The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice »

Deborah Adele is a certified yoga instructor (ERYT500), who has trained in Gestalt and strategic intelligence skills. She is a coowner of Yoga North—a center that teaches Eastern philosophy, yogic life skills, and yoga postures for balance of body and mind—and Adele & Associates, a consulting company dedicated to increasing the clarity and productivity of client systems through health and wellness. She is a former wellness columnist for the Duluth News Tribune and has created two CDs on relaxation and meditation. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.

The first two limbs of the eight-fold path of yoga sutras—the basic text for classical yoga—are examined in this spiritual guide to the practice of yoga. Foundational to all yogic thought, they are considered to be the guidelines to the yoga way of living that free individuals to take ownership of their lives, direct them toward the fulfillment they seek, and gain the skills to choose attitude, thought, and action. The first five guidelines are referred to as the yamas—a Sanskrit word that translates to "restraints"—and encompass nonviolence, truthfulness, not stealing, nonexcess, and nonpossessiveness. The last five are referred to as the niyamas, or observances—purity, contentment, self-discipline, self-study, and surrender. A self-study section at the end of each chapter may also be used by instructors for group discussion.

Light of Consciousness Magazine

Applying restraints and observances may sound limiting, but the result, as yogis have always discovered, is just the opposite: the joy of discovery, creativity, spontaneity, and being able to learn from and move past our mistakes. The author presents a gentle introduction and guidance for this powerful practice.