Daring to be truthful on and off the yoga mat is an act of courage that should be handled gently. The second of the Yamas is Satya which means Truthfulness . This precept is based on the understanding that honest communication and action form the bedrock of any healthy relationship and that deliberate deception, exaggerations, and mistruths harm others.
On the Yoga mat it is taking skilful action from a place of being ‘honest’ with where you are at moment by moment. You can see how there is synergy between the first Yama (Non Violence / Ahimsa)
Regardless of what role you are in , avoiding exploiting the trust of others (especially students for those who are in teaching or leadership type roles) and their potential dependency. Instead encourage students to find greater inner freedom, helping to cultivate inner resources versus creating co-dependence.
There are many opportunities for us to take this precept and practice on and off the yoga mat. There are also many moments where we are challenged by the balancing act between Truthfulness and Non Harming.
Being mindful of right timing, right person, how the truth is delivered (without harm) is also key.
Below are some other contemplations and ways to explore the Yama of Satya (Truthfulness). Many of those undertaking our Yoga NRG Teacher Training have received a lot of benefit from exploring the Yamas and Niyamas (How we treat ourselves and others) so we have opened the contemplation up as a 10 Day or 10 week Challenge that you can do at any time. (More details in the link below)
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THE FINE LINE BETWEEN TRUTHFULNESS + NON HARMING
CLICK HERE TO READ ABOUT CONFRONTATION WITH COMPASSION
CLICK HERE FOR A LIST OF ALL THE YAMAS + NIYAMAS + to join in on our Yama and Niyama Challenge