Category: Yoga Philosophy

The ninth blossom of the Yamas and Niyamas garland is called Swadyaya (pronounced swahd-yah-yah) which loosely translates to self-study. This Niyama, studied for the month of February, reminds me of the maxim “know thyself.” Given that the Gentle Yogis practice community has already been on a journey of “self-study” for many months now, we have to dig a little deeper to know what the invitation of Swadyaya is about. First, we review. 

Gentle Yogis have completed 683 days of daily Gentle Breath Practice Chair Yoga. Congrats to those who have completed a day, a week, a month or many months of practice.

January was the eighth month of daily group study after the practice. This month was a fascinating, challenging, and often revelatory exploration. We’re on the third Niyama, Tapas, usually referred to as self-discipline. In his book Nourishing The Teacher, Danny Arguetty refers to it as dedication.

The sparkling jewel of Santosha (contentment) invites us to drop into awareness of our current experience in the space between the thoughts. Contentment is available

What an incredible journey! These past few months have been an immense process of self-study and self-discovery. With each new yama I wonder which unseen or long forgotten part of myself I will encounter next.

First, we began with ahimsa, do no harm in thought, word or deed. Ahimsa invites me to ask, may my thoughts, words and deeds be kind to others and most importantly to myself. May this study of the yamas and niyamas be a kind journey, shining the light of awareness as guided by this ancient text, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra. We have been taking these steps with compassionate self-observation as Swami Kripalu has suggested as best we can.

For community time after the Breath Practice each day, we are in month four of a fascinating journey into the exploration of the Yamas and Niyamas. This month we have opened the treasure chest of Brahmacharya. It has not disappointed. We’ve been surprised and challenged. Brahmacharya’s meaning includes moderation, non-excess, energy management and its translation is “walking towards creation.” I think of it as gathering energy, avoiding wasting energy, to serve my vitality and the highest good.

Our exploration of Asteya began with stories of childhood and adolescent petty larceny. Shoplifting. Stealing from Dad’s wallet. Taking money from that pumping gas job. The blurred boundaries of the college years when sharing drifted into rationalized taking, “he doesn’t need that as much as I do.” One person shared that “we used to call it ‘stealing from the man,’ reflecting a common attitude that a corporation takes more than it gives.
And, don’t forget tax loopholes, pay phone coin returns and illegal parking.

We acknowledged some regret, remorse, humility, a bit of shame. Yet, we were unaware that we hadn’t really begun the deep exploration of non-stealing that was about to evolve.

Is there anything to be learned from the thousands-of-years-old Yamas and Niyamas? Last month we began with Ahimsa,  do no harm in thought word or

The following is a transcript of an excerpt from community time following the Breath Practice on May 31, 2021 in which Rudy gave a short