The Yamas & Niyamas

by Deborah Adele

  Although my relationship with horses has remained in my imagination, I still love them. They are beautiful animals and I brim with the thrill of watching them race with strength and grace on an open field or take those beautiful leaps in equestrian competition. The theologian Peter Marty, in speaking about equestrian competition, had some interesting observations. He stated, “Those of us whose only contact with the world of equestrian competition is via the television set find the elegance and ease of those leaping beasts to be almost surreal. We marvel at the calmness of the riders. We admire the cool focus as they vault their way over the hurdles [and wonder if those riders have] some extra instinct that the rest of us lack.”

  Marty further went on to talk about equestrian training. He noted that one of the most common obstacles all riders face is their own perception. Much time in training is devoted to the skill of the rider’s own perception. It is known in the equestrian world, that unless a rider can approach these upcoming barriers with a kind of “anticipatory confidence,” they will never be able to make these great leaps with their horses. Peter noted that one trainer put it this way: You have to “take your heart and throw it over the fence. Then jump after it.”

  We began this book with the premise that we are all engaged in the task of learning to become more fully human. As we look inside ourselves and outside at the world, we can see the immensity of this task. These are interesting times we find ourselves in. The polarities of our humanity seem like they are lit up in neon signs that we can’t miss. We are witness to acts of brutality and greed that baffle our sensitivities and bring horror and disbelief to our hearts. We are also witness to acts of extreme compassion and kindness that inspire us with the potential that burns to be known in each one of us.

  As I look at the world, it feels to me like we are trying to make a big choice about who we are as humans. And each one of us is part of this choice. The question then becomes, are we ready? Are we ready to grow ourselves into the best that Spirit can be, as it knows itself contained in a human body? Are we able to imagine days, and lives, and systems, and community the way a fully realized human would live them? Are we able to put our lives and our skill into bringing about this kind of world within us and around us? Are we able to “take our hearts and throw them over the fence and then jump after them?”

  I think being a human being must be one of the hardest and most exciting adventures we could ever be engaged in. In this experience, we get to relish the taste of fresh strawberries and ice cream, melt into a lover’s embrace, marvel at a child’s innocent eyes, and delight in hikes in the woods and along beaches. We also get to weep deep wells of sorrow and grief and feel gusty torrents of rage and anger. Out of this vast continuum of emotions ranging from fear to compassion, we are capable of actions that impact the lives of others in rippling effects that would probably surprise us. We are bringers of suffering and light to this world in profound ways. This is an amazing reality that we need to affirm and then use skillfully.

  Lest we think the task too great for us, Ann Maxwell reminds us that it is the daily choices that we must pay attention to. She writes, “It is relatively easy to be kind, compassionate, open, and expansive sitting on the safety of my yoga mat. I can be deeply in love here. I can offer my practice as a prayer. But the question remains, will I choose love once I step off this mat? The true test of love comes in the moment to moment ordinariness of life. Will I remain open as I walk back to my car in the dark? Will I find compassion in the face of judgment, both yours and mine? Righteousness, both yours and mine? Will I keep the love connection with my breath when I am running behind? Will I choose faith when my loved ones are in need? Will I be kind with house chores? Interruptions? These are the moments that our choices of fear or of love are most challenging and crucial.”

  To meet these daily tasks of living and larger visions for humanity, perhaps we, like equestrian riders preparing to take those big leaps, can be served by studying our own perception. Perhaps we could all use a boost of anticipatory confidence. Perhaps we need to trust those big and little leaps ahead of time and “throw our hearts over the fence….then jump after them.”

  The Yamas & Niyamas are the foundation for studying our own perception and for boosting our anticipatory confidence as we deal with the challenges and joys of our collective and singular humanity. May you know the power of these ten jewels to guide and shape the integrity of your life as you embark on this grand human experiment.

  Life is Your Resource

  Silly movies, autobiographies of great people, scriptures and teachings of all religions, and the encounters of an ordinary day all have something to say to us.

  When we open our eyes and see everything as an opportunity to explore and to learn, nothing becomes insignificant in its ability to teach us and to grow us.

  Appendix I

  A Western vs. an Eastern Lens

  Cultures have certain assumptions and unspoken “laws” about how to view life. These are not necessarily right or wrong, however, they do color that culture’s experience of reality.

  As Eastern concepts of yoga are being discovered and pursued by the West, I think it is important to name some of the cultural assumptions that sit differently in the makeup of thinking in these two cultures.

