Practice that which you wish to see in yourself and the world. What we do defines who we are and the kind of person it is possible to be, our politics, and indeed our world. Embodied practices have been understood to be a way of creating a person.[1] Our practices can also be read by others as a demonstration of our world view and beliefs.[2]

This emphasis on practice – in the sense of the things we do, and in the sense of repetitive action to increase proficiency – is central to yoga as well. The Yamas, the foundation of Patanjali’s 8-fold path are things we don’t do.[3] Ahimsa, the first Yama, – non-harming in words, thoughts, or deeds to others and self – is a practice of compassion. Moreover, this practice rubs off on others:

“In the presence of one who is established in nonviolence, enmity is abandoned.”[4]

How do we establish ourselves in nonviolence? By practicing compassion and non-harming in words, thoughts, and deeds with ourselves, to begin.

In an asana practice, this can look like noticing how you feel. Asking yourself “how do I feel? Am I comfortable?” If something is harming you, change it. Each movement is anchored in loving kindness. To ensure non-harming, we need to be attentive to the present moment. This is a practice that requires repetition to improve skillfulness. With increased proficiency, our loving kindness can expand outward to others.

Practice ahimsa with this yin offering: Ahimsa Yin.

Be gentle with yourself; doing kindness is more challenging than thinking about doing kindness. Staying present in the moment and attentive to your experience requires repetition to achieve proficiency. Doing ahimsa takes practice. Embodying non-harming takes practice. However, with practice on the mat, embodying ahimsa becomes easier off the mat – and that is where the magic happens!

Namaste.

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[1] “By the late eighteenth century, the soldier has become something that can be made; out of a formless clay, an inapt body, the machine required to be constructed; posture is gradually corrected; a calculated constraint runs slowly through each part of the body, mastering it, making it pliable, ready at all times, turning silently into the automatism of habit, in short, one has ‘got rid of the peasant’ and given him ‘the air of a soldier’”(Foucault, 1995, 135-136).

Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline and Punish: the birth of a prison. London, Penguin.

[2] Dorothy Smith’s (1990a) materialist ontology and situated agent perspective allows us to explore “the everyday world through the particularities of our local practices and activities, in the actual places of our work and the actual time it takes” (Smith, 1990b, 28). Smith explores “the actual practices of actual individuals” (Smith, 1990a, 6).

Smith, D. (1990a). Texts, facts and femininity: Exploring the relations of ruling. London, U.K.; Routledge.

Smith, D. (1990b). Women’s experience as a radical critique of sociology. The Conceptual Practices of Power: A Feminist Sociology of Knowledge, 21-24.

[3] “abstentions, moral restraints” (Bryant, 2015, lvii).

Bryant, E. F. (2015). The yoga sutras of Patanjali: A new edition, translation, and commentary. North Point Press.

[4] Patañjali II.35, translated in Bryant, 215, 261.

Bryant, E. F. (2015). The yoga sutras of Patanjali: A new edition, translation, and commentary. North Point Press.