Yoga is an eightfold path. Of the eight limbs of yoga, most of us are familiar with the third limb: asana – the poses, the physical practice of yoga. A few of us might have practiced the fourth limb – pranayama (breathing exercises) – at some point. We might also have a general understanding of meditation, the various stages of which make up the last four limbs of yoga. But what about the first two? Chances are you’ve never heard of them.
The first two limbs of yoga are the yamas (yah-muhs) and niyamas (nee-yah-muhs). There are five of each. I think of them as the ten commandments of yoga, the dos and don’ts of ethical living. We’ve been studying them in detail in yoga teacher training, and this week, Alex White felt compelled to share her thoughts on the third yama: nonstealing. It’s not as simple as you think.
For the past two weeks in yoga teacher training, we’ve been focusing on Asteya (uh-stay-uh), also known as nonstealing. When I first began to read about this particular yama, I was almost turned off by its name. Nonstealing? Why is yoga telling me not to steal? I mean come on ya’ll – that is a no brainer. Everyone knows you’re not supposed to take things that don’t belong to you. However, I have been desperately seeking to live my yoga practice with an open mind and heart. Before I even continued reading, I had to take a couple deep breaths and remind myself there is always more than meets the eye when it comes to the teachings of yoga.
And that is the case with asteya. Yoga approaches the subject from several angles: the act of taking what doesn’t belong to us, taking advantage of others, and corrupting our circumstances, ourselves, and our futures just begin to scratch the surface of the layers of meaning inherent in asteya.
To take advantage of our circumstances is to not appreciate our day-to-day life. With every complaint we utter to every flower we walk by without appreciation, the situation we have been blessed to experience can be stripped of its beauty (stolen from us) because we have neglected to shift our mindset. We take for granted the things that are not bought and indulge in the things that money can offer.
The second concept of asteya is stealing is from ourselves. When I first read that title, I simply chuckled. Of course, we steal from ourselves. I mean think about it – it really isn’t that surprising if we are honest with ourselves. We take away parts of our innermost being when we pick and choose what we share with others, especially on social media. Some of this person we hide can be the most beautiful parts of us. If we do not ever share that, eventually it will be lost. I have no desire to lose the most beautiful part of me because I refuse to embrace and love myself. We also steal from ourselves when we don’t take care of ourselves with proper diet and lifestyle.
The future is the third stolen thing, not only our own, but the most precious people around us. Due to our lack of appreciation and ability to love ourselves, we have created an earth, a lifestyle, and a culture that is unsustainable for our kids, grandkids, great grandkids, and generations to come. It is bad enough the human race is unable to be grateful and loving to our own selves, but to pass on to future generations is positively demoralizing.
So how can we do better? At the end of the asteya chapter of the book The Yamas & Niyamas, the author, Deborah Adele presents us with four challenges:
1. “Notice when we steal from others through time, attention, “one-upmanship,” power, confidence, and not being able to celebrate others’ successes.” Recognize when we do not lift one another up, but either tear each other down or demolish someone’s experience. To demolish someone’s life experience is to share an even better experience of our own (that one person that ALWAYS has a bigger fish story).
2. “Notice where you are stealing from the earth and stealing from the future.” Notice where are you taking away from the generations to come without returning something of at least equal value. Whether this is from the actual earth or enabling the culture of untruth, where can you give back or set up YOUR continuing family for success?
3. “Live as a visitor to this world, rather than an owner.” Take time to truly appreciate all that money cannot buy.
4. Improve your competency for your future. Begin to stop stealing from yourself and your future. Begin to live in freedom through a mindset of knowledge. Take time to make a list of books/articles/people you can learn from so that you are able to accomplish your goals as well as have people around you when you fail.
My challenge to you is this: Which one will you work on this week?
Enjoy the Journey,
Alex