As there are 5 Yamas there are also 5 Niyamas. ( personally, this is one of my favourite aspects of yoga). A way in which we can observe life and most particularly observe our own experience of life.
Firstly there is Saucha- Cleanliness. Many might think of this more as being pure and clean in a God-like way, but from the yoga perspective, it is about having clarity of mind and body. To practice mindfulness one doesn't get pulled into the jumping quality of the mind. Over time, many hours, and days of practice one can sporadically find clarity of mind and ease of body. The very act of yoga and meditation is one that clean up the body and mind of habits that don't serve you.
Santosha is my favourite of the Niyamas. To be content with what you have, what you don't have and how any moment, day, hour, or year plays out. This deeply rooted feeling of being present to the moment no matter what. This is particularly important when life is hard, painful and completely unknown. The reason I find this practice to be truly vital is that it relaxes the body, softens the running of thought and overall creates a supremely important shift in attention to what is abundant. When contentment is hard to find I come to my mat. I'll often do a yin or restorative class. Something that asks me to be still and sit with myself
The practice of Tapas has some fire to it. It highlights our passions and lets them burn but in a measured fashion. This is the power of discipline to implement things into our lives. Some also referred to it as 'burning enthusiasm'. In yoga when we talk about fire (Tapas) we highlight the power to burn things up and create new patterns in life, new forms of discipline and skill. Think of it as your ability to stick with something and at the same time enjoy it. Tapas is much like that fiery feeling in a plank or arm balance posture. The burn of feeling alive and doing life.
Svadhyaya brings us back to the practice of mindfulness. To study yourself, study your mind, your body and your overall behaviour. What can you learn from your life experience and patterns? The art of mindfulness is about observation. You can start small by studying your breath, and observing how it comes and goes. Then branch out to the feeling of your body, study the sensations of your arms, legs and torso etc. Then go deep and study your deeper inner landscape. What is important here is that you relax your agenda, you aren't trying to find any particular outcome or experience. Study yourself from moment to moment and observe yourself.
Finally, there is Ishvara Pranidhana. It is usually translated as surrender to the divine. The ability to surrender to something that is bigger than you ( not necessarily god). Much like Santosha when we surrender and give up the fight the body relaxes and so does the mind. We spend a lot of our time propping ourselves up, keeping our muscles engaged due to habit and stress. To let the shoulders fall, the belly fall open, the jaw drop and your hips relax is an act of surrender. From a mindfulness perspective, the less one interferes with the mind and the events that unfold, the more one can surrender to life and find more physical and mental ease.
The practice of the 5 niyamas is one that can bring so much more ease into your daily life. Create joy that isn't conditional and help soften the blow when life throughs you a lemon or 2. The Niyamas are the hallmarks of a well-rounded, yoga and meditation practice. Accept what unfolds, be disciplined and stick with it no matter what and let go of body and mind.
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