A Reflection on the Yamas & Niyamas

Note: This is a paper written to obtain my 200-Hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification based on a specific version of the interpretation of the Yamas & Niyamas. I encourage you to compare my findings to others so that you can have a well-rounded view of this topic, as it is deeper than this article can ever describe.

I have read The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice by Deborah Adele three times over the course of the last two years and each time was a completely different experience. The first time I sat absorbed in the newness of the knowledge and reveled in its teachings. The second time I made sure to have a highlighter with me and marked up the best points of the book in neon yellow. By the third time, I had already read The Bhagavad Gita and decided to read Yamas & Niyamas again from a more “enlightened” perspective to write this paper. At the time I didn’t think much about re-reading this book again. I thought I’d skim over the good parts and go off on my merry way to type out my thoughts. But as I held the book in my hand, it felt surreal. I was nothing like the person who had first opened this book back in 2021. The book now felt heavy. Powerful. And it scared me.

Every time I picked it up with the intention to re-read it, I found myself putting it back on the shelf. I’d come up with excuses as to why I didn’t need to re-read it and put it off for a week. Then the weeks became months, and I could feel the energy growing, but I still didn’t think it was the right time to read it. Eventually, I thought I’d just go over some old notes I wrote about the book and call it a day. But deep down I knew it wouldn’t be enough. So, with as much courage as I could muster, I decided to yank the book off the shelf and begin reading once more. Here is the essence of what I have found.

The Yamas & Niyamas pave a practical way for anyone to follow along with yogic philosophy. Many people, especially in the Western World, believe that yoga is nothing more than a handful of asanas that you do on a mat for thirty minutes a day. But Yoga is a lifestyle. One that is practiced on and off the mat. The Yamas & Niyamas are valuable tools that yogis use to reconnect with their truest selves and live life with a sense of value and purpose. But what are the Yamas & Niyamas and why are they so important?

Yamas is a Sanskrit word that translates to “restraints” while the word Niyamas translates to “observances”. While these translations may not sound any different from other cultural ways of “living a good life”, I’d like to think of the Yamas and Niyamas as guideposts rather than ridged rules.

Apart of The Eightfold Path, the Yamas are meant to teach you how to live your best life among other living beings while the Niyamas act as a guide for you to live the easiest life with yourself. Neither the Yamas nor the Niyamas are meant to be a quick fix for life’s problems. They are lifelong lessons that echo the truth, and you may even recognize some of them from other religions or ways of thought. There are five Yamas: non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, non-excess, & non-possessiveness; as well as five Niyamas: purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, & surrender. Each one holds a purpose in a human being’s life and can balance out our desires from our truths. I’d like to briefly go over each one to paint a clearer picture of what they have to offer individually and as an overall collective.

Ahisma, or Non-Violence

is the foundation that the other nine guideposts derive from. Though overlooked for its passive nature, Ahimsa builds a strong foundation for the best things in our lives to stand on. It challenges our fears, breaks us out of the old swan songs that we replay in our heads, and brings us back to the present moment. When practicing Ahimsa, we are asked to look at what makes us feel powerless and overwhelmed and let go of what is not servicing us anymore. It is replacing guilt with forgiveness, leniency, and love. Love is the root of it all.

Satya, or truthfulness,

is intertwined with Ahimsa and bows humbly to its strength, preventing it from being a weapon to use against others. It is a Yama that demands us to be true to ourselves and life itself. Satya asks us to swap out “being nice” for being real, relish unapologetically in our uniqueness, and disguise nothing. It asks us to move towards the life we desire deep down inside of our hearts and shoves us towards it with open arms.

Asteya, or non-stealing,

demands that we stop looking outward for satisfaction and turn our attention inward. It asks us to stop comparing ourselves to others, manipulating others for our own satisfaction, and “hogging the spotlight” when someone is trying to tell a story. Asteya asks us to practice gratitude and celebration when we see our friend get that promotion, that hot new car in our neighbor’s driveway, or anything else that gives us that burning sense of jealousy and mediocrity. This Yama brings awareness to the fact that we are but one link in a long chain of ancestors and it holds us responsible for the lives we lead and the lives that come after us. But, most importantly, it gives us back our ability to love ourselves for exactly who we are by simply focusing on ourselves and letting others deal with their own drama.

Brahmacharya, or non-excess,

goes hand in hand with Asteya, and for a good reason. It literally means “walking with God” and forces us to look at our desires, both sexual and trivial, and approach them as “sacred acts”. This prevents us from overindulging and instead gives us an appreciation for the little moments in our day. Being in a state of non-excess allows us to enjoy each experience without stuffing our faces until we fall into a food coma. It roots us in authenticity and gives our palate a taste for the bigger mysteries of the divine, allowing us to feel alive in the simplicities of life and tune into the heartbeat of the universe.

