Latest / Sutra Squad / Ep. 27 Sutra 2.30-31 On the Yamas and Moral Observances of Yoga

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Ep. 27 Sutra 2.30-31 On the Yamas and Moral Observances of Yoga · Sutra Squad

• Seth Barron: A vow is a solemn, earnest, and binding promise or pledge. It's unlike a casual promise. It is deeply serious and is often made to a person, an institution, or a deity. For people who aren't that one pointed towards the yoga's goal, these vows can be modified according to their position in life. But for people who are trying so hard to find the enlightened path, there are no excuses. Hello and welcome to the Sutra Squad podcast brought to you by One Deep Breath. My name is Seth Barron. I am here with the squad of Sutra Superstars, Sarah Page Hall. Greetings, greetings. And Sally Moore. Welcome. And Sally, what's a one word for you right now? I'm feeling a little fragile. Hmm. Mm-hmm. Sarah Page, what's a word for you right now? Reflective. ⁓ reflective. I'm feeling challenged. It's interesting. We're all in a very different, usually we're sort of like, ⁓ I'm great. I feel good. I'm inspired. And tonight it's like, we're we're struggling, people. We're struggling. Right. I think look, if we're trying to be nothing else, if it's not ⁓ it's not authentic. And that exactly. I was saying today, like, I'm having a moment of like ups and downs, right? Like big Big challenge, big n like a lot of discomfort on both sort of ends of the emotional spectrum, right? And like What a place of practice. Like what a place of practice. Like there's it's a really fascinating place to stand as a as an opportunity for practice. Topics. Right? It's all of it. Because it's like because that the practice is all of it as it is. Because wishing it were to not be would be suffering. Well, and we were talking about this prior, which is we don't play it this, we live this. We try very, very, very hard to live it. And we are now we're we're in it. And it's a really fun, rich time to be in this study together. because we're we're we're really sort of beginning a a a an extended series, I would say, of the exploration of like the the the spine of yoga. And we're gonna invite all of you listening and watching into this sort of this real like step by step. Right, like vertebra by vertebra exploration of really building this together, this this whole body practice. And it's an interesting analogy of like the body is a fascinating analogy. The spine is like that fundamental column of support. And it's the foundation from which the whole body moves. And so it it's like these. This fundamental spine of the eight limbs of yoga plus the five yamas and the five kni yamas, you could say that like it's like it's like the eighteen step vertebra of the spine of yoga. Like everything pulls back into this center line. So to just sort of ground us in that study, where it as far as where this shows up in the text is really interesting. And I think, again, it gives a lot of context and meaning. So we we spent time in the first chapter, the samadhipada, where we learn about the nature of yogic liberation and what arises from these practices, this, this possibility of the total absorption, of achieving a state of yoga, of being so fully embodied. And we're sort of given a some some found some some some foundations and some challenges to explore in there of Abyasa and Vairagya, right? That we are called to take this on as a lifelong practice, like we're just talking about, over a long period of time, uninterrupted and with with the sort of like loving zeal. And then we're also told like let it go. Like the right that like like the detachment of the outcome is equally important in order for us to get where we think we're trying to go, which is this really fascinating paradox of like try to get somewhere, but don't like try to get anywhere. is is an interesting th just it's not to be resolved, it's to be sat with. And then we're told that there's some some There's some helpful reminders along the way of like the attributes to cultivate, right? Like the locks and the keys, that these these attributes help us preserve a sense of deeply held truth to be to cultivate, put our attention on these, on these, these attributes of the mind, maitri, loving-kindness or friendliness, karuna, compassion, mudito, sympathetic joy, and upeksha, ⁓ confidence or equanimity. So that like in the face of pain and pleasure and vice and virtue, we we find that innate serenity within. And the beginning, then when we get to the second chapter, we're we're given this prescription. The second chapter is the sadhanapada, the chapter of spiritual practice. And it starts with this the prescription for like the yoga of action, of tapas, austerity, heat, burning desire, svadhyaya, the study of the self, right? To look in. The calls are coming from inside the house. Which is the bad news and the good news, right? Like the bad news is it's you. The good news is it's you. And that the good the wisdom is within. There's no set like yogic philosophy doesn't prescribe surrender to be saved from without. It pr it tells us that we already ha like it is a reversion to our true self that will get us to the sense of ⁓ or toward less suffering. And that like You know, again, Master Patanjali, it's like it's there's something very sweet about the way too that like we're reminded of the obstacles that arise for all of us. The root of them being the fundamental misunderstanding of Avidya. And from there, egoism, pleasure, pain, and clinging to life. That foundationally, every time something's in the way, it can probably touch back