (Non-attachment).
The complementary Niyamas represent the list of "doing these" observances, virtues of healthy living, which lead to the liberated state of existence. The list of five Observances are: Shaucha (Purity); Santosha (Contentment); Tapas (Discipline); Svadhyaya (Self-study); and Ishvarapranidhana (Surrender to God).
Once again, I give space to our speaker's words to further explain these ancient principles: “Just as by doing yoga postures we can release tightness in the body, by learning to live in the Yamas and Niyamas, we can let go of any blocks to our flow of love and energy. We can release past issues, let go of any "baggage" we may be carrying, and free up our lives. The aim of yoga is to purify and change our being and break down our limitations so that we may become ready for transformation and be in union with the divine knowledge, will, and love.” **
You may think that these “rules for the right living” are the yoga version of the ten commandments revealed to Moses at Mount Sinai and inscribed by the finger of God on two tablets of stone. There is a certain amount of common ground, but the main difference is the way our speaker has addressed them, with the energy of gentle compassion rather than the stern mode of “shoulds.” She prefers the approach of “I choose to” or “I would like to” not to elicit guilt, blame, or bad feelings of any sort. She says, “My neurolinguistics instructor taught me to say, 'Good notice!' and smile whenever I see something I need to correct, with no judgment, no blame, just gratitude for the new awareness.”
She gave examples of her life when she got upset waiting in line at the grocery store with the incredibly slow cashier. When it was finally her turn, she said, "Tough day, right?" to her. The cashier replied that this was her second continuous shift without a break because her colleague did not show up to work. With this and some other examples, she wanted to illustrate when she failed to follow the first principle of Yamas, Ahimsa, non-violence in thoughts, words and actions. But at the same time, she didn’t pick on herself by recalling the words of self-encouragement, ‘Good notice!’ Ahimsa is the most important principle of Yamas founded upon the idea that all living beings have the spark of divine spiritual energy; therefore, to hurt another being is to hurt oneself.
Ahimsa, the spirit of unconditional love, is present throughout all ten principles. It goes like this:
May I be gentle to myself today
And easy with whatever comes my way
Kind to each of God’s creatures I meet
With love and compassion for all I greet **
In the book, the author takes an "easy-to-use" approach to understanding the 10 principles. For every one of them, there is an explanation of its meaning, the way to application in daily life through discussion, journal writing, prayer, guided meditation, and affirmations. To continue with Ahimsa, the affirmations that help in the development of love and compassion towards oneself and others reads as follows:
I am gentle to all beings
I easily forgive myself and others
I am free of fear and anger
I move away from judging to loving
I embrace all, trusting the divine flow
My heart is pure **
After a 30-minute presentation, I approach our speaker and let her know that I appreciated her speech. She responded with a smile on her face, gratitude through her words, and love in her action. She asked permission to embrace me, which I happily gave. Transmission of energy followed. My cup was full. I purchased a book and a CD of YogaLife and used them for writing this text. In this way, I am showing my gratitude to Johanna (Maheshvari) Mosca and offering it as a gift to you.
Namaste!
* The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Spiritual Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams and Reaching Your Destiny, by Robin S. Sharma, HarperCollins Canada, 1997
** YogaLife, by Johanna Mosca, Ph.D., Sedona Spirit Yoga Publications, 2010
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