The Yamas and Niyamas: Ethics And The Guiding Principles of Yoga

The yamas and niyamas are, in a nutshell, the ethical foundation of yoga.

Now, that might not sound very exciting, but let me tell you why it can rock your world in the best possible way.

First of all, I’ve never been a big fan of rules.

Growing up I pretty much rebelled against anyone telling me what to do if I didn’t want to do it. That didn’t make me a particularly respectful student or daughter sometimes, but that’s how I was.

These days, I’m still not a fan of arbitrary rules and laws. I understand why we have them, but if everyone simply lived lives of integrity and allowed themselves to be guided by ancient wisdom, such as the yamas and niyamas, we could effectively govern ourselves in many ways.

But this isn’t a discourse on politics and legal procedures. And that’s actually WHY I think you’ll find this an enlightening exploration into how you interpret the yamas and niyamas.

Classical Yoga vs. The Philosophy of Tantra

First of all, lets talk about perspective, since your relationship with the world is based on your point of view.

When I first started studying yoga, I found many