The Five Moral Restraints of Yoga

Mind is All

If you’ve begun a serious yoga practice, you’ll want to incorporate the yamas—the five moral restraints—into your daily practice. Interpret the yamas such that you can apply each of the five restraints to your life in a practical way. Think about the yamas as you move through the many poses in your yoga routine, and then look for ways to put these thoughts into action in real life.

The very first yama is referred to as ahimsa, which means practice of non-violence. You may practice this by being warm and kind towards your coworkers, family members, neighbors, and strangers you encounter. Perhaps you will live this by practicing patience with a trying coworker or gentleness with a child, or maybe you will project global kindness towards all of mankind, recognizing our unifying humanity.

Yama number two is the decision to honor truthfulness, called satya. This may be truthfulness with others, or it may be an issue of being true to yourself and living authentically. Perhaps you will focus on emulating only truthfulness, or maybe you will seek integrity in all you do and experience.

Number three is asteya, which is the resistance to stealing anything. This can be anything as small as not reporting a bank error or as big as not stealing a coworker’s ideas. You may decide the best way to implement this yama is to only use as much as you truly need, preserving resources so others may also have enough, and thereby honoring the earth and its inhabitants.

Number four is brahmacarya, which is the moral restraint of moderation. This is the practice of avoiding extremes, finding the gentle middle ground of taking just what you need, but not depriving yourself so much that you are consumed with self-absorption. Think of ways to live moderately that enhance your overall ability to contribute to the world at large.

The last yama is aparigrapha, or refusal to hoard for oneself. This principle leads us to never hoard our possessions, but to give freely, sharing with others in need.

If you embrace the five moral restraints as a part of your yoga practice, you will proceed along your path to enlightenment.