Menu
By Hanne
We, humans, are quite an odd species in many ways. One characteristic that I would like to point out now is how we treat other human beings or even other living beings. We tend to hurt others with our careless words or disrespectful behavior, not thinking about our actions or behavior. This post will dig into this topic a little deeper, going through it all from the yoga philosophy perspective, I’m talking about non-violence, ahimsa. But question is, what is Ahimsa anyway?
WHAT IS AHIMSA ANYWAY?
I wonder if Patanjali considered this when he laid out the eight-limbed path, which is how to move from suffering to freedom. The path starts from Yamas. Yamas are ethical, moral, and social guidelines for yogis. But I think anyone could apply these guidelines to everyday life. Ahimsa is one of the five Yamas in yoga. Ahimsa brings the concept of non-violence into our lives and all aspects of our lives; physical, mental, and emotional.
When we live according to ahimsa, we don’t intentionally cause suffering or pain to other living beings. Now there is a deeper level of practicing ahimsa. Still, I am now only going to handle the concept of ahimsa in a way we could consider in our day-to-day lives—the practice of being more kind, accepting, and forgiving of yourself and others.
The first thing to be considered when talking about ahimsa is how to live with yourself. What kind of thoughts are you thinking, how you speak to yourself? We act violently towards others in subtle ways daily, and the main reason for this is the war that goes inside of us and what we express outward. There might be resentment to others, which creates a hostile atmosphere. It is just one example of how violence can function in the subtlest of ways.
And what is the role of yoga in all this? Yoga creates the path to getting in touch with any violence you hold inside you through non-violent means. When negative energy is released through positive intentions, it crosses the negative aspects of yourself, creating peace in the world around you.
Incorporating Ahimsa into our daily lives
So how exactly incorporate ahimsa into our daily lives? Some don’t eat meat, and some are vegans, etc. The most important thing here is to focus on self-love in all that you do and find the best way for you to do that. The thing that I see as even more important is bringing the ahimsa into your life through compassion. Finding the ability to accept events in your life as they are with an open heart, letting go of any negative way of reaction and basically replace those negative feelings with kindness and acceptance instead.
Non-violence can mean not pushing yourself too much or, in the worst case, pushing yourself over the edge by not pushing yourself into harm. It is a matter of embracing the ahimsa and not letting your ego bring you into harm. When you are embracing ahimsa, you will improve your well-being as well as those around you.
Do all good you can
Non-violence comes from the love of the true self, from true self-acceptance. This kind of ahimsa comes from deep in the heart.
How do you feel about the concept of ahimsa?
At the end of this writing, I share one of my favorite quotes (even though I’ve shared it before already).
Do all the good you can,
by all the means you can,
in all the ways you can,
in all the places you can,
at all the times you can,
to all the people you can,
as long as ever you can.
Pin for later
Hanne Nousiainen
Yoga teacher • Personal Trainer
Hanne Nousiainen
Recommended posts
