My favorite way of understanding the 5 Yamas comes from my Teacher Trainer, Kim Schwartz. there are forces of nature that, when allowed to express in us unrestrained, are destructive and scatter energy. some expression of each force is necessary to sustain life, but how much?

Yama is the practice of restraint of potentially harmful life forces. Each of us is asked to determine how much is truly right by us, without justification, and practice accordingly. The Yamas are not universal laws, but more a matter of applied ethics.

The Yamas. On this first branch of the Yogi tree, we begin to gather and settle our life force, which in Sanskrit, we call prana.

Human life is often a messy, complicated thing. Our life force is pulled in so many directions. As householders—those living a worldly life instead of a monastic one—we can’t help it. Work life, family life, home life, romantic life, health life, dream life, community life, friendship life, spiritual life . . . all ask for attention. All need it.

Practice of the Yamas gives us a way to retain and concentration the life force while we manage this balancing act of life. It is a practice of restraint—which most of us do already—followed by the cultivation of the opposite. Restrain tendencies toward violence, cultivate instead kindness and gentleness. Restrain dishonesty in thought, word, and deed, and cultivate ever greater truthfulness.

Can you imagine how each of the life areas listed above might benefit from more gentle honesty? How you might benefit from being a kind and truthful One? And those are just the first two . . .

All on its own, this off the mat work can change your life. And, for those of us on the mat regularly, the way we practice can give us clues to which Yamas need our cultivation.