Yoga Lifestyle: and Personal and Social Ethics in and the Path to Lightness The ethical practice set down by within the text of the yoga offers us a framework to guide our actions and reflection points for improving how we live in the world. While the Pradapika emphasizes the work of the physical body, to ignore the internal work of ethics makes it a partial practice and only offers us physical change. To have real lasting psychological change, one must engage on inquiry of both social and personal ethics, outlined by the and the . These ethics offer us a way to take the yoga practice off the mat and into our daily lives.

Yama — social ethics

• — non-harming — love and for all • — truth — truthfulness, integrity of word • Asteya — non-stealing, generosity • Bramacharya — self-restraint — honoring your sexuality and respecting others; also moderation • Aparigraha — non-coveting, non-greed, taking only what you need. Awareness of abundance, fulfillment.

Niyama — personal ethics

• Saucha — purity, simplicity, refinement — cleanliness of body and mind • — contentment, being comfortable with what you have, being at peace with yourself and others • — discipline, igniting the purifying flame • Svadyaya — self-examination, through reading, nature, and introspection; seeing • yourself more clearly • Iswara Pranidhana — dedication to the divine, that which is beyond the self

How can you apply these ethics to your daily life?

Putting It into Practice: Purna — Perfection and Wholeness

We are all works in progress. We influence each other, and enable each other to grow. The yamas and niyamas give us direction to bring ethical concepts to our physical practice and they contribute to the health and well-being of our emotional and mental bodies. They are for the soul, but they should not become a source of guilt or inadequacy. The concept of purna is that we are perfect as we are, in all our fullness and abundance. We are perfect in our imperfection. The Yamas and Niyamas invite us to contemplate our actions and ponder if we can further engage and be more thoughtful about how we live in the world.

Take one yama, or one niyama, and meditate on it. Try to better absorb its meaning, and see how it might play out in your life. Ask yourself how the yamas and niyamas might contribute to health and balance in your life.

For more practice on the Yamas and Niyamas, see Deborah Adele’s book titled: Yama and Niyama.