Yoga / Nov 9

Niyamas: What are They and How to Practice Them

Niyamas (Internal Observances)

The eight-limbs of yoga come from “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.” The sutras is a philosophical text that instructs readers on living a meaningful life. This yogic vision is called Ashtanga, with the first limb being the Yamas.

The second limb of Ashtanga yoga is called the Niyamas, or internal observances. These five principles are part of the eightfold path and act as a guide to help us enrich our spiritual lives. They help cultivate a mindset of treating ourselves with respect.

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The Niyamas ask us to turn inwards and mindfully examine our inner world. They are cleanliness (Saucha), contentment (Santosha), self-discipline (Tapas), self-study (Svadhyaya), and devotion (Ishvara Pranidhana).

Saucha (cleanliness)

Saucha is about committing to practices that make us physically and mentally pure.

Physically we must eat food that nourishes our bodies, moves and strengthens our muscles, and make time for rest and relaxation. Saucha means practicing good hygiene and cleaning our environments by decluttering our work and home spaces.

Saucha also invites us to seek purity of the mind. We do this by eliminating negative thought patterns and cultivating “Viveka,” or discernment. Using mindfulness, we can slow down to observe our thoughts and question whether our preconceived ideas are accurate.

Calming the mind is a challenging task. Our society values productivity, multitasking, and daily accomplishing as much as possible. Saucha encourages us to slow down and pay attention to each moment, focusing on one task at a time. This attentiveness will allow our overworked minds to return to a more natural state.

Cultivating Saucha creates a cheerful glow around you, a type of beauty that will attract others to you.

“Take the time to eat an orange in mindfulness. If you eat an orange in forgetfulness, caught in your anxiety and sorrow, the orange is not really there. But if you bring your mind and body together to produce true presence, you can see that the orange is a miracle.

Peel the orange. Smell the fruit. See the orange blossoms in the orange, and the rain and the sun that have gone through the orange blossoms. The orange tree has taken several months to bring this wonder to you. Put a section in your mouth, close your mouth mindfully, and with mindfulness feel the juice coming out of the orange. Taste the sweetness. Do you have the time to do so? If you think you don’t have time to eat an orange like this, what are you using that time for? Are you using your time to worry, or using your time to live?“ — Thich Nhat Hanh

Tapas (Self-Discipline)

Tapas is Sanskrit for heat and can be understood as any practice that burns out impurities. It can be practiced through religious rituals, fasting, or meditation, all to cleanse both the body and mind.

Tapas can generally be understood as any self-disciplined practice that makes the body stronger and healthier. It can also include abstaining from certain things to find control over our impulses.

With any impulse, we must focus the mind on what the body needs rather than what it craves. Modern-day examples of self-discipline include learning how to surf, practicing a new musical instrument, taking up painting, or even developing habits like practicing yoga every morning.

Another way to practice tapas is by letting go of things you feel attached to. Again, this could mean social media, drinking alcohol or coffee, or even avoiding talking excessively during a conversation. It means searching for unnecessary attachments causing more harm than good and letting them go.

Santosha (Contentment)

Our culture tells us that to be happy, we must attain certain things. It could be a partner, a bigger house, a better job, good looks, etc. We search for happiness without realizing we already have everything we need to be happy. There is nothing we can attain that will make us happy.

Santosha means we must awaken to the beauty of the present moment. It is a miracle to be alive right now, enjoying everything the earth has offered us.

Contentment isn’t a passing emotion like joy or ecstasy. To be in a state of contentment is to feel a deep sense of calm, gratitude, and freedom. Practicing Santosha leads to the realization that life’s beauty surrounds us. This understanding frees us from the desires and demands we think will make us happy. Santosha is essential for spiritual growth and the key to happiness.

“Many people in our society are not happy, even though the conditions for their happiness already exist. Their habit energy is always pushing them ahead, preventing them from being happy in the here and now. But with a little bit of training, we can all learn to recognize this every time it comes up. Why wait to be happy?” — Thich Nhat Hanh

Svadhyaya (Self-Study)

Svadhyaya is the idea of self-reflection. It begins by questioning preexisting mental narratives. We can do this by identifying our fears and the negative emotions those fears produce daily.

Studying your relationships with others is also an essential part of self-study. When we work to improve our relationships, we understand our judgments. Anger, resentment, and judgment can divide us and our loved ones without self-reflection.

Scadhyaya encourages us to examine our thoughts and actions towards others to understand our inner world better. We can also begin to understand our external conditioning.

From an early age, we are all conditioned to think and act a certain way, which results in a particular set of values and beliefs. This is a natural part of living within a society. This model of reality sets our expectations and morals.

Svadhyaya invites us to reevaluate what we consider truth to identify which ideas serve us and which are harmful. By prioritizing self-improvement in this way, we begin to nourish our compassionate and kind thoughts and starve emotions that hurt ourselves and others.

Ishvara Pranidhana (Devotion)

Ishvara Pranidhana means devotion to God and is about creating a sense of devotion to forces pure and divine. This faith is a belief in life’s magic, mystery, and beauty.

Surrender is an alternative translation of Ishvara Pranidhana. It invites us to stand in awe of the divine mystery of life. The scientific community has found answers to many things, but it’s still unclear how life arrived on Earth or if our planet is unique.

We can surrender to the mystery of the unknown while playing in the ocean, watching a brilliant sunset, or any other moment of deep connection with nature. These experiences reveal the blissful essence of being human, like holding a newborn baby for the first time.

Any profound manifestation of love, bliss, or timelessness can be considered a state of surrender. In these moments, we awaken to the miracle of life on Earth. To fully surrender is to immerse yourself in the ebb and flow of life, trusting that life unfolds as it should.

Practicing Ishvara Pranidhana means reflecting on the experiences that make us feel alive, whole, connected, and awake. How can we create more moments like these?

For surfers, it’s simple— we crave spending time alone in nature. For some, it means spending quality time with loved ones. Become an observer of the experience and notice each moment’s details with gratitude. Follow the path that brings purpose and meaning to your life.

“The Earth has been there for a long time. She is a mother to all of us. She knows everything. The Buddha asked the Earth to be his witness by touching her with his hand when he had some doubt and fear before his awakening. The Earth appeared to him as a beautiful mother. In her arms, she carried flowers and fruit, birds and butterflies, and many different animals, and offered them to the Buddha. The Buddha’s doubts and fears instantly disappeared.

Whenever you feel unhappy, come to the Earth and ask for her help. Touch her deeply, the way the Buddha did. Suddenly, you too will see the Earth with all her flowers and fruit, trees and birds, animals, and all the living beings that she has produced. All these things she offers to you.” — Thich Nhat Hanh