Going deeper in your yoga practice - Satya

To offer more yogic knowledge, in conjunction with Lisa at Yoga Loft Carrickfergus, we have asked our teachers to write short articles about the Yamas and Niyamas. 
They are the first two limbs of the eightfold path of yoga described by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras. These are fundamental concepts offering ethical and moral guidelines to yogis.

Here, Maggie talks about Satya, the second Yama, describing our relationship to the world and its ethical implications.

Satya, by Maggie McCarney

Sutra 2: 36, satya-pratiṣṭhāyāṁ kriyā-phala-āśrayatvam

When one is established in truthfulness, actions begin to bear fruit.

"Satya (the second Yama) encourages us to think, act and speak from a place of truthfulness and integrity.

This may sound easy enough, but is it possible to do this in every situation? Are you clear about your truth and how you convey this in words and in what you do? Has your truth changed throughout your life when you consider what you held to be true in childhood and now as an adult?

Satya nudges us to question if our thought patterns are actually true. Does honesty guide you regarding your body’s ability and limitations as you practice Yoga? Exploring this could encourage some positive changes to how we think and act, both on the mat and in life. These sutras were written a long time ago so considering them in modern times is interesting, when the truth is often not clear and being constantly bombarded by external information makes it challenging to work out what our truth actually is.

If we cultivate quietness within ourselves, we may sense our body’s reaction when we hear or speak a truth/ untruth or act with/ without integrity. A regular Yoga practice is one way we can access our quiet inner knowing to clarify our truth, not just what we have been conditioned to believe.

What about little white lies? Say for example your friend is delighted with their new hairstyle and you think it looks terrible. If you tell them that you hate it, how will that make them feel? Alternatively, if you say it is lovely, how does that make you feel? Being honest is not always straightforward.

Satya in the context of Ahimsa (1st Yama) guides us to recognise the power of our words and to deliver them in a way that avoids hurting others. I wish someone had shared these sutras with my Great-Aunt Cissie who loudly announced at a family gathering that I had lovely teeth, and then asked me if they were my own. I was 14 at the time and mortified, but thankfully in possession of all my own teeth!

In short, Satya offers the potential to live a more open-hearted and genuine life through thinking, acting and speaking from a place of truth and integrity, whilst observing Ahimsa (non-harming)."

Thank you Maggie for your words and reflections! 
We will endeavour to share more about these topics here regularly to build a mini accessible yogic knowledge online library :)

You can find Maggie's profile here if you want to keep on exploring our website.