to one of those five big ideas. And then we talked about this. the sense that the suffering that arises from those obstacles is to be avoided when it can be avoided, and that we're and that and that we get confused when we mistake the conflation of of like this and that, of what, of what was for what is. And that brings us then to this incredible tree of life in so many images, or this spine of our practice in the eight limbs of yoga, which are the yamas, the niyamas, the moral observances and the ethical observances of the yogi, asana, the physical practice of yoga, the the awareness of the seat that we occupy in the world, pranayama, the intentional control of the flow of that life force energy. Pratyahara, the ability to go from without to within, to turn in. Then Dahadana to place our attention with intention, dahyana to sustain it there over time. And then samadhi, so that we might actually be so absorbed we achieve the bliss of transcendence. We're gonna look at two verses this week, which are gonna be the list of the yamas. And it's and we'll talk about them like a sort of a whole thing. In the next weeks, we're gonna go one by one. So don't worry. This is a lifetime of study, right? We actually were talking about this beforehand, like how we could I could just spend my whole life studying. Like even just one of the yamas. And I'm probably would do a pretty good job at working through some of this karma. And here we are trying to take a, you know, how to eat an elephant one bite at a time. So we're gonna look at all the yamas and we're gonna talk about how they're described to us in a little bit more detail. Okay, so that's where we are, which is right here and right now. And let's It one beautiful way to bring your attention to the present moment is by I almost just said by making the sound of ohm and I like to think of it a little bit more that like the sound of ohm is the sound of sound and it always exists, it always has and always will. And we for a moment, just for a moment, for one cycle of breath, sometimes can align our spine and our channel to allow it to flow through and go from the subtle to the gross, from the background to the foreground. ⁓ So let's do that together. It's a beautiful form of connection. And if you like, you can bring your hands together at your heart. And join me for an inhale. And the XL. And for the alm, breathe in. So I'll chant the list of the Yamas, Yoga Sutra two point thirty. Ahimsa satya brahmacharya parigraha. ⁓ Ahimsa satya brahmacharya. ⁓ Ahimsa satya brahmacharya parigraha. I find the sound of Sanskrit is so soothing to my nervous system. It's it's really it's like it's almost illogical in the best way. All right, so the list of the yamas are given to us here. Ahimsa. Sally or Sarah Page, a one or two word definition of ahimsa. Traditionally nonviolence. Beautiful. Nonviolence, non harming. ⁓ let's go back and forth. Sally, satya. Truthfulness. Perfect. Sat. Like the ⁓ like satsang, ⁓ satya, like it's the same root. It's you'll this is one of those like Sanskrit moments, you'll start to hear that a lot when you notice it. It shows up satva, right? So here it's satya, truthfulness, as teya, Sarah Page. Usually it's s non stealing, but I like what Ayingar says, and he calls it non misappropriating. Ooh, that's very nice. ⁓ Okay. I'm gonna I'm gonna we're gonna do a deep dive on the pronunciation of this one. So we'll not go through it right now, but right it's pronounced to the best of my understanding. Brahmacharya. So I usually I hear cons continence and things like that, but what I ⁓ enjoyed that I saw in I think Reverend Jagannath Carrera's book was a life dedicated to self mastery and limitation. Mm-hmm. So I like liberation. Liberation. Yeah, self mastery. Sri Swami Sachidananda says I like this one too. Moderation of any sense drive. Yeah. Right? So sometimes this is translated as celibacy. And I think that that, like, look for renunciates for people who take monastic vows. ⁓ yes, but I think it's a little bit simplistic to just call it celibacy. I like that, like like like the mastery commitment to the mastery of self or The moderation of sense drive is is quite lovely. Aingar says, just to go into that, is religious studentship. Ooh, yes. To be a Brahmachari in ⁓ in many lineages of Hinduism, Sunatan Dharma is like to take vows of as like a monastic. It's like to be a monk, you're a Brahmachari sometimes is also said. ⁓ and then Sarah Page, what's the last one? A parigraha? What does that mean? It's ⁓ non-grasping is how I've always heard it, but again, ⁓ give it up to ⁓ Mr. ⁓ Master Iingar, without possessions, without belongings, I like this. Non-acceptance of gifts. Yeah, parigaraha. It's like not reaching for what's out of reach. Right? Like sometimes it's also translated as non-covetousness. Yes. Which I like that one too. And then the word is yama. So yama again is like ⁓ a restraint. So there's this list, right? And I think and we'll and I think what I what I'll say just about the this whole list is ⁓ it's all I think it's well, it is typical in the Yoga Sutra that when we're given these lists, which show up in a bunch of different places, the sequence really matters. The sequence really matters. And so here it's just important to recognize that like it begins with ahimsa. Himsa can mean harm or violence or injury. And the ⁓ here is like to negate. So it's like to not harm, to not cause. vi to not be violent, to not cause harm. And so it's really interesting just to acknowledge that like the beginning of our moral observances of yogis, the first yama, which is the first step in the eight limbed