8 Limbs of Yoga - Brahmacarya

brahmacaryapratisthayam viryalabhah
when the sadhaka is firmly established in continence, knowledge, vigour, valour & energy flow to him

Yoga Sutra II, 38, translated by BKS Iyengar

Celibacy is not what is meant by this sutra, although that is what it is often taken to mean. Some of the greatest ancient yogis had families, as well as many from the modern era (Krishnamacarya, Iyengar & Desikachar for example); the great sage Vasista was himself said to have had 100 children.

Rather this sutra is an exhortation to treat our sexuality & sexual union with another with as much care, discretion & discernment as the rest of our yoga practice, and to a degree which matches our commitment to careful, considerate, gentle living.

Renunciation can of course be an act of devotion for a yogi, but is only an effective path when taken with a positive outlook; when performed with suppression & denial it can never bear the fruit of deep peace & joy that yoga practice brings.

It is a very simple sutra really: contain your sexual energy, express it wisely & with discretion; in this way you will gain vigour & dynamism; the rise of what is known as ojas: that vitality & radiant health (both physical & spiritual) that you see glowing in the faces of true yogis.

8 Limbs of Yoga - Asteya

asteyapratisthayam sarvaratnopasthanam
By abiding in freedom from the desire for other's possessions, that which is precious is revealed, and all that is beneficial is freely given

Yoga Sutra II,37 translation by Mukunda Stiles

Yamas - observances for living well - are the first of Patanjali's guidance for yogis: the third of the yamas is asteya: non-stealing. 

On a basic level, not stealing is one of the oldest rules of society and most of us would hope never to steal anything knowingly or unknowingly.

But it is not only belongings that we can steal ... taking away from another person's happiness, confidence, time, energy or ideas is stealing of a sort, as is betraying someone's trust; and envying someone else's life, or at least how that life is presented online or elsewhere, is the covetousness of the modern age.

Being satisfied with ourselves, our own gifts, and what we have is a quiet kind of spiritual practice; gratitude for all that we have been given is a baseline attitude for living well.

Giving more than we receive, opening our hearts toward the crotchety as well as the friendly, will bring us closer to freedom and happiness than jealously guarding what we have or hankering after someone else's life or possessions.

Science is catching up with Patanjali: research has shown that volunteering, mentoring, working for a good cause and random acts of kindness are good for mental health: these acts stimulate feelgood neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, and reduce feelings of isolation and loneliness, the dual curses of the modern age.

Practising asteya is part of our commitment to the environment too: considering carefully what we buy and how it has been produced, taking only what we need so that resources such as food are not wasted and trying where we can to reduce our own negative impact on the environment are all manifestations of asteya.

Bringing a sense of asteya to formal yoga practice might take the form of celebrating the beauty of another person's practice rather than finding yourself lacking in comparison; or not robbing yourself of the glory of your own asana or meditation practice by chiding yourself for what it isn't, rather than enjoying what it is.  Refrain from from grasping always for the next thing in your practice or training and allow things to unfold more naturally instead, with faith that what you will receive will be just right for you.

Patanjali teaches that all wealth comes to those who practise asteya; that by opening our hands and hearts to the world and sharing our gifts and talents freely, by ceasing taking too much or jealously guarding what we already have, we will receive the gift of receiving freely, exactly that which we need.

8 Limbs of Yoga - Satya

satyapratisthayam kriyaphalasrayatvam
when we are firmly established in truthfulness, action accomplishes its desired end

YS II,36 translation by Alistair Shearer

Yamas - observances for living well - are the first of Patanjali's guidance for yogis; the second of the yamas is satya: truthfulness, honesty, sincerity, integrity.

Such a simple vow, the promise to be honest, but much more difficult to consistently fulfil.  Small untruths litter our communications with each other.  We lie about the reason we are late, or the reason we can't make an event, how much we spent on a shopping trip, how many glasses of wine we had last night, books we've read, how much time we spent fruitlessly surfing the internet.  Other people may never know (or care) that we lied, but we know and we weigh ourselves down with it.

It can therefore be very liberating to tell the truth.  In a sense, telling the truth allows us to be totally human, accepting of our weaknesses and all of the mistakes we make, and content with that perfect imperfectness.  For example, if we admit that we are late because we overslept (instead of blaming the traffic), we are admitting to our mistake with the confidence that it doesn't have anything to do with who we are as a person.  Everybody gets up late sometimes.  We make the choice to be honest, rather than to find a false explanation that might conform more to what is expected of us (or what we expect from ourselves).  We choose to feel better on the inside, rather than to look better on the outside.

There are times when it might be hurtful to tell the truth, so we temper our honesty with kindness (ahimsa) - if telling the truth will hurt somebody, then it might be better to say nothing.  And satya doesn't give you license to go and tell the person you dislike all the bad thoughts and feelings you have about them.  Be wise, be kind, do your best.  As the Mahabharata advises:

"Speak the truth which is pleasant.  Do not speak unpleasant truths.
Do not lie, even if the lies are pleasing to the ear."

Mahabharata translated by TKV Desikachar

Part of yoga practice is to reflect honestly on all of our actions.  In the quiet stillness of yoga we confront ourselves and our actions with a clear eye and seek to understand the source of our behaviour, so that in future we might avoid the actions that cause ourselves and other people harm.  If you can't be honest with anyone else about the way you feel, you can at least be honest with yourself.  With careful scrutiny you are able to find the root of the matter and to discern why it made you feel and behave the way you did.  Once you understand that, you are free to address the causes in the hope that you might behave more generously in future. 

Satya is also about trusting yourself.  You know who you are and what you need, admitting this to yourself is an important first step to admitting it to the world and to living by your own deepest truth.  It's about integrity too: saying what you mean, meaning what you say and living up to it in practice.  

According to the Yoga Sutras, when we live honestly, speak honestly and think honestly, other people take more notice of what we say because they know it to be true; moreover we do not waste energy on the concealment of untruths and secrets.  Patanjali tells us in this sutra that through the practice of satya, we gain freedom.

"Tell the truth, tell the truth, tell the truth."

Elizabeth Gilbert