The 12 Days of Yoga: Leadership through the Yamas and Niyamas
Welcome to The Twelve Days of Yoga. Starting on December 26, I will feature one post a day for twelve days that integrates yoga and leadership on a journey through the Yamas and Niyamas.
Would you like to join me on this journey? Subscribe to gain free access to the full series. Keep reading to enjoy Day 1: Mindfulness for Leaders.
Day 1: MINDFULNESS FOR LEADERS
Did you know that yoga is so much more than moving your body? There are a lot of ways to practice yoga and in the west, we tend to focus more on the physical practice of yoga or asana which actually means “seat” and the practice is around cultivating a comfortable seat to prepare the mind for meditation. According to The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, written about 500 B.C., asana is the third of eight limbs. The first two are the Yamas and the Niyamas.
The Yamas and the Niyamas for Leaders
Leadership is a skillset that anyone can foster and it starts with being the leader of your own life, living in choice and living with your choices. The Yamas and the Niyamas take your leadership to a higher level as a guide to integrate a values-driven approach so you can foster a positive culture, build trust, and promote well-being for everyone on the team which leads to higher achieving, happy people!
The Yamas are the ethical guidelines or self-regulating behaviors also called restraints, and it's how we live to the outside world (which might be what we do when others are watching). They are:
• Ahimsa (non-violence)
• Satya (truthfulness)
• Asteya (not stealing)
• Brahmacharya (moderation)
• Aparigraha (not hoarding)
The Niyamas focus on our self-study – how we show up in this world and what our internal discipline is (that might be what we do when no one is watching). They are:
• Tapas (purification through discipline)
• Santosha (contentment)
• Saucha (purity)
• Svadhyaya (self-study)
• Ishvara Pranidhana (devotion to a higher power)
Over the next 11 days, you will receive one email per day that describes each of the 10 yamas and niyamas and how to integrate it into your life and your leadership and a final email to offer practical ways to integrate yoga into your leadership journey.
On this December 26, I invite you to start your yoga journey with this five-minute mindfulness practice. You can read below and try it on your own or follow along with the audio practice.
Sit in Soukasana or Virasana or find a comfortable seat in a chair. Allow your body to be comfortable. Feel your tail bone rooting down, your spine growing tall, close eyes, roll your shoulders back, soften your arms, rest your hands in your lap or on your legs. Inhale for four, pause, exhale for four, pause. Do that a few times. Notice the sensation of your breath in your body. Breathe all the way into the bottom of your belly. On your next inhale, reach your arms up and out to your sides for a count of four using the full inhale to arrive with your arms overhead. Pause. Exhale your arms down for a count of four. Pause. Continue like this, using the inhale to reach your arms up overhead and the exhale to lower your arms down to your sides. Each inhale is a count of four. With each exhale, add a count until you get to eight. Then breath three times normally, bring your hands together at your heart center, bow your head toward your heart, let the light shine in, blink your eyes open and be ready for your day.
If you would like, you could try adding in a mantra. On the inhale, say to yourself, “here”; on the exhale say to yourself “now”.
Here are some others to try:
Inhale: Let — Exhale: Go
Inhale: Loving — Exhale: Kindness
Inhale: Peace begins — Exhale: With me
I hope you enjoyed that practice. Consider trying it every day when you wake up for the next 12 days.
If you would like to learn more, check out this podcast interview with Tiffany Russo on the 8 Limbs of Yoga. Here is an excerpt from Tiffany Russo on embracing change.
Here is an excerpt from an interview with Jeanne Heileman on being with ourselves and imperfection.
I love my teachers and I appreciate the wisdom they have shared with me, including these podcast interviews.
If you would like to learn more, please subscribe. Tomorrow, I will feature more on the Yamas starting with Ahimsa, non-violence.
Sending love,
Monica