Yoga Philosophy/ Yoga Lifestyle Week 5 Brahmacharya
Limb or Principle 5, part 5 of 10 Yama/Niyama (Ethics for Life)
Brahmacharya --
Moderation/ Right Energy
Yoga Philosophy/ Lifestyle
Quotes
"[Brahmacharya] literally means 'walking in the way of God,... It's about preventing the dissipation of one's energy through the misuse of the senses. It's a personal energy-conservation program—when you practice brahmacharya, you are not letting the senses rule your behavior; you are not urge driven."
Joan Shivarpita Harrigan
Yoga Journal
Joan Shivarpita Harrigan
Yoga Journal
"When walking in the awareness of the highest reality (brahmacharya) is firmly established (pratisthayam), then a great strength, capacity, or vitality (virya) is acquired (labhah)."
(brahmacharya pratisthayam virya labhah)
Yoga Sutra 2.38 translation Swami J
"Whatever disturbs the mind and body disturbs the spiritual life—it's all one energy,... Brahmacharya asks you to consider how you spend it. Look at energy like money in the bank: If you have $100, you don't want to spend it all right away so that you have nothing left. Become a good energy manager."
Nischala Joy Devi
Yoga Journal
"Those who eat too much or eat too little, who sleep too much or sleep too little, will not succeed in yoga. But those who are temperate in eating and sleeping, work and recreation, will come to the end of sorrow through yoga."
Swami Satchitanada
Life Philosophy, Poses, and Meditation
To understand Brahmacharya we must understand the words.
Brahma -means Creator, Absolute Being, Highest Truth, the Divine
Charya - means to follow, to move, to be like
When we practice Brahmacharya we are being "good energy managers." We can practice this in our yoga pose practices or any physical practice as well as in our life. Brahmacharya is often translated as celibacy and that can be part of it but any overindulgence can also be part of depleting our energy such as the food we decide to eat, other things we consume such as alcohol or drugs, or even the TV Shows we decide to watch, or the real life dramas of our lives.
However, as in many of the Yoga lifestyle philosophies and practices it is not just what we do not do, it was what we do.
Anything that depletes our energy is not life giving. Brahmacharya calls us to participate, to follow, to move in, and be a creative, life giving force. It calls us to connect to Life.
As we enter a New Year, we can ask ourself how our past year has been as far as managing our energy and creating positive, life giving, creative energy. And we can ask what we can do in this coming year to manage our energy well and create positive life giving energy for ourselves and for those around us.
Poses
"When you're working with asana, you need to learn to regulate your effort so that you're not pushing and forcing, which drains the life force" Charlotte Bell
Virya is a big part of Brahmacharya. Recall the Sutra: "When walking in the awareness of the highest reality (brahmacharya) is firmly established (pratisthayam), then a great strength, capacity, or vitality (virya) is acquired (labhah)."
Practicing Brahmacharya is also about creating strength and vitality with balanced energy.
Check out our post on Lotus Pose to learn more about Brahma. Padmasana (Lotus Pose)
Yogapedia explains Virya
"Virya is mentioned in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as one of the five attitudes and mindsets that are helpful in achieving inner peace, or samadhi. The other four include: shraddha (faith), smriti (memory), samadhi (contemplation) and prajna (discernment). Virya represents willpower, determination and courage, which keeps yogis on a focused path.
Some names of yoga asanas that are derived from the word, virya, include supta virasana,(supine hero pose) and Virabhadrasana (warrior pose)." (link below)
Meditation
Here is a resource for a meditation to manage your energy.
https://www.yogajournal.com/meditation/meditation-for-energy-conservation
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