In yoga philosophy, the yamas and niyamas are often referred to as the “10 commandments” of yogic living.  These 10 common sense guidelines are split into two groups, the yamas or the “restraints,” and the niyamas, or the “observances.”

The yamas are the social ethics.  These are the five guidelines for interaction with the world around us. 

• Ahimsa (uh HIM suh)- non-violence 
• Satya (SUT eya)- truth 
• Asteya (uh STAY uh)- non-stealing, non-coveting 
• Bramacharya (bruh ma CHAR eya)- moderation 
• Aparagraha (apar IG ra ha)- non-possessiveness, non-attachment 

The niyamas are the personal ethics.  These are the five guidelines for how we deal with ourselves. 

• Saucha (SHAU cha)- purity 
• Santosh (san TOE shuh)- contentment 
• Tapas (TUP us)- austerity, discipline 
• Swadhyaya (SVA de HA ya)- study, self-study 
• Ishvarapranidhana (EESH var uh pa nid hana)- surrender 

“The yamas and niyamas help in managing our energy in an integrative manner, complementing our outer life to our inner development. They help us view ourselves with compassion and awareness. They help in respecting the values of this life, in balancing our inner growth with outer restraint. In short they help us to lead a conscious life.  Yamas and niyamas are not about right and wrong. They are about being honest with the true self.”  (www.lifepositive.com)

To integrate these principles of yogic living into my class, I wrote a flow that connected the asanas with the yamas and niyamas.  We started class with Ahimsa by aligning the body and setting an intention of a kind practice.  Purifying the blood and lungs with the breath through Ujjayi and Bhastrika pranayama, we practiced Shaucha.  Tapas of personal challenge was found in engaging and holding plank pose and chair pose, but awareness was also brought to the balance of this discipline via letting go of the ego and knowing when to surrender (Ishvarapranidhana) from the physical pose.  We observed Santosha as contentment was found in the simplest downward dog, being present in each downdog and releasing the need to over extend and flatten through the heels if the body wasn’t ready. 

Moving into the work phase of class, we employed Ishvarapranidhana and submitted to the present in a stimulating side plank vinyasa flow.  Then we found Swadhyaya in child’s pose, acknowledging the work and bringing the focus to personal needs.  (Rolling out the wrists!)  More Saucha was utilized as we purified the digestive area with twisting lunges.  The warrior postures brought awareness to Satya- standing tall in truth!  In reverse warrior we practiced releasing attachment, or Aparagrah, as we moved upward.  Triangle pose brought insights into Bramcharya as we moderated the position of the lower hand to keep proper alignment.  Turning the head in triangle, practitioners had the opportunity to more readily observe other triangles, so releasing “pose envy” or comparison was a practice for Asteya in this pose.  More awareness was found in a balance of non-possessiveness as we lifted from pyramid pose to upward crescent.  Santosha was continually reiterated in downward dog, emphasizing progress through patience with releasing the back body. 

Swadhyaya was the focus of our standing balance, eagle pose flow to dancer’s pose.  In eagle, the body was closed to bring the study inward, and in dancer’s pose, we brought the knowledge outward.  Asteya of dancer’s pose was also practiced here.  In wide leg seated forward bend, Bramacharya was practiced to moderate the forward bend with an extended spine, facilitating lengthening rather than rounding the back to move closer to the floor.  This also brought awareness to Tapas of the ego again.  Full surrender (Ishvarapranidhana) was of course practiced in Shavasana.

Here is my full class choreography with notes.  Feel free to add your own notes and insights to share!

• Power Yoga Flow YAMA-NIYAMA

Anyone have any yama-niyama ideas to share for a yoga class?