The Yamas & Niyamas Made Simple
Yoga’s Mindful Love Notes on How We Treat Ourself & Each other by Tammy Williams (Founder & Author of Yoga NRG & Mindfulness Teacher Training Programs)
A Guide to ‘Noticing’ The Yoga of Relationship in Everyday Life
Long before yoga was poses, it was a way to live with a clear mind-full heart. It was and can be a way of living. Patanjali, who was either a person or a collection of teachers (who really knows) gathered these teachings thousands of years ago, gave us eight limbs, and the first two are simply how we meet the world, and how we meet and treat ourselves and others. The five Yamas. The five Niyamas. You can think of them as ten gentle invitations (or as I like to call them My Mindful Love Notes). Not rules to pass or fail. More like good companions to take with you into your day.
You don’t need to know any Sanskrit to live them. And you do not need to practice yoga on a mat to gain benefit from these yogic suggestions. If you already do practice them, you may find something fresh in meeting them again, here, on the mat and off it. Personally every time I contemplate these suggestions, they can uncover new meanings depending on what interesting things are happening in life. So here is a little summary designed to be read slowly. Where there’s a practice, let yourself actually do it and where possible feel it. Savouring a single breath as you read these suggestion may be enough to have some benefit for you.
For over twenty years of teaching Yoga – Ive been using a little acronym N.R.G as ways to simplify The Eight Limbs of Yoga & Mindfulness Practices. The ‘N’ stands for Notice.
Notice how we treat ourselves and others – The Yamas and Niyamas can be a guide that helps to do just that.
The Five Yamas – Noticing how we meet the world
1. Ahimsa ~ kindness, non-harming
Sutra 2.35 says when kindness is established, hostility falls away · ahimsa-pratisthayam tat-sannidhau vaira-tyagah ·
How you speak to yourself when you drop the ball. How you treat the person on the end of the Telstra line or who cuts you off. Kindness, first of all, toward the one living inside your own skin.
Practice – Bring to mind one thing you’ve been hard on yourself about. Notice the tone of the voice in your head. Now soften it, the way you might speak to a small child who’s just tried their best, even if they have made a mistake. What changes in your chest when the tone softens?
2. Satya ~ truthfulness
Sutra 2.36 grounded in truth, our actions ring true · satya-pratisthayam kriya-phala-ashrayatvam ·
The tricky balance of speaking truthfully without harm. Letting your yes mean yes. And no mean no. Being honest with yourself about how you actually feel, rather than how you think you should feel. At times there can be a pay off when we sacrifice truthfulness or authenticity in order to belong or feel connection.
Practice – Notice, for a moment as you breathe: is there a truth you already know in your body, that you’ve been talking yourself out of? What would it be like to let it be true, just here, just for now? Without pushing it away or making meaning out of it – just feeling how it is for you.
3. Asteya ~ non-stealing, and contentment with what is yours
Sutra 2.37 when grasping ends, true richness arrives · asteya-pratisthayam sarva-ratna-upasthanam ·
We tend to think of stealing as taking objects. But we can take in subtler ways, taking on what isn’t ours to carry, or losing our own peace by trying to keep up with the ‘Jones’ or reaching for someone else’s life through comparison.
Like many I’ve had experiences of being talked about, taken from, left out or read wrongly. I’ve noticed how easily that can pull me away from my own centre – replaying, comparing or reacting. Asteya, is a practice, a doorway or a little Mindful Love Note to remember that my worth was never something ‘out there’ to lose.
Practice – recall a time and a place or moment where you had nothing to prove. Where you did not have to do anything to feel loved, valued or free. Even if just a little shift in that direction for seven breaths (It’s normal the mind may show you the opposite – due to the minds natural negativity bias) – this is why it is called ‘a practice’ – sometimes we have to work at it so it becomes stronger.
4. Brahmacharya ~ the wise use of energy
Sutra 2.38 with energy wisely used, vitality is gained · brahmacharya-pratisthayam virya-labhah ·
In plain terms: where your attention goes, your energy follows. Caroline Myss offers a lovely image, she says we are each an energetic banker. Why would you invest your energy in something that gives you no healthy return? Moby, when I once spoke with him about how our practice can help with managing anxiety, called it the Goldilocks way, not too much, not too little, just right. Both emphasised the importance of realising what you were doing and what it was costing you.
Practice – Try easy not hard. Consider effortless effort. Your presence is one hundred percent but you are not pushing. There’s an ease to your effort. Use your breath as a barometer to gauge your presence and what’s driving you. When is it too much, when is it not enough, when does it feel just right?
Where has your energy been going lately? What might a wiser investment feel like?
5. Aparigraha ~ non-attachment, the open hand
Sutra 2.39 in non-grasping, a deeper understanding of life dawns · aparigraha-sthairye janma-kathanta-sambodhah ·
Putting your whole heart into something without consideration for the reward. It’s normal to hold tight. To outcomes, to how things ‘should’ turn out, to what we think we are owed for all the hard earned effort we have put into something. Be it a relationship, role, project, career.
