The eight limbs (constituents) of yoga described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the ancient text written over 2000 years ago, represent physical and ethical practices that remain timeless and immediately relevant to cultivating a life of meaning and vitality in the modern world. The yamas are the first of these ethical disciplines of yoga, reorienting the mind, providing a context for inward reflection, and embracing positive action.

At the time of the New Year, the stark winter environment of pure white melting to soft grays and early twilight receding into darkness may illuminate darkness within ourselves. The opportunity for renewal and rejuvenation is presented by engaging in the yamas as a means to express your thoughts, consciousness, and actions via an uncontrived inner reflection of self-awareness, yoga darshana.

The yamas, ethical disciplines, are:

AHIMSA: nonviolence

SATYA: truth

ASTEYA: nonstealing, honesty

BRAHMACHARYA: continence, self-restraint

APARIGRAHA: noncoveting, nonhoarding, nonpossessiveness

Much of the conflict, pain, ignorance, and suffering in the world today and within our individual personalities stem from greed, desire, and attachment brought about by violence, untruth, dishonesty, lack of self-restraint, and covetousness.

The change in perspective afforded by the yamas fosters spiritual activism for the individual and society to cultivate a moral code of concern for each other and the entire cycle of life.AHIMSA, nonviolence, embraces the power of love and compassion, transcending grudges and breaking down emotional and political walls. Ahimsa brings forgiveness in relationships, and when we might feel wronged and slighted by others it prevents us from getting stuck in a sense of injustice and righteous anger. SATYA, truth – truthfulness in thought, word and deed – reminds us that negative words and actions can be replaced by the ability to see the truth and forgive the ignorance and pain that causes negative actions in others, creating a new and positive interaction rather than perpetuating negativity, malice, violence, and war. ASTEYA, nonstealing, reorients the human perspective on taking what belongs to others without permission and using something for a different purpose than intended. Asteya frees us from dissatisfaction and eliminates the desire to possess and enjoy what satya can tell us is not rightly ours. APARIGRAHA, freedom from hoarding, collecting, and taking what one does not really need or require, is another apect of asteya.Aparigraha signifies faith in the future and ones own ability to sustain oneself and be satisfied in the moment.Aparigraha compels a critical examination of actions that misappropriate, mismanage, or misuse “resources” or people, or constitute a breach of trust. BRAHMACHARYA, self-restraint – continence of body, speech, and mind – directs ones energy and vitality wisely to fight injustice and deepen cultural and intellectual life. It urges us to develop interpersonal and sexual relationships that are meaningful and imbued with emotional context and respect: for ourselves, our friends and our partners, as well as strangers that we may encounter in our daily lives and those far away that we may not even imagine.

The yamas bring sensitivity, a calm, gentle demeanor, and wisdom to the consideration of action, providing the opportunity to consider the broader consequences of our actions and creating a milieu in which to change them, to choose the path of peace and seek solutions that promote harmony and understanding between people and across cultures and borders. The yamas incorporate the dietary ethics of vegetarianism, concern for the creatures over whom humans are able to wield power, as well as the ethics of anticonsumerism, concern for people who are less fortunate and live in conditions of poverty and slave-wage labor that allow wealth and cheap goods to flow in our own lives.The yamas cause us to reconsider the need to mine radioactive elements or develop factory farms and industry on native and wild lands, displacing people and animals while destroying virgin forests and sensitive ecosystems. The yamas consider and find unacceptable the consequences of churning up the oceans, deserts, rainforests, and jungles in an endless quest for toxic fuels and limited resources to feed a cycle of consumption that cannot sustain itself as it plummets the planet into a tailspin of global warming, mass extinction, cultural destruction, health crisis, mass starvation, and political and social strife. The yamas compel us to seek sustainable and peaceful solutions to the complex and controversial issues that face us in our lives, relationships, and sociopolitical futures.

Calls to violence, whether heard in the halls of government or the chambers of our hearts, often stem from ignorance and breed the fear necessary to advance personal or political goals based on misplaced desire, greed and a sense of righteous justice. Freedom from fear – abhaya – and freedom from anger – akrodha – are essential to generating a nonviolent orientation and faith in oneself and the future. In the words of B.K.S. Iyengar: “Violence is bound to decline when men learn to base their faith upon reality and investigation rather than upon ignorance and supposition.” The yamas demand that we seek truth and wisdom fearlessly and with love in our hearts, cultivate appropriate relationships and practices, and sustain our needs simply with careful regard for the effects of our actions and choices.

Here, I provide you with a list of personal resolutions to consider for the New Year, 2010:

Be kind, compassionate, generous and loving. Speak well of others. Engage in deep breathing and deep thinking. Work hard and appreciate the fruits of honest labor. Turn off the lights when you leave the room. Think about what it means to buy clothing or goods “Made in Bangladesh”, or Pakistan, or Nicaragua, or Indonesia, and who made those items and how they live. Think about whether you need more when you have enough, or more than enough, already. Avoid engaging in physical or spiritual bulimia. Don’t buy food that will rot in the refrigerator just like it did last week. Eat nourishing food grown sustainably and nonviolently. Don’t overeat, particularly foods that are filled with sugar and processed ingredients, that may then lead you to dwell on negative, self-deprecating body images or regurgitate in a cycle of self mutilation. Eat in a way that promotes true health and vitality. Move with joy and exercise well. Cultivate meaningful and healthy relationships and activities, including the relationship with yourself and your relationship with nature and its inhabitants. Don’t seek out the next overstimulating gadget or experience in the wake of feeling unfulfilled by the last. Don’t coerce people – whether through force, guilt, or charm – to do things your way for your benefit. Take the smaller and less appealing item when sharing with others.Offer a generous amount when splitting the bill. Give back that extra dollar the cashier mistakenly gave you when making change. End your work day at a reasonable time and give time to your health, friends, family, relationships, and community. Bring your own bag to the grocery store and recycle what you can. Live well in gratitude for the abundance of everything life has to offer. Make your own list and recall the yamas as we move into the New Year, and make this the year in which we truly transform our lives and our world.

–Eden