Before entering this class I knew something about what Yoga was like, although my knowledge was, as I am finding out, very limited. I knew Yoga would be excellent for my physical health and well being, and I knew there was a concern for the health of the inner self as well but I had no idea how vast and all encompassing Yoga practice could be. Yoga helps us to integrate our energy, complementing our outer life and physical body to our inner selves and spiritual and intellectual development. It helps us view ourselves and others with compassion and awareness. Through inner growth and outer restraint that we learn by practicing the disciplines of Ashtanga Yoga we are trained over all to lead a more conscious and blissful life. In Ashtanga Yoga, or the Eight Limbs of Yoga, written by Patanjali, there are two limbs that deal with ethical actions and behavior. These two, the yamas and the niyamas, are the two I will elaborate on in the following paragraphs using my own personal experiences and examples. Yamas are the ethical treatment of other people and they include: ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (chastity), and aparigraha (non-covetousness). The niyamas are the ethical treatment of ourseleves and include: sauca (cleanliness), santosa (contentment), tapas (fervor for the subject), svadhyaya (self study), and isvarapranidhana (surrender to god or a certain subject). 

The yama ahimsa (non-violence) seems like a pretty simple ethical discipline. In fact many of the disciplines of the Yamas and Niyamas seem simple at first. The easy answer to the question, "How can I practice non-violence in my life" is obviously, not to physically harm other people. Which is good! Certainly ahimsa means not directly inflicting pain another person, but it can, as many of these disciplines do, include so much more than that alone. One way that I practice ahimsa in my daily life on a little bit of a deeper level is by practicing vegetarianism. By being vegetarian, I take a step towards preventing myself from hurting or killing other creatures. A way that I am not always good at ahimsa would be in my work place. It's not that I hurt anyone physically at my job, waitressing at a casual dining restaurant, or even verbally harm anyone, but sometimes I get so frustrated at receiving lower end tips that I sometimes have unkind thoughts towards some of the customers. I could improve this by thinking of all the possibilities before I let myself get angry about it, like maybe they didn't have enough money to tip better, or maybe my service was less than ideal. This would be a form of satya, being truthful and real with myself and the customer instead of getting hot headed and not thinking things through. I can learn to not blame other people for a bad tip and maybe then, even if my service wasn't bad at all and they tipped me bad for no reason I can accept the possibility that I was fault anyway and grow and improve even more as a server.       

My practice of the niyama, Sauca, probably needs the most work of all. Not because I'm always dirty or don't brush my teeth or something, but because I have a smoking problem. Sauca doesn't just mean keeping your outer body clean but also your inner body and even your mind. Smoking makes your lungs dirty and actually it doesn't help your outward body stay clean either, or the air around you that you share with others. So needless to say my sauca needs some work. An aspect of sacua that I'm better at, with the exception of when I get a bad tip at work, is keeping my mind and thoughts clean. I know that everyone on occasion thinks badly of others, and I do too, but I honestly have learned to love all different kinds and varieties of people and think positive thoughts about people almost always, even when they act unfavorably towards me. This skill may come from the fact that I grew up in lutheran schools all my life till my senior year of high school, or maybe because my parents have always been very loving and forgiving people, whatever the case, when thinking of myself or other people I have learned to see flaws and failures as opportunities for growth, and I've been told I give good advice in this area. This also touches on santosa (contentment). Jealousy can be a dirty emotion. Being content with what you have helps create cleanliness in your mind and in your spirit. 

Isvaripranidhana is probably the hardest practice of all for anyone to achieve. I'm not sure if anyone can say they are truly and completely dedicated to one certain subject in their life one hundred and ten percent, with no distractions including not being distracted by their ego, and those who can are probably few and far between. However, I think it is possible for many people to come close. I think one good example of isvaripranidhana in my life, though it is definitely not perfect, is my dedication to my studies. I try very hard to get all of my assignments, projects, and papers in on time and done to the best of my ability. I can't say I do this without complaining, and that's where I think I come short, my ego tends to lead my astray, and not just in my studies but in many areas of my life. I think to be able to practice isvaripranidhana, you have to be able to practice all the other yamas and niyamas. I don't think you can be egoless and completely dedicated to a subject without being pure in your mind, or content, or non-violent. That makes isvaripranidhana the ultimate achievement. The other yamas and niyamas can act as mini goals on your way to the ultimate goal, the ultimate surrender of your ego. 

Since the start of my yoga practice three short months ago, I can already see that yoga not only sounds fabulous, but it is fabulous. It's the only practice I know of that simultaneously stimulates you mentally, physically, and spiritually, all at the same time. Even each of the yamas and niyams I've discussed in my paper can be used to enhance your total person in physical ways and non-physical ways alike. In your asanas (yoga postures) you can practice santose by being content with how far you can get down into a pose and not push yourself too far. You can practice tapas by not being afraid to push yourself when your ready to take a pose to the next level (without injuring yourself in the process). You can practice isvaripranidhana by being complete focused on your postures while you practice them, and not letting your mind wander. By practicing these aspects of yoga in your daily life you can achieve both and inner and outer transformation of self, that will only and can only, improve your life to the upmost.