path, is to not cause harm. Sir Paige, you there's a funny reference. I'm gonna put you on the spot for a second. So you were just at a at a medical school graduation. And what do doctors What is the f like what is the part of the creed of doctors, right? The Hippocratic. The Hippocratic Oath is first. Well, I'm I don't even play a doctor on TV. I'm trying to think. It's ⁓ d you know, do no harm to your patients. I think it's ⁓ do no harm. First do no harm. Do no harm, yeah. Do no harm. Yes. First do no harm. I did say it. I did say it. You did say it. I did it. Keep it at tight. Just keep it at tight. And you know what I love to do. In looking in these, because I feel like often the translations are non this, non that, non-this. And when I looked, I like that pointing out that the ⁓ is the non. And then there's the word. And what I really like, like when, you know, I don't know, there's a lot of practices of not saying what you don't want, but saying what you do want. So I did actually find a few translations where Ahimsa was translating as harmlessness. or Astea was translated as generosity. And I kind of was thinking with those that that's kind of, you know, we want to move to what we want, maybe, you know, and then toward we want to run toward, not away. Yeah. So I I kind of really liked ⁓ that description. Can I read one short thing? I think it was in Reverend Jagannath um's translation. I think I know exactly I'm looking at the page. I'm looking at the page. I know. We want it. No, but we should share it. No, please go, Sally. Ahimsa is the highest of the lamas because the impulse to engage in violent thoughts, words, and deeds arises from the feeling of fear, from real, exaggerated or imagined threats. Like I really had to sit with that because I am afraid of a lot of exaggerated and imagined threats in my head. But then all other yamas You must be human. I'm human. Right, exactly. The other yamas all help create and support ahimsa. All of the yoga practices help to calm and transform fear in order to progress spiritually, but perhaps faith and the four locks and keys, as you talked about earlier, stand out foremost. And I just I reread that and reread that and reread that. It's referenced here and then it's also in the and I I I don't have the exact language in front of me, but I'll ⁓ you know, you know, sometimes you just read a a piece of wisdom and it burns in your mind. And this one I I know the source. It's from the the textbook of yoga psychology. And when it breaks down this idea of ahimsa, and again, we're gonna go into ahimsa in a lot more depth, so I don't wanna get too go too far, but I just say that like ⁓ preview of coming attractions for more conversation, but that like the ancients sort of again categorized himsa, the harms. And there are harms that we do by our words, there are harms that we do by ⁓ I'm sorry, let me do that in a different order. There's harms that we do indeed, in action, there's harms that we do by our words, and there's harms that we do by our thoughts. And it's said that ⁓ our actions can cause harm to the physical body. Our words cause harm to the material body, or excuse me, to the to the emotional body. But our thoughts cause harm to the spiritual body. And every one of our thoughts begins somewhere inside. So the harm that we cause others always begins with himsa to the self. Well, we are a mirror, right? And I love I love what ⁓ Sachidananda says. Ahimsa is not causing pain. Okay. Some authors translate it as non-killing, but it is not that. Himsa means to cause pain. Ahimsa not to cause pain. Killing is different from causing pain. Causing pain can be even more harmful than killing, even by your words. I'm gonna get emotional. Even by your words, even by your thoughts, can you cause pain? Your thoughts causing pain. And and we've talked about this so often. It's like whenever we cause pain to ourselves or to others, it is a reflection of ourselves. It is a rif it's always within us. Like you say, the calls are coming from within the house. And it's like, okay, so why do I dislike this person so why is it that that that I why is that person like that? ⁓ wait a minute. Let's turn it back and reflect on where is it in myself? Yeah. And let's let's let's put a pin here for for just a moment because like we're gonna go into also like how do we sit with all of this and not have it be either bypass or self-blame. And that'll be where we go, I think, next week. Because I want to give us time to also get into there's this additional verse here that's really fascinating in this study. And I'll just I'll read the Sanskrit and won't chant it because it's a little bit of a mouthful. Jati Desha Kala Samayana Vachina Sarva Bhumha Bhuma Mahavratam. Well done, Seth. I tr I'm you know, I practice. Thank you. I know. ⁓ okay, so what that means, couple different translations. These great vows are universal, not limited by class, place, time, or circumstance. And Master that's from Sri Sam Swami Satchidananda. And Master modern Master Jagannath Carrera gives a really beautiful translation of this verse. The Yamas are universal resolves for proper behavior in society. They are bright lights that reveal the way to a life of virtue and joy. Because they hold the capacity to bring peace and harmony, they apply to every being. Regardless of social status, time or circumstance. This so they're great vows, unconditioned by class, place or time. And I do think sometimes when, especially from the West, we engage in some of these ideas, we sort of feel like, well, I'll take a little of this and I'll take a little of that. You know, we sort