WHAT IS AHIMSA?

The Yamas (Sanskrit: यम) meaning "reining in" or "controls", are a series of ethical guidelines, the first of which is Ahimsa, non-violence. When we hear non-violence we think gross motor violence 🤕, but negative self talk, gossip, judgement, “cheat days” 🍕when you know you won’t feel good after, these are all violent behaviors. When you’re on your mat and force yourself to the progression of a posture, even though the phase you were in was still wobbly, or tight, that is violent behavior driven by the ego. A wise man builds his house on stone, not sand🏠.

Ahimsa is a multidimensional concept, inspired by the premise that all living beings have the spark🔥of divine spiritual energy; to hurt another is to hurt oneself- How many times have you won an argument and only felt worse for it🤦🏻‍♀️? When we win, we lose.

But how do we PRACTICE Ahimsa? Speaking the truth in love! Be impeccable with your word, speak with integrity, sobriety and humility. 🙊 Say only what you mean, to yourself and to others, without arrogance or harshness. Slow down, use patience, consider the affect of your actions 🤔.

SELF LOVE

What does it look like to love yourself? Practicing Ahimsa/non-violence, we must first start with ourselves 👥. I’ve struggled with this one my entire life. I’ve struggled to understand the difference between self love, and arrogance. I believed I needed to be selfless to be, “a good person”. Abused as a child, I have subconsciously questioned my worth my entire life 🤔, a belief which lead me into unhealthy relationships and behaviors 💔. My worth lied in how well I could care for others, it was really just codependency in disguise😈. I’ve made these realizations through practicing awareness of my mind, my beliefs and my emotions. I find the more detailed I can be at describing the texture, and density of these, the more separate from them I feel, and that is a wonderful thing 👏🏼 Because it means I am being the observer 👩🏻‍🔬, a benefit of which is that I am able to identify thoughts without emotionally reacting to them 🙈🙉🙊.

As I observe my internal dialogue I identify the different characters 👩‍👩‍👧- there is the child, naïve and innocent, there is a fairly entitled teenager, vigilant and protective, and there is a young woman, whose ambition cannot be extinguished, but she is impulsive and often careless. I assure the child, “I love you, you’re safe now”, I tell the teenager, “I know you’re trying to help and in the past you did, but I have it under control now”, and to the eager young woman I say, “you’re about to have everything you’ve ever dreamed, you’ve worked so hard, and now it’s time for me to figure things out”. 💗 As the negative self talk arises, I identify ‘who’ it is so that I can more easily get to the root of the issue, beliefs attached to the thoughts 💭 . When I root out beliefs that no longer serve me, I make space for newer, healthier beliefs 🌿🌱🌷. Beliefs that I am good enough, that I am intelligent 🙇🏻‍♀️, that taking care of myself is not selfish, that I do not have to reflect everyone back to themselves in order to be liked, that I am lovable. These reflections are all part of my development process, 🧘🏻‍♀️yoga practice and meditations. Just one of the ways I practice Ahimsa 🙏🏼.

AHIMSA ON THE MAT

🙏🏼 Honoring ourselves is part of the practice of Ahimsa, non-violence. When students come to yoga and DON’T grab a block it’s typically because they either simply don’t know how/why to use them 🤷🏻‍♀️ or they believe they’re beyond using a block 🙄. I like to encourage everyone to use one, because it’s not a crutch, it’s not a neon sign saying you’re unable to do a thing, quite the opposite. A prop alongside your mat is a show of wisdom 🙇🏻‍♀️, a prop can help you get deeper into a posture🧘🏻‍♀️, make postures accessible to you, or allow you to soften in a pose such as a backbend 👎🏼 aka front extension 👍🏼. The rest of life is the same way, we may not always need boundaries, but it’s better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it!

On the mat we learn our reactions to resistance, and practice compassion🧘🏻‍♀️, we strengthen this ability then move off the mat and into the world, where we practice being compassionate with others 👩‍❤️‍👩. When you’re on your mat, allow yourself to build your practice on a solid foundation, release any expectations you have of yourself 🦋, enjoy the process of growth. As I say in class, “each posture prepares you for the following posture and there is ALWAYS a following posture. There is no finish line🚫, so let’s just enjoy where we are.” 🙏🏼

INTEND AHIMSA

Ahimsa is about intent, rather than just action 🙇🏻‍♀️. Patanjali defined Ahimsa for the readers of the Yoga Sutras 📜 , as the first of the restraints, what one should not do❌, building blocks for a long lasting and healthy relationship with ourselves and the world around us💞. The term became a bit more mainstream when Mahatma Gandhi lead a non-violent resistance for India’s political emancipation from Britain🧘🏻‍♂️. The popularization of Ahimsa eventually faded, spiritualists were criticized, instead of being a right living human being👫, those who practiced were ‘dirty hippies’, ‘bible thumpers’ or ‘out of touch with the real world’. Aren’t we glad though, of the ever ebbing tides 🌊 , global consciousness is shifting 🌎 . Technology helps us see the prevalence of subcultures and communities 📱. Now that the practice of Yoga is mainstream, it’s time to move deeper, beyond asana (posture). Let’s remember the difference between laying on the floor and laying in savasana (final resting pose), INTENT 💭 . Intent can transform our actions and reactions 🎩 .

Live intentionally today, practice Ahimsa 🙏🏼.