Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice

The first two limbs of yoga's eight-fold path are examined in this spiritual guide to the practice of yoga. Foundational to all yogic thought, they are considered to be the guidelines to the yoga way of living that free individuals to take ownership of their lives, direct them toward the fulfillment they seek, and gain the skills to choose attitude, thought, and action. The first five guidelines are referred to as the yamasa Sanskrit word that translates to "restraints"and encompass nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, nonexcess, and nonpossessiveness. The last five are referred to as the niyamas, or observancespurity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender. In this book each Yama and Niyama has been given its own chapter in which the philosophy of the guideline is woven with practical examples and stories. At the end of the chapter a list of questions is provided for group or self study.