Ahimsa (Part II)

As this first yama (personal restraint) keeps returning into my perspective, I would like to offer some clarifications and expansions of my viewpoint. I encourage my yoga students to listen to their own inner voice, and I extend this to you. Take what resonates, leave the rest.

1.       Ahimsa to yourself first. When I am unkind to myself, it is difficult to be authentically kind to others. It may be tainted with resentment or, to the opposite extreme, superiority. When I care for myself with compassion, I begin to recognize my inner light. Then I can more easily recognize the light in others so that compassion follows naturally. Compassion for myself first also protects me. Some people are in such pain or disconnect, their actions and behaviors are harmful to themselves and those around them. Some people are simply moving in a different direction than me. Distance and boundaries may be created with compassion and non-judgment.

2.       Ahimsa is an attitude, a behavior. It doesn’t matter if I like a person or what they do. It doesn’t matter if we are “on the same page” with our values and beliefs. I don’t even need to feel happy in their presence. I only need act in kindness, to trust that their inner light is as brilliant as mine, whether I see it or not.

3.      Ahimsa is the foundation. In my previous post, I mentioned it is the first of the five yamas (compassion, truth, non-stealing, energy management and non-attachment). The yamas are the first limb in Patanjali’s Eightfold Limbs of Yoga, before postures and meditation. If we have any of these practices without ahimsa (compassion, non-harming) it will not be worthwhile.

1 Corinthians 13 New International Version (NIV)

1 If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

4.       Ahimsa is love in action. We don’t need to like everyone or feel good about everything all the time. My practice is to be present in each moment, not judging what is present, just observe with a compassionate and open heart. When action is appropriate, than I have better discernment to bring forward what is most loving and beneficial.