Yamas: Ahimsa—yoga's principle of non-harming in three simple steps
You may have come to your first yoga class because you heard that it would improve your flexibility, or that it might help you with your back pain. Doctors are frequently referring people to yoga classes for this type of general body maintenance. Perhaps you were told to seek out a yoga class because it would help your mental health. The slower, more mindful movements of yoga that connect your body and your breath have a profound impact on mental health, proven by multiple studies. But there is another, deeper layer of benefit from the yoga practice, and it doesn’t start with moving the body at all.
In the last post I introduced Ashtanga, the eight limbs of yoga, as a list of essential all encompassing steps to embracing a yogic lifestyle. The first step on this eight path tends to the ethical rules of right living. These personal ethics—the five yamas, are: ahimsa—nonviolence, asteya—non-stealing, satya—truth, aparigraha—non-possessiveness, and brahmacharya—self-restraint.
Ahimsa is probably the most well known of these five yamas. It is often referred to as non-violence. In translation, ”himsa” means to harm, and the prefix “a” on any sanskrit word means to negate that action. So the word literally translates into non-harming.
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Ahimsa is a fundamental belief across several world Indian religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The exact interpretation of how to practice Ahimsa is up for some debate amongst Sanskrit philosophers and religious practitioners. It implies the total avoidance of harming of any living creature through deeds, words, speech, and thoughts. Some interpret this to mean avoiding eating flesh, avoiding participating in war, and avoiding gossip. Mahatma Gandhi , a Jain, was one of the most famous practitioners of ahimsa. Gandhi applied the concept of ahimsa in his politics to create the non-violent resistance to the Colonialist British Government.
Ahimsa is listed as the first of the ethical precepts of yoga because it outlines the fundamental foundation for progressing through the path of yoga. This means that we should first consider how any action might cause harm to others. I believe that complete and total ahimsa is not an achievable goal. We can’t help but cause some level of harm as we go about our lives. We might be inadvertently killing insects, and making an impact on our local environment when we build a new home or drive our cars, or harming another unintentionally. I try to think of ahimsa as causing the least harm possible in any given moment. This changes based on situation and circumstance, but it can be a compass for guiding ones choices and actions.
Here are three basic ways I try to apply ahimsa in my life:
I avoid eating meat and any animal products (including eggs and dairy). The dairy industry causes harm in its practice of forcefully impregnating cows, taking calves away from their mothers, and killing off the males for veal. Chickens don’t want to be cooped up all day in cramped cages. Animal agriculture also causes intense harm to our Earth.
I purchase organic and fair trade products whenever possible. I also seek out business owned by Indigenous Peoples and People of Color. Each purchase is an opportunity to decide how to support business practices and create a more equitable future. I prefer to support business that honor the needs of the workers, farmers, and especially those that support fair income for women.
I seek solutions for climate change. How we live each day impacts the Earth environment, and this causes intense harm for all the sentient creatures of the world, and disproportionately impacts Indigenous People and People of Color. From my daily purchases to how I drive my cars, I strive to think about how each choice could be better for the planet and all her inhabitants.
There is no one right way to apply ahimsa to your life. You have to make decisions based on what works in each individual moment, and what feels right will change over time. I used to have my own chickens when my family still ate eggs. I felt that I could at least avoid factory farmed chickens by farming them myself. Over time, we stopped eating eggs so it made more sense to not have any chickens at all.
In applying the principle of ahimsa to your own life, consider the following:
How can I apply the least harm possible in this moment?
How does my personal choice affects others?
Is there some way that I can be a voice for those who have been oppressed?
Let me know your thoughts and how you apply ahimsa to your life. Next week, we will look at the second yama—asteya.
