As we talked about last month, yoga is much more than the asanas or the physical poses. Often teachers will weave philosophy into class by talking about the other steps or limbs of yoga. They might refer to them in the Sanskrit names or present it in more relatable terms. The hope is to make it assessable so that the practice can start to flow into your life off the mat as well. Last month we started with the first Yama, Ahimsa, meaning nonviolence. Now let’s talk about the next two: Satya and Asteya.
Satya is defined as truthfulness. We know we shouldn’t lie, just like with Ahimsa, we know we shouldn’t harm other living beings. However, just like Ahimsa goes deeper, so does Satya. What does it mean to be honest with ourselves? Do we say yes to things we don’t want to? Do we spend energy on things that we cannot control? Do we trust our own instincts, or do we always second guess them? Sometimes honesty is realizing that our habits no longer help us. Being honest with ourselves might mean showing up in our life very differently than we are accustomed to. Start small. Notice where the desire to do something doesn’t jive with what you know you need. Trust that inner wisdom.
Asteya is defined as non-stealing. Again, the obvious is to not steal from other people. But let’s dig a little deeper again. How do you show up in the world? When you enter a room or a conversation do you immediately demand attention or take over the conversation? Do you practice truly listening or are you always thinking about what you might say next. And can you simply listen without chiming in about a similar story? These are just a few examples of how we may steal from other people’s experiences, time or space.
When we see words like non-violence, truthfulness and non-stealing, the obvious is well pretty obvious for most of us. But when we start to drill down and ponder these other layers of it, we might start to notice things about ourselves that we had muted or overlooked. Remember these are observations. It’s not an exercise in making yourself feel bad. But we can use these observations to help redefine how we show up in the world on and off our mat.
