Yamas and Niyamas

 `How To Make the Yamas and Niyamas Work for You in the Modern World

Discover how to apply ancient yoga wisdom, like yamas and niyamas. Read this to understand their power for a fulfilling practice of 8 limbs of yoga.

By Sejal Shah  I Updated: July 30, 2020

Practicing yoga is much more than the postures. Learning to integrate the full “on and off the mat” practice including observing the five Yamas and Niyamas—yoga’s guide on social and personal ethics— in your daily life can transform you and your yoga practice. Our thoughts, actions, decisions, interactions with others, our daily routines, our surroundings, everything can reflect the extent of our Yoga practice. Only by such inclusive and integrated yoga practice can the ultimate goal of this ancient system be realized: bringing our bodies, minds and spirits into harmony to make us free from the bondage and miseries of life.

The precious gift of Maharishi Patanjali Yoga Sutras

Taking materials about yoga philosophy from ancient traditions, Maharishi Patanjali, sage scientist and propounder of yoga, wrote 196 sutras (aphorisms) on Yoga around 400 CE, popularly known as Patanjali's Yoga Sutra. In just 196 short sentences, Maharishi Patanjali maps out a complete system of Yoga. Each sutra requires the reader to think deeply for themselves and develop a personal understanding of the practice. What an amazing way to transmit spiritual knowledge!

While all the stretching, twisting, balancing is very beneficial, and certainly makes our body healthier and more vibrant, but it is just one limb of Yoga.  Ancient texts such as the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and The Yoga Sutras focus very little on physical yoga postures (asana practice), and in fact, when Maharishi Patanjali speaks of ‘asana’ he is not at all referring to headstand or warrior or downward dog; he’s talking about the position you choose to sit in while meditating – your asana - 'seat'.

The second chapter of the sutras is generally considered the one most focused on “practice” of the yogic philosophy and lifestyle; there Maharishi Patanjali details the eight limbs of yoga - known as ashtanga yoga. Following graphic can help you understand the eight limbs at a glance.

What are the five Yamas and Niyamas?

The five Yamas (social ethics) and five Niyamas (personal observances) are two of these eight limbs. Ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (abstinence), aparigraha (non-accumulation) constitute the five yamas, whereas soucha (internal and external cleanliness), santosha (being happy and content), tapas (penance), swadhyaya (self-study) and ishvarapranidhana (surrender to the higher power) constitute the 5 niyamas. These 10 guidelines or ethical principles are like ready-made New Year’s resolutions. The Yamas primarily focus on our actions when in community with others, while the Niyamas focus more generally on our relationship with our physical and psychological selves.

For the majority of modern yogis, it may seem that the yamas and niyamas are two of the hardest of the eight limbs of yoga to blend into our daily routines and into our lifestyles. The question, “How do we integrate the Yamas and Niyamas into our lives?” keeps haunting us, and may leave us feeling guilty or discouraged.

The following graphic can help you understand Yamas and Niyamas at a glance along with how they benefit us.

Clearing the misconception about Yamas and Niyamas

The yamas and niyamas are not commandments from on high to follow because we’re afraid of what will happen if we don’t follow them. On the contrary,  I see them as practical ways to live life so we can access  inner peace, bliss and love in our day-to-day life, not just momentarily but 24/7. Maybe that is what we can call self-realization or enlightenment.

The practice of the Yamas and Niyamas definitely inspires us to remember that yoga is a way of life — not just something we do for 90 minutes three times a week on a rectangular yoga mat. In fact, if they are interwoven in every fabric of our life, every moment becomes sadhana (spiritual practice). They add the necessary juice to our practice. Without them, the rest of the eight limbs may become empty, mechanical and boring techniques.

Late Dr B K S Iyengar describes both the Yamas and Niyamas as the ‘golden keys to unlock the spiritual gates’, as they transform each action into one that originates from a deeper and more ‘connected’ place within ourselves. From that state of being, we move closer towards wholeness, connectedness and unity, and start to not just ‘do’ yoga, but live and breathe ‘yoga’ in each and every moment.