Yogic Philosophy Made Simple and Applicable

Yama's and Niyama's in your life and  work life:
The Yamas and Niyamas are a common sense path in yoga for daily living in this world. 
For the next 10 post I will apply them to daily life and work life.


Yamas:
• Ahimsa (non-violence),
• Satya (truthfulness),
• Asteya (non-stealing),
• Brahmacharya (celibacy) and
• Aparigraha (non-covetousness)


Niyamas:
• Shaucha or purity,
• Santosha or contentment,
• Tapa or austerity,
• Swadhyaya or self-education and
• Ishwar-Pranidhan or meditation on the Divine


 Yamas generally refer to how we treat others, however when going deeper it comes full circle to how we treat ourselves effects our actions with others. In life I am doubting anyone reading this is a violent person. However when we put our life under the microscope we can see more clearly how we can apply this. When you go to a restaurant and the waitress is frazzled, do you decide not to leave a tip, or are you rude or angry with him or her ? When you shop at the Holidays and the lines are long, do you get agitated with the people working in the store and the other customers? 


We teach people how to treat us, in our behavior we illicit reactions from others. Not to absolve others from their behavior but to open our eyes to how our actions effect others reactions to us. As my sweet Granny used to say "You catch more flies with honey than vinegar." Well that simple statement was Ahimsa, it was my Granny's Southern philosophical statement on non violence. 


Each day I struggle with not being disappointed with myself and the things I want to be, do, look like, accomplish, etc...
I'd like to save more money, lose some weight, be more patient. However, in focusing on those things I am only serving to make myself feel bad. So in my mind I will say "I have saved $500, and we have a retirement account. I'm only 10lbs heavier than I was in high school and I have had four pregnancies." Today instead of getting angry when my son was late for school for the 6th time in three weeks I said "I love you Honey" (as he walked out the door to get in his car, knowing the school would inflict the proper consequence).
When we are kind to others and to ourselves we feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for being patient and kind. When we are angry and frustrated we feel defeated. By following the philosophy of Ahimsa we build others up to succeed and build ourselves us for success. 


Application: 


Others: Today when you face people smile, say something kind, think of how they feel. Consider that the person who is angry, rude, or disrespectful could have more on their plate than they can handle and be extra kind to them despite their behavior. 


Yourself: Take time, five minutes or five hours to do something nice for yourself. For me it will be brewing a cup of tea and taking a nice short walk and doing a little yoga before work. 


Meditation: Take a deep breath in and silently say to yourself "I am", as you exhale say to your self something positive, such as "love, peace, joy, happy, beautiful, successful." Repeat several times. 


Peace and Love.