  A caveat: This is my thinking on the subject and is certainly not exhaustible. I am also choosing to speak these differences in broad generalities and to the cultural mix of religion, philosophy, and secular coloring that seems to blend itself into certain contexts. What I see:

  West

  The Pursuit of Attaining

  Morality ~ Right & Wrong

  Either/Or Thinking

  Rules & Answers

  Mistakes = Failure

  East

  The Pursuit of Letting Go

  Ethics ~ Cause & Effect

  Both/And Thinking

  Questions & Experiments

  Mistakes = Living

  My hope is that we can begin to ask ourselves some very basic questions about our possible unexamined beliefs and assumptions, and this contemplation will take us closer to being impacted by new ideas and bring us a deeper understanding of yogic ethics.

  Because we are Spirit hanging out in this body, there is nothing missing that we have to find or gain. Everything we need is already inside of us. Practicing these guidelines is a practice of letting go of limited beliefs and limiting habits that hold us captive to the untruth of our helplessness and despair. Much like peeling away the layers of an onion, we are invited to peel away the beliefs and systems that no longer serve us in living the fullness of our humanity.

  Joy does not belong to the world of happiness that advertisers show us. It can not be bought or accomplished, nor is it dependent on external things. External things change; it is their nature to do so. We experience waves of happiness that come with obtaining things, but we also experience waves of sorrow when these things don’t do what we want them to. Seeking happiness can only give us the up and down ride of a roller coaster, first we’re up, then we plummet down, only to begin the slow ride over again. When we fully embrace our wholeness, we can stop going after things and simply begin to let go of things instead.

  To appreciate fully the concept of our wholeness, those of us who have been raised in the United States need to realize the depth to which we have been cultured in the mode of attaining. We have been taught that there is always one more thing that lies outside of us that we need to obtain in order to feel complete. And then one more thing after that. This is knowledge that advertisers take full advantage of and is why we can so easily find ourselves with way too much stuff, and worn out trying to get it. We have, often without paying attention, hoped that one more thing would complete us. We can even find ourselves doing our spirituality as something to be achieved, instead of something we already are.

  As you begin to let go of the layers of limit
s and illusions you have cloaked yourself in, these ten guidelines will meet you at each level of your development. They will reveal new aspects of themselves to you as well as deeper and richer meanings. Much like stocking your shelves with an endless supply of food that can’t possibly be eaten at once, these precepts will begin to slowly reveal their secrets to you, and much as an intimate relationship does, they will continue to nourish you and surprise you.

  These jewels are not a moral positioning with hard and fast rules. They will not tell you what to believe or what to seek in your life for your own fulfillment. Instead they will equip you to meet each situation with flexibility, understanding, and wisdom. They will give you tools to live more simply, to create less disturbance in your life, and to clear the clutter. Once you have freed up the space, you can listen to the deep longings within and ponder the significant questions of your life.

  Whether consciously or unconsciously, we often fall under the spell of the “American Dream.” Somehow we have been led to believe that if we do the “right” things, life will bless us with happiness and nice things; when things don’t go as intended, we can feel like a failure. The reality of this physical realm is that it is made up of opposites, much like a quarter consists of heads and tails. Only heads, no quarter. Only happiness, no life. Living skillfully does not mean that things go the way we want them to; it means that we are equipped to gracefully meet whatever life greets us with. Hollywood endings are only half of the story.

  Rather than the right and wrong of morality, these guidelines look at life through the eyes of cause and effect. This simply means watching our actions closely and discovering what works and what doesn’t. If we get the intended results, continue the action; if not, change the action. Horst Rechelbacher, founder of Aveda Corporation, Intelligent Nutrients, and HMR Enterprises, states in his book Alivelihood that he owes much of the vast success of his life to the daily tracking of cause and effect. Horst has gone from a life of poverty in Hungary to become an icon of successful entrepreneurialism in sync with environmental ethics.

  Following yoga’s jewels takes curiosity and a spirit of adventure. We get to create experiments and track which experiments get the intended results and which don’t. From this viewpoint, all of our participation in life is a success because everything we have done gives us valuable information. We are the scientist and our life is the laboratory. As with all scientific experiments, “failure” is a sign of forward movement. And we can be excited by what we don’t know and have yet to discover.

  The creativity and spontaneity of being able to move mistakes in a forward direction can be illustrated by a story. In my college days, I was a beauty queen candidate. As a remembrance, I was given an autographed rubber football that marked the event. Although I am embarrassed to admit it now, I kept this football for many years, because it made me feel good. When my sons were young, they got a hold of this football and decided to engage in some hands-on ball playing. As a result, the rubber skin of the football was torn in many places. I was not happy.

  Then my sons did something I will never forget. They painstakingly masking-taped the torn football and then painted these words onto the newly repaired football: World’s Best Mom. My children understood intuitively the creativity these jewels invite us into. Rather than bask in regrets, guilt, or shame, they turned a “mistake” into such a loving action that it still touches my heart many years later. Wouldn’t it be amazing if all of us knew how to take each moment of our life, mistakes and all, and live this creatively? These guidelines can show us how.

