The Yoga Sutras are the classic text of yoga and the sutras are basically a guideline for progressing your yoga practice so eventually you can reach "samadhi" or enlightenment. In the sutras we are given tools or "steps" called the yamas and the niyamas which when incorporated into our lives with our yoga lead to the highest good in oneself. Ahhh Ahimsa is one of the sacred yamas and translates as NON-VIOLENCE or NON-HARMING. Ahimsa means to treat those around you and yourself with an abundance of compassion and a never ending supply of love!!
I've noticed that I practice Ahimsa with everyone around me but I sometimes have trouble practicing ahimsa towards myself. Maybe some of you have felt the same problem. The "never good enough" attitude, the self-debilitating thoughts that disable not only growth but the general state of our well being. Have you ever noticed the unkind, unhelpful, and destructive comments and judgements silently made toward our self in any given day? If we were to speak these thoughts out loud to another person, we would realize how truly devastating violence to the self can be. Few of us would dare to be as unkind to others as we are to ourselves. If you think about it, this sort of attitude is harming not only our self but it is getting in the way of our LOVE for all beings by sucking away the joy of life! You as much as anyone else deserve compassion and love. Next time your considering ahimsa its helpful to ask, Are my thoughts, actions, and deeds fostering the growth and well being of all beings? If it is not, just throw the thought away... it is serving no one.
(Thanks Donna Farhi for the insight)
In Love, Light, & Health,
Jans
