Anyone who’s completed a yoga teacher training learns about the Yamas and Niyamas which are the internal and external observances recorded in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and Ayurveda also concurs with this philosophy, especially the often mentioned “ahimsa”.
Ahimsa is most often translated as “non-violence” and used perhaps most exclusively towards adopting actions of non-harming the self, meaning primarily the physical body. As with any sutra, or thread, if we can understand or practice just one sutra, then we have achieved something quite remarkable.
We know the body is more than just a physical object, it comes with a brain and a person and a spirit. The broader definition of ahimsa can include non-violence to all of these layers of our being.
Some yoga schools regard ahimsa as a philosophy to eat vegetarian or a vegan diet, others schools mainly use its principle when encountering challenges in ones asana practice, “do your best but don’t hurt/injure yourself.”
These are more fundamental layers of this sutra, but to truly master ahimsa means to not think aggressively or wish any harm to yourself or others.
Many practitioners and also religious people try to lead a life of thoughts that are free from violence, yet end up repressing their instinctual thoughts. This can lead to deeply buried psychological pain and must be talked out with a professional therapist and/or tapped out through moderate to intense physical activity. If we carry hostile energy or grudges towards someone or something it zaps our life force, and is the root cause of dis-ease, yet this culture is sustained and even praised in our culture. It’s become a form of entertainment and gossip has become a favorite social activity. If you want to turn your life around start talking good things about people and really mean it.
When we develop an accepting and loving attitude towards ourselves and the people around us, even if they are total strangers, we gain control of self-sabatoging, inner-critic, and begin to attract a multitude of benevolence. Enmity is decreased by those around us and we begin to experience less hostility, harm and antagonism with our presence. When we fully embody ahimsa, one experiences and emanates an inner security and peace.