Practice – The Gita (a great yogic text) offers a suggestion – give the work your whole heart, but loosen the grip on the result – the fruit isn’t ours to control. Perhaps reflect on times where you did something just for the love of it. Just that and notice how that feels. Take seven deep breaths.
This is why moderating your energy – how much you put into something and being truthful with saying yes and no – these all tie in together and influence our attachments, resentments and our letting go.
“How well did you live, how well did you love, how well did you learn to let go” – this famous quote by the Buddha – emphasises the very real beauty and struggle of what it means to be human.
The Five Niyamas — how we meet ourselves
6. Saucha ~ purity, clearing the space
Sutra 2.40 · saucha – cleanliness of body, space and mind
Beyond a clean body and a tidy room, Saucha is about what we let occupy our inner space. One of my favourite quotes of all time from Gandhi – he put it perfectly:
Do not let anyone walk through your mind with their dirty feet.
Practice – See where your mind is at. In this moment remember you have a choice. You have a choice to ‘be here’ to be present.
Know that you are breathing in – Know that you are breathing out.
Breathing in I am aware of my feet on the earth. Breathing out I give thanks to the earth.
7. Santosha ~ contentment, the gift of satisfaction – of realising what you have and taking in the good of it.
Sutra 2.42 from contentment comes unsurpassed happiness. · santoshad-anuttamah-sukha-labhah ·
Contentment isn’t getting everything you want. It’s a quiet settling into what is already here. The breath you’re taking. The earth under your feet. My Dad had his own mantra for this
“Isn’t it great to be alive”
Practice – “Taking In The Good” Let your attention rest on one thing, right now, that is already good. It maybe as subtle as the breeze of your breath going in through the roof of your nose right now. Small is fine. The warmth of a cup in your hands. Your capacity to feel a little Mona Lisa Smile on your face. The softening of your shoulders or a little piece of light that you notice. Stay with it for one full breath, the way you’d pause to see a bird flying across the sky. What do you notice when you let yourself ‘Take in the good’ of these little moments so you actually feel them in your skin.
8. Tapas ~ discipline, the steady flame of the fire
Sutra 2.43 through dedicated practice, clarity grows. · kaya-indriya-siddhih ashuddhi-kshayat tapasah ·
Tapas is the warmth of commitment, the willingness to keep showing up for what matters most, over time. It’s about tending a flame in a way that it does not go out and you do not burn out.
Practice – Think of one small practice you’d like to keep as your own personal ritual over time. Watering it regular and often. Perhaps it’s your morning cup of tea sitting quietly just sipping, enjoying, breathing. Perhaps it’s staying committed to your vision despite doubt, fear – continually showing up for what’s important and has value for you and all beings.
Dream big – start small and connect the dots (Dan Millman)
9. Svadhyaya ~ self-study, getting to know yourself
Sutra 2.44 through self-study, we meet what we hold sacred · svadhyayad-ishta-devata-samprayogah ·
This is the curious turning-inward, the willingness to watch your own patterns with interest rather than judgement. To get to know yourself the way you’d get to know a friend, slowly, kindly, over many cups of tea.
Practice – As you notice your breath, become the watcher. Like an innocent by-stander.
10. Ishvara Pranidhana ~ surrender, trust in the bigger picture
Sutra 2.45 in surrender, deep peace becomes possible · samadhi-siddhih ishvara-pranidhanat ·
Whatever the word it is for you – nature, grace, the flow of things, this is the practice of connecting to that something bigger.
Practice – How would you respond if everything that was happening was for your benefit?
Spend time in nature, look out to the ocean, look up to the night sky – remember you are not alone.
Ten Mindful Love Notes – little companions for the day. You don’t need to take them all on at once. You might simply notice which one is calling for your attention this week, and let it show you the way on the mat, driving the car, in the conversation with a friend or family member.
Yoga practice means to harness (to yoke) the mind. It starts with how we treat ourself and each other.
We have been doing our Yama & Niyama 10 Day Challenge as part of the Yoga NRG Teacher Training Program. If you’d like to join in with the group discussions or if you’re curious to explore specific meditations, journalling or contemplative exercises to help you out in daily life – feel free to reach out. It’s been great to be having some interesting conversations about our practices on and off the yoga mat. Never a dull moment 😉 !
The Mindful Mentor Program — The Yoga of Skilful Action Series
Choose from a 10 Day Challenge or a 5 week Program – CONTACT 0439418571 or support@yoga-nrg.com for details.
→ Explore one-to-one mentoring – Learn more at www.tammywilliams.com.au
Related Blogs – Conversations with Moby – Tammy Williams explores yoga, anxiety and putting our practice in perspective with Moby
Yoga NRG & Mindfulness Training Australia
Celebrating 20 years of service to our community · 2006–2026
yogaenergy.com.au · tammywilliams.com.au