Ahimsa :: Non-Violence
Ahimsa – non-violence: In the presence of one firmly established in non-violence, all hostilities cease. All Achievements and successes, hopes and joys stand on faulty ground if they do not stand on the foundation of non-violence. Ahimsa is the first of Yamas within the 8 Limbs of Yoga.
Non-violence in the most basic sense, is not doing physical harm to other living things. We learn early on in life that physical harm to others is wrong, and it is something we can get in trouble for. Or when thinking about non-violence in conjunction with yoga, people will picture the quintessence of Ahimsa, Gandhi. But Ahimsa is much more than that. Non-violence is a thread of integrity and compassion that is a thread through each element of life with yourself, with others and the earth.
Violence looks like:
Being manipulative, vindictive, gossip and other emotionally destructive behaviors
Physically doing harm to another person or animal. [This is why you see a lot of vegan yogis]
Doing harm to the earth [Another reason why you see vegan yogis]
Negative self-talk. Why are you so violent to yourself?
Spreading yourself too thin and living in constant stress
Non-Violence looks like:
Compassion for others. Every human on this earth has painful stories tucked deep inside. If we can remember that, maybe we can see with eyes of compassion rather than the eyes of our own judgments.
Honesty. “When we are unwilling to look deeply and courageously into our own lives, we can easily violate other in many subtle ways that we may not even be aware of, thinking we were actually helping them.” Think about this in terms of parenting. If we don’t let the kids do things on their own, we are doing them harm in the long run. We can’t fix or save others either. It is hard to see someone you love hurting, but sometimes that is what they need to grow. We need to trust suffering, trust challenges, and trust mistakes; they are what refine us when we don’t run from them.
Life balance. Take time to recharge your batteries when needed. Spreading yourself too thin may look good on paper, but we are setting ourselves up to lose.
Self-love. Not only shifting the way you speak to yourself but remembering to take care of yourself and listen.
Ahimsa, asks us to step lightly, do no harm and honor the relationship we have with the earth, with each other and ourselves.