  Appendix II

  The Fruits of the Practice

  I am always fascinated when a fresh, new idea seems to hit human consciousness everywhere at once. It is almost like we, as a race, suddenly grew up and were ready to take in a new framework for understanding ourselves. I know this is true when the idea simultaneously appears in various books, and even finds its way onto a bumper sticker. This quote by Jacquelyn Small is an example of an idea, previously unheard of, hitting en masse:

  We are not human beings trying to be spiritual;

  we are spiritual beings trying to be human.

  This statement is quite profound as it shifts the direction of our eyes from looking upward to the heavens to focusing on our humanity here on earth. The question becomes how do we live within the limits of a body and a place and a time? How do we get along with others and share the resources? How do we walk into the fullness of our humanity, creating and enjoying the many opportunities we have to experience life in all its forms, and having as much delight in life as is possible? How do we become skilled and masterful in our humanity?

  In the practice of these ethical guidelines, we are steadily taken from self-centeredness to the perfection of humanness in its fullest expression.

  Perfection of each Yama brings:

  Nonviolence ~ An aura of peace that protects self and other

  Truth ~ Spoken words will always come true

  Nonstealing ~ Abundance

  Non excess ~ Great vitality

  Nonpossessiveness ~ Knowledge of experience

  Perfection of each Niyama brings:

  Purity ~ Clarity

  Contentment ~ Joy

  Self-Discipline ~ Refinement

  Self-Study ~ Freedom

  Surrender ~ Harmony

  About the Author

  Deborah Adele

  Deborah’s Bio

  Deborah Adele holds master’s degrees in both Liberal Studies and Theology & Religious Studies. An ERYT500, she carries yoga certifications in Kundalini yoga, Hatha yoga, Yoga Therapy, and Meditation. She is also trained as a Gestalt practitioner and a Somatic Educator. For over 14 years, Deborah brought her combined knowledge of business and her in-depth knowledge of yoga philosophy to build Yoga North, now a thriving yoga center. Currently she is writing, teaching, consulting, and engaging her own personal practice.

  Deborah worked for three years as a consultant with a firm out of Boulder, Colorado, where she combined the concept of body and breath with organizational development skills to improve leadership and management in various businesses around the country. She wrote a regular wellness column for the Duluth News Tribune and has authored two CD’s, The Art of Relaxation and The Practice of Meditation. Deborah currently owns Adele & Associates, a company whose goal is to increase clarity, productivity, and right-living in individuals and systems. Deborah is a keen and innovative thinker, and, in whatever venue she finds herself, consistently uses her knowledge and training to support others in living a life imbued with balance, clarity, and well-being.

  In addition to her business and yoga experience, Deborah has made several trips to India for study and exploration. She feels it is important to continually ask ourselves the question, “What does it mean to be human?” by putting ourselves in places we can be challenged and changed, by telling ourselves the truth, and by sitting in some form of prayer, meditation, or reflection daily.

  Deborah currently resides in Duluth with her husband Doug, a Lutheran minister, where their conversations around spirituality remain lively. Her life is enriched by their two sons and four grandchildren.

  Deborah’s Other Products

  Deborah has authored two CD’s, The Practice of Meditation and The Art of Relaxation to share her love of looking within as a tool to find meaning and to come to greater understanding of the Self.

  Deborah’s Other Services

  In addition to authoring a best selling yoga book and two CD's, Deborah offers direct teaching for groups and individuals. Deborah’s facilitation leaves participants with a dynamic combination of hope, inspiration, and practical knowledge.

  Some of the topics for workshops, keynotes, consultations, teacher trainings, and in depth study programs include:

  • Creating Harmony with the Yamas

  • Cultivating the Inner Life with the Niyamasr />
  • The Yamas and Niyamas: Doorway to a Deeper Practice

  • Pigs Eat Wolves: Having a Conversation with your Shadow

  • The Whys, Whats and Hows of Meditation

  • The Mind: Where Entanglement and Freedom Meet

  • The Kleshas: A Yoga Perspective on Suffering

  • Freeing the Body’s Habits through Somatic Education

  • Freeing the Mind from Pain

  • Meeting the 4 D’s in Meditation

  • Functional Thinking and the Characteristics of a Clear Mind

  • Beliefs: Leading an Examined Life

  Contact Deborah

  To learn more about Deborah, keep up with her blog, or see what else she has to offer, visit DeborahAdele.com. You can also contact Deborah directly at Deborah@DeborahAdele.com.

  A Note to the Reader

  I wish you richest blessings

  as you become a more skilled participant

  in the living of your life.

  May new possibilities

  and untold joy

  surprise you daily.

  ~ D.A.