Yama I: Ahimsa

This last Sunday, I had the pleasure of participating in an event organized by Vicky Peters, Yoga Day Laramie. It was a day of giving, with the proceeds going to benefit UNICEF, and the classes happened at Blossom Yoga. My contribution was a talk on the yamas and niyamas, which form the first two of Patanjali's eight limbed yoga. There are five yamas and five niyamas, and it occurred to me that I might want to write an entry on each one. So today, here is my meditation on the first yama, ahimsa.

Ahimsa is translated as "non-violence" most commonly and sometimes as "non-harming." When people think about ahimsa, often their thoughts go to vegetarianism and pacificism. These are excellent applications of this principle. But for me, the practice of ahimsa begins in a much smaller and softer way. It begins the first time I look in the mirror in the morning. When we engage in negative self-talk, we are doing very real violence to ourselves the likes of which we would never inflict on another person.

The yamas are all about how to be in relationship, and our first and most important relationship is the one we have with ourselves. If we cannot be peaceful in our relationship with ourselves, being non-violent in our relationships with others is going to drain us of energy over time. And further, practicing peace "at home" gives us the strength we need for occasions in which being non-violent is a challenge.

As I've alluded, non-violence extends beyond actions and back into words and thoughts. Most of us have learned the lesson not to hit by the time we enter first grade, but it can take us a long time to train our minds and our tongues to keep peace. So here's a practice for this week that I'll be doing. When an unfair, hyper-critical thought enters my mind, I will attempt to counter it with something positive. If countering it is unavailable to me at that time, I can label that thought as violent and take a moment to stop, take a moment to breathe. I can then use that space I've created to make a more skillful choice. So much violence in thought and word occurs because we don't give ourselves and others that space.

This week, I'll be taking a breath before I berate the circumference of my thighs or a coworker's tardiness to a meeting. And if I forget to take that breath before, I'll take it after.