A Story of Transformation
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my future. For several decades, I’ve made a career out of storytelling and training future storytellers, and just as my relationship with that career was shifting, I found myself drawn more deeply into yoga and away from storytelling. I didn’t understand why I was suddenly pulled away from the career I loved and toward something new, but I knew something was off.
I can see the broad connection between the two practices – the transformative ability of both theatre and yoga, but the personal transformation I would experience during yoga teacher training would be an entirely different type of transformation. The clarity in what yoga is and learning to truly live my yoga, would change everything. The journey began for me when I was introduced to the Yamas and Niyamas, yoga’s ethical practice and the framework to live a more meaningful and purposeful life, much like the character’s lives in the stories I had so carefully crafted and shared.
The Eight Limb Path of Yoga: A Brief Overview
The Yamas and Niyamas are the first two of Patanjali’s Eight Limb Path of Yoga. Together, the eight limbs provide a comprehensive path for our personal growth and self-realization. The limbs are:
Yama - the Moral Ethical Observances
Niyama – the Inner Observances
Asana – the Physical Postures
Pranayama – Breathing
Pratyahara – Sense Withdrawal
Dharana – Concentration
Dhyana – Meditation
Samadhi – Enlightenment or bliss
The Yama and Niyama
At the foundation of the eight-limb path you’ll find the Yamas and Niyamas. As you’ll see below, the Yamas provide the ethical principles while the Niyamas provide support for self-reflective personal practices.
Yama
Ahimsa – Non-violence
Satya – Truthfulness, Honesty
Asteya – Non-stealing, Openness
Brahmacharya – Non-excess, Energy Management
Aparigraha – Non-possessiveness, Generosity
Niyama
Sauca – Purity, Commitment
Santosha - Contentment
Tapas – Self-discipline, Passion
Svadyaya – Self Study
Ishvarapranidhana – Surrender, Devotion
The Journey of Integration
I was introduced to Yamas and Niyamas through the 200hr yoga teacher training program here at Jane’s House. As I read Deborah Adele’s book, The Yamas and Niyamas, I felt as if someone had simultaneously whispered the secret to life in one ear and “you seem ready to see your true self – buckle up” in the other. It was honestly as if I had been given the power to see with a bird’s eye view. I could observe myself and each of my relationships in a whole new light. What a gift! And yet, so much work lay ahead of me. Let the self-study (Svadyaya) begin!
It was immediately apparent that Ahimsa and Satya were yin and yang – seemingly opposing forces that needed one another to be in balance. How could I possibly speak my truth (Satya) and not cause harm (Ahimsa)? This was such a foreign concept to me. I was quite skilled in speaking my truth, but I had very limited ability to do it without causing harm. Developing those skills started with simply taking a pause and a deep breath (pranayama) before I spoke. Later, the study of Marshall Rosenberg’s Non-Violent Communication, would teach me the power of active listening with empathy and its value and importance in communication. It has served as another helpful tool in honoring Ahimsa.
Balancing these two Yamas has required daily awareness and observation of my actions. It’s shown up in my relationship with my daughter and husband nearly every single day. It’s also shown up at work in my role as a supervisor. How could I have a conversation with my underperforming employee in a way that was truthful without causing harm? It required more energy up front, but every time I’ve made space and been thoughtful in my communication with the intention of balancing Ahimsa and Satya, the result was no lingering anxiety or worry over how things went. I didn’t live and relive the conversation over and over wondering how I could have said things differently. There was no energy wasted over regrets. It felt so liberating. I was immediately living more in the present and less in the past. For me, it was energy well spent.
The work continued as I observed and witnessed my actions and saw the ways in which I was causing harm and unnecessary turmoil in both myself and my relationships. The observations were, shall we say, bountiful? Even a conversation with a friend would suddenly lead to the awareness that I tended to interrupt others as they were speaking – stealing from their experience, neglecting Asteya (non-stealing). And then came the observations around excess and where that was showing up in my life. Brahmacharya (non-excess) was showing up in so many places, but especially in my love of food and my tendency to ignore my body and its signals to slow down as I added more and more onto my plate keeping a fast pace for far too long.
It was ultimately the Yamas and Niyamas that supported me in finally listening to my body; to aligning my head, heart, and gut and really hearing that my heart was begging me to slow down, listen, and to make a change. I could finally see how I was managing my energy (Brahmacharya). I was making the choice to stay in a situation that was depleting my energy, or as we often say at Jane’s House, it was life alienating rather than life sustaining. Surprisingly, I had stayed in it for six years from the time my body originally began sending me the signals. Talk about reluctance to surrender (Ishvarapranidhana)! I was attached and holding on so tight to the career I had worked so hard to earn. Even seeing this, I would still grapple with the decision, wrestling through all of the Yamas and Niyamas as I struggled to fully surrender and take action. My thinking mind feared the change and tried to manipulate and hide the truth, to rationalize staying. But day in and day out, I returned to these principles. And where was aparigraha (non-possessiveness) in all of this? How was avoiding the inevitable showing myself or my colleagues and students generosity? Why was I holding on so tight? I kept the need tucked away as I studied myself further. I patiently waited until I knew it was time and I was ready to take action, to fully surrender. When the time came, I knew it so clearly. I had found peace with it. I was finally content (Santosha). It was clear as day and I once again found that feeling of liberation. I was free!
I could see and feel the benefits of “living” these teachings. And there’s a reason why we call it a yoga “practice”, right? It takes practice. We practice every day because we can see and feel the results. Will there be days when we struggle? Yes. And lucky for us, we have a community full of people who appreciate and believe in the healing power of yoga. A community full of people putting in the work to love and support us along the way.
Namaste, my friends.
Emily Jones was first exposed to yoga in 2014 and was pleasantly surprised to rediscover her breath and its effect on easing her mind. Her practice rekindled joyful play, exploration, and curiosity about the impact of of meditative movement on her life. She chased her curiosity all the way to Jane's House, where she studied this beautiful inquiry-based method. Emily is incredibly honored to serve as a teacher here, where she shares her love for this method in service to her students, supporting them in their journeys both on and off the mat, as well as contributing to the studio’s blog.