of see it like a a lot like a lovely buffet. Actually, are told here this is not a buffet. This is an all in. This is all or nothing. Right? These are these are a great vow. Maha is like ⁓ great, significant, auspicious. Right, like if a a a ⁓ like a like a mahamantra, right? The maha mantra is the the to the it for folks in the in the Gaudi Vaishnava Iskan lineage Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Rare Rara Rama Rama Hare Hare the Maha Mantra, right? The the names of the the greatest names of the divine in that lineage. And here it's Mahavratam and Vratam is resolves and then Master Carrera gives this really interesting commentary. To make a resolve is to decide firmly on a course of action. The roots of the word re and solvere suggest to definitive to di definitely set free or unite or untie. A resolve allows us to be free from other undesirable options. And while we're not experts and we're not going to get into a deep discussion of the point around social status, class, caste, or ⁓ position of birth, it is just important to note that in some traditions of Sanatan Dharma, there are certain practices prescribed specifically by caste, right? By the sort of place or position culturally, socially of your birth. And it's very interesting that we are told that this transcends that this I these yamas are so important that anyone in human form is called to their observance. And they are a great vow. I have been starting to read ⁓ a ⁓ the story of a great modern spiritual leader, ⁓ ⁓ Sadvi Bhagavati Saraswati or Sadviji, who is one of the spiritual leaders of the Parmat Nikitan Ashram in Rishakesh India. You know, part of her story, she was born in she's an American woman. grew up in, you know, her book Hollywood to the Himalayas is ⁓ is the memoir and I mean, I'm I'm enraptured of it right now and ⁓ kind of enraptured of her. ⁓ She has a very powerful presence. And I I had the opportunity to have a moment of darshan of moment of of seeing and being seen that was I that was touched very deeply. And she talks about how her sort of origin story is that she went to India and she made a vow to keep her heart open. And that if she could not keep her heart open, she would go home to California. And so when she was given instruction. From Puja Swamiji, the spiritual leader of the ashram, she had this moment of her own reckoning of like, well, I said I my heart was open. And if I was here, I would keep my heart open. And so she fully committed to it. And it led her to a path of of incredible service and ⁓ a massive, unbelievable positive impact in the world. And so It really I think and you know, we don't use this term vow and I think sort of in a lot of modern Western culture, we we we sort of are a little like loose with sometimes of our commitments. Like, but I don't know, like maybe let's just start for a moment. Like what what does it mean to make a vow? Can I I did what I normally do? I looked it up because it's like you know, we think we think we know, but we don't really. Yeah. ⁓ a vow is a solemn Earnest and binding promise or pledge. It's unlike a casual promise. It is deeply serious and is often made to a person, an institution, or a deity. Yeah. So what does it mean to use Sarah Page to make a vow? I well, I've been married twice, so somet you know. I have to cut. So it's all three gay divorcees or straight divorcees, but you know all three divorcees here. So it's a it's it's a I think it's a good question for us. Well, because it's the first thing it's the first thing I think. I I grew up in a deeply religious home and so you know the vow of marriage was really important and it clearly was not that important to me. It's a good question, Seth, because w I am very careful about what I say and what I say to whom. And ⁓ like I've said, my Personal mantra is Am I who I say I am? I make a personal vow to myself. Am I that's a vow? Am I who I say I am? And I catch myself often. If I find myself talking about somebody, if I find myself being inauthentic in the class when I'm teaching, if I find myself, you know, whatever it is, Sarah Page, are you who you say you are? You get on a podcast every week. You get up in front of people and you teach every week. You say, ⁓ you live this life. Are you living that life now? Are you who you say you are? And that's my vow. Sally, what does it mean for you to take a vow? It's funny because I was just thinking about I mean, I've been divorced too, and ⁓ that feels like almost the only vow I've declared out loud in front of people. Like a lot of the vows I feel like I have in my life, I'm not sure that I have declared them out loud and I don't know if that's important, you know, I I think about with my commitments. Like I'm very careful to not if I commit, and call me out if you've caught me wrong on this, but if I commit, I show up. And I feel like I have a commitment to my family, to my teaching. The podcast, I find this sometimes a slightly overwhelming commitment. Like I wanna bow out. And I'm so grateful that I have it. So I guess that we have a vow. I mean, we have a commitment to each other, but I never thought about calling it a vow. Yeah. I I was thinking about the exact same thing for this week too. 'Cause like you know, we started doing this because we have this love of studentship and love of the satsang with each other and and like I think we knew and didn't even like call it that, but it it's what but like Even just the com the commitment to do this podcast, to show up, we all have busy lives. We could all make up reasons that we have something else to do, somewhere else to be. And to the point where, