Ahimsa

Has anyone condescendingly reminded you of “Ahimsa”, or said “I thought yogis weren’t supposed to be so angry” when you get a little fiery? These sort of comments come from those either looking to dismiss, shame, or silence under the guise of enlightenment, or who have no understanding of yoga whatsoever. Either way, you have my permission to throw that right in the trash.

Ahimsa is an ethical principle in yoga, often translated as "non-violence." It encourages one to avoid causing harm to any living being, including people, animals and oneself via actions, thoughts, and words.

There is nothing in the Yoga Sutras that say if you do enough yoga you’ll be void of all “negative” emotion, that you’ll always be happy -- sitting under a tree meditating all day, that nothing will ever bother you again. There’s also nothing that says you can’t stand up for yourself and others, speak hard truths, or that you’ll have no need to get a little loud ever again. Life will still life, things will still be hard, injustice will still occur.

What the Yoga Sutras do teach is connection to the self. To embrace the heart, the body, and the mind — every emotion, even anger, anxiety, and sadness. Yoga teaches us to tend to the nervous system and use this centered knowing to move through challenges, sit with life, and stand up to injustice with honesty and integrity.

Yoga builds resilience, a beautiful space to help us navigate forward with clarity, whether it be a difficult decision, checking someone who won’t respect our boundaries, or the fight against racism, violence, and oppression. And we must fight. When we meet ourselves where we are with a full understanding of who we are, we are unstoppable. And many don’t like that.

Meet me on the mat to learn tools to tend to your nervous system, connect, and get shit done within the true meaning of Ahimsa.