Teaching the Yamas in Asana Class

Although the best way to teach the yamas is to live them, here are some practical ways to incorporate their lessons into an asana class.

By Aadil Palkhivala

As yoga teachers, we have a choice. We can live and teach the whole of yoga as delineated in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, or we can simply focus on the physical practice of asana. If we choose the whole of yoga, the first two steps on the ladder of the eightfold path are the yamas and niyamas. These ethical and spiritual observances help us develop the more profound qualities of our humanity.

The name of the first limb of the eighfold path, "yama," originally meant "bridle" or "rein." Patanjali used it to describe a restraint that we willingly and joyfully place on ourselves to focus our efforts, the way a rein allows a rider to guide his horse in the direction he would like to go. In this sense, self-restraint can be a positive force in our lives, the necessary self-discipline that allows us to head toward the fulfillment of our dharma, or life purpose. The five yamas--kindness, truthfulness, abundance, continence, and self-reliance--are oriented toward our public behavior and allow us to coexist harmoniously with others.

"What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches," wrote Karl Menninger. The best way--perhaps the only true way--to teach the yamas is to live them. If we practice them in our actions and embody them in our manner, we become models for our students. We teach without even trying. Still, there are some specific ways to integrate discussions of the yamas into an asana class.

Ahimsa
Ahimsa traditionally meant "do not kill or hurt people." This can be extrapolated to mean that we should not be violent in feelings, thoughts, words, or actions. At root, ahimsa means maintaining compassion towards yourself and others. It means being kind and treating all things with care.

In class, we often see students being violent toward themselves--pushing when they should be pulling back, fighting when they need to surrender, forcing their bodies to do things they are not yet ready to do. When we see this kind of behavior, it is an opportune time to bring up the topic of ahimsa and explain that to be violent to the body means we are no longer listening to it. Violence and awareness cannot coexist. When we are forcing, we are not feeling. Conversely, when we are feeling, we cannot be forcing. One of the main purposes of yoga is to cultivate feeling and awareness in the body, and violence only achieves the opposite result.

Satya
Satya means "truth," or "not lying." Practicing satya means being truthful in our feelings, thoughts, and words, and deeds. It means being honest with ourselves and with others.

When a student with stiff hips who can't do a backbend properly puffs out her chest to pretend to do a good one, this is a lie. This is being dishonest because a part of her body is actually not doing the pose at all. Teach your students to always assess themselves honestly, and to work at their own level, without need for apology. Encourage them to look at the whole of their pose, not just the flattering parts (nor just the unflattering parts). Teach them that a pose is too expensive if it is bought by selling ahimsa and satya.

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