Pronunciation of the Niyamas
December 7th, 2006
The five Niyamas from The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Saucha (shoucha) = Cleanliness/Purify
Santosa (santosha) = Contentment
Svadyaya (svwardyarya) Study/self and scripture
Tapas (tapas) = Discipline/to heat/to burn (root-tap to give out heat, be hot, shine like the sun, undergo austerity
Ishvarapranidana (eeshvaraprandarna) = Surrender to God/ the flow towards enlightenment/the inner voice/ deep ethical intuition/real self/higher self/Buddha (awakened) mind/ absolute reality/the supportive flow
3 comments on “Pronunciation of the Niyamas”
01
[…] The more spacious attitude will also allow the nerve tissue room to extend, creating a more ‘intelligent’ experience of the pose, which is in itself more meditative. Any one of the five yamas can be used in a similar manner to both find new ways into more depth physically and also to draw the mind closer to its core (see niyamas – Ishvara pranidhana/Samadhi). […]
02
[…] When we follow teachers’ instructions, or recall a focus point from a book, we need to add some limitation, some framework or context, in which the instructions can be followed in a way which is conducive to yoga’s principle of gathering the senses in (Pratyahara). When one is not blown around by worldly winds, and approaches their relationship to life through the heart, this allows choice and discernment. This way means, that the unconscious habits (samskaras) of the nervous system, that have built up from the physical/emotional/mental events of our lives, will not catch us in their grooves, and we are free to follow appropriate creative responses to the realities that the postures present to our body/minds, each time we practice. The Yamas can provide the limitation, the Niyamas the framework and the breath (and later on charka awareness) the context. […]
03
[…] It can, however, be realised or seen in the moment, and this requires the mindset of surrender, dedication or reverence (pranidhana). One must relinquish, release the ordinary grasping (trishna), hoarding (parigraha), and a move towards acceptance and contentment (santosha). All of this is of course pointed out clearly in the yamas and niyamas. […]