Aparigraha, or non-possessiveness,

is the constant practice of letting go and accepting that life is full of beginnings and endings. Like the waves of the ocean, we must enjoy them as they come and go. It’s a hard pill to swallow when you talk about the loss of a loved one or see your favorite glass piece shattered before your eyes. Aparigraha allows us to enjoy life as it appears in its fullest form and to let go of the attachment that we feel towards the things around us. It forces us to tune into the breath and observe the impermanent beauty of each one.

Saucha, or purity,

gives us the ability to rid ourselves of the mental and physical toxins from ourselves and meet each moment with a clear mind and open heart. It is a Niyama that allows us the space to forgive others of the old wounds they inflicted on us and heal from them, bringing us back to the present moment. Saucha calls us to turn inward and forces us to let go of the arrogance we hold over our expectations for everything and everyone around us. It challenges us to be present in each moment as it unfolds and to love ourselves regardless of circumstance.

Rocks in a fog on the ocean

Santosha, or contentment,

gives us permission to stop planning “the next step in life” and relish in the moment that is right here, right now. It gives us the ability to accept that every moment of the day isn’t going to go as planned and that’s okay. We are asked to accept that happiness is an internal thing rather than external and to strip away the labels we hold on everything and everyone. Santosha wants us to use the gratitude that we feel for all we have right now to protect us from our own small-mindedness about material desires. It’s all an illusion and we are perfectly content without any of it.

Tapas, or self-discipline,

is a great way to get all these Yamas & Niyamas to stick with us for the long term. It translates to the word “heat” and is literally asking us to stick ourselves in the preverbal fire and burn away anything that disservices us. I think it’s pretty cathartic to transform into the best version of yourself, but it is not easy. It demands that we show up to our commitments, honor them, and stay with them even when we literally feel like we’re on fire. Practicing self-discipline is showing up even when it's dark, ugly, and terrible all around us. It feeds our spirit to hold onto our dreams with both hands and do everything we know we can to make them come true. It scares us, scars us, and asks us to hold onto our faith for the unknown.

Svadhyaya, or self-study,

goes beyond what we anticipate this Niyama to mean. It asks us to stand in the preverbal ray of truth and acknowledge all the beliefs that shape us culturally, physically, and spiritually. Bringing awareness to our preferences, fears, and beliefs gives us the ability to separate ourselves from years of opinions and hone in on what we really believe versus what our “tribe” believes. Svadhyaya challenges us to see our opinions of others as projections of the things we love, fear, or cannot accept within ourselves. It takes us to our childhood and gives us the space to unpack all the deep-rooted disharmony in our hearts. Self-study asks us to take the beliefs we’ve accumulated from our family, culture, and personal experiences and face each one head-on with a discerning mind and an open heart.

Ishvara Pranidhana, or surrender,

is the last on the list and is probably the hardest. Asking one to surrender to the unknown can be an impossible task. But this is what it means. It asks us to stand at the edge of what we can see, hear, and feel to be true, close our eyes, and give it all over for The Great Spirit to take care of. It asks us to surrender the feeling of being a victim and replace it with the feeling of gratitude for all the opportunities that life presents us with daily. Ishvara Pranidhana challenges us to live in a state of expansion to life itself rather than constriction. It asks us to ride the waves and be active participants in our own lives. It connects us back to our truest form and gives us the ability to enjoy life no matter what it asks of us. It is the key to being truly free.

While this is only a summary of my thoughts, I believe that the Yamas and Niyamas are the basic foundations of the best ways that a person could live. I wish that I was taught these concepts when I was younger. Maybe I would’ve made fewer mistakes. Then again, I probably would’ve shoved it in the corner with all the other “spiritual doohickey” that I thought I was too cool to believe in. I never thought that I’d be on the spiritual path I find myself on today and the younger me would probably have a lot of questions. But after spending the last two years integrating the teachings of the Yamas and Niyamas into my life, I can say that though the journey’s wild, it’s definitely worth it.

About the Author

Crystal Cabrae is a storyteller who specializes in writing dystopian, romantic, and adventurous worlds for animation and fantastical fiction. She is a proud graduate of Full Sail University, AMDA, and New World School of the Arts. Her six years of acting training in both New York and Miami gives her a unique perspective when approaching her characters. She has a passion for sharing how to create stories with the world and inspiring the storyteller that lives within all of us. Follow her on IG or Pinterest to know the latest.