Redefining the Yamas & Niyamas: Ahimsa: Love

We are exploring the Yamas and the Niyamas, the first two out of eight limbs on the Ashtanga or Raja yoga path. Both the Yamas and the Niyamas contain five seeds or standards that yoga prescribes are necessary to develop oneself in all areas of life. Each one of these seeds is lifetimes worth of understanding, reflection, and integration so regardless of what order you study them, they will strengthen your ability to remain steadfast on the yoga path. Reframing the order in which I am choosing to teach the Yamas and Niyamas is based on my own study, reflection, and observation of how they can be most easily understood, accepted, and applied into our modern day society.

Svadhyaya (the 4th Niyama) or the commitment to the study of oneself came first. As we commence this study, our eyes begin to see things about ourselves that we may not want to see and that we do not like. This is why Ahimsa or the first of the Yamas is where we will focus our study today. Ahimsa is often translated as non-violence or love. This opens a wormhole as to what both of these concepts mean and I encourage you to journal on what both love and non-violence mean to you. Until we define things for ourselves, it is not possible to live in alignment to our highest values. Clarity is communication. Communication between, you and knowledge, and between your Big Self and your little self. And because we are committed to studying ourselves, our definitions will be ever expanding. The very moment we glue ourselves to one belief as truth, is the very moment we stop growing, and start dying.

I am not about to define love for you, as I am barely scratching the surface to understanding it myself. Here’s what I do know about it, love does not judge, blame, criticize, demand, attach, restrict, or expect. That’s a start, so now when I make an observation about myself that I do not like, I can ask, what would love do? Would it judge me or blame me or try to make me feel like shit about it? No, it would not. So what would it do? It would try to understand me, not appease me or condone me, but understand me, and then love would gift me both the grace and guidance to decide how I can be better. This means I get to override the mean girl who will spend days and days replaying and regurgitating a reaction of my own or an action of another and replace her, with the grace and guidance of love.

As we begin to strengthen our observation skills, we must not forget to do so with love at the helm. The faster I can arrive at love, the more life I get to live, the more love I get to give, both of which open the door for the more love I get to receive.

Dearest Reader,

Thank you. Walking this path requires our commitment, our trust, and our willingness to keep showing up over and over again. I am honored to do that with you. I am grateful to receive your love by way of time and consideration. May my contemplations serve you as a place to place your thoughts and direct them with more and more awareness backed by love!

So much love to you dear one,

Andrea Dawn