YOGA's YAMAS and NIYAMAS: 10 Principles for Peace & Purpose

by Courtney Seiberling

“Finally, a truly accessible, comprehensive guide on how to apply yoga's yamas and niyamas to everyday life. Both for the yogi and non-yogi alike, this beautiful manual has powerful teachings about relating to self and others. I can't wait to share it with my yoga students and yoga teacher trainees.” ~Stacey Vespaziani, E-RYT and owner of South Hills Power Yoga and Bloomfield Yoga The Yamas and Niyamas are yoga's essential, ethical principles originally mentioned in the Yoga Sutras, the first written explanation of yoga compiled by Patanjali thousands of years ago. In the West, yoga is mostly known as a form of exercise, though the Sutras say yoga is an eight-part system working in unison to control the mind. These "limbs" as they are called in the Sutras include the Yamas and Niyamas, postures, breathwork, and various stages of meditation. The Yamas (how to treat others) and the Niyamas (how to care for yourself) include values such as non-grasping, self-study, discipline, and contentment. When practiced, they make life more manageable and meaningful. Although similar to other moral or religious codes, the Yamas and Niyamas feel more freeing than restrictive and are a thought process over a hard set of rules. They are basically 10 ways to be a better person. YOGA'S YAMAS AND NIYAMAS is a practical, relatable yoga philosophy text. Informational and instructional, this book is for anyone curious about yoga philosophy, self-improvement, or is seeking more out of life. It is also of value to yoga instructors who want to incorporate yoga philosophy into their teaching or yoga teacher trainees who are deepening their understanding of the first two limbs of yoga. In this book is a chapter for each Yama and Niyama explaining what it is as well as a physical yoga practice, consideration, affirmation, journal prompt, and a personal account of how the author used the principle in her own life. This book can be applied as a textbook, resource, or workbook to live life with peace, purpose, awareness, and accountability. This book comes with online yoga videos to physically practice the courtneyseiberling.com/yoga

120 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 24, 2019

About the author

Courtney Seiberling is the author of 'Five Leaves Left' (a collection of short stories inspired by Nick Drake's album of the same title), 'Sixteen' (16 vignettes of experiences in love and loss), and the forthcoming novella 'His 'n Hers,' which recounts the memory of an affair from both perspectives. She writes about universal emotions - heartbreak...anxiety...desire - in a sad and nostalgic way.

Reviews

[Ala’a · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the explanation of each principle and how to apply it on the mat.
The principles were easy read which is a great thing, not to over complicate it
Wasn’t a fan to the personal account, felt it took more than 50% of the whole book. I skipped most of it after ASTEYA.. Gratitude

[Glenn Ballantyne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice overview of the Yamas and Niyamas the Courtney wrote for everyday, practical living.

[Dominique · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the inclusion of asana classes, but the posture names should have been in Sanskrit. I also enjoyed the journalling prompts. However, I ended up skipping the personal anecdotes.

[Ruth · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book if you want a gentle and easy to understand introduction to the yamas and niyamas or if you want to hear an individual interpretation and application.