Ten weeks of Yamas & Niyamas

A wise person once said to me - teach what you need to learn.
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I was reading over my notes from when I was in Los Angeles studying with John Friend flowing with Goddess Shakti. Every couple pages there are these words that float their way up the side of the page. The words were sometimes quotes of John Friend or other students in the room:

"MATRICA is the power of the mind and thoughts to shapeshift!!" ~some beautiful soul from South America

"The more you Love - the more you will cry." ~John Friend

"Surrender is not giving up, it is giving faith."  ~John Friend

And others were little notes to myself...

**The whole goal is to heighten awareness and embrace the love of the world!**

**Your classes are called: "Align with the Divine" & "Shakti!"**

**Teach a registered class on the Yamas & the Niyamas**

It's so funny - all this sorted itself out effortlessly basically as soon as I returned home. Opportunities to start up the Shakti class basically fell into my lap at two different studios. One Wednesday mornings (7 - 8:30am) at Lion's Breath and the other is Thursday evenings (7:30 - 9pm) at Lotus Soul Gym (downtown location). "Align with the Divine" is the name I hold in my heart for the Wednesday night "Yoga Alignment Foundations" class I teach at Prana Yoga Studio from 6:15pm - 7:40pm. They have decided they would like to stick with the name "Yoga Alignment Foundations" for now. I respect their decision. In these classes (and all my classes really) I practice teaching in Anusara style.

While I offered to teach a registered class on the Yamas & Niyamas at a couple different studios in town - neither worked out. Then it dawned me. I was about to start teaching back to back registered classes at Servus Place in St. Albert. One is a Smart Start class and the other is Hatha. They are each 12 classes long. Perfect to theme the first ten classes on the Yamas & Niyamas!

So here I am. We're on week two. Between the two classes today - I thought it would be a good idea to journal about the Yamas and Niyamas here on my blog. Then after class, I was talking to one of the students and said it out load. It shall be.

Here's a quick list of the Yamas and Niyamas. I'll write a post for thoughts on each one. Please add to the experience by posting your thoughts on them as well. When we all come together to share, we deepen our understanding.

What are the Yamas & Niyamas?

They are rules of governance or virtues that we can apply to our actions, words and thoughts. Yogi's live by the Yamas when interacting with others, nature and the outside world. The prefix 'Ni' roughly means 'without' therefore Yogi's use the Niyamas when conducting their behaviour with themselves (without others) in their daily lives and activities.

Yamas:

Ahimsa (non-violence or non-harming)
Satya (truthfulness)
Asteya (non-stealing)
Brahmacharya (self-restraint)
Aparigraha (non-greed or non-clinging)

Niyamas:

Saucha (cleanliness or purity)
Santosha (contentment)
Tapas (austerity)
Svadyaya (self-study)
Ishvara Pranidhana (surrendering to Divine will)

More to come... Please share your thoughts in the comment space... may be all grow brighter together!!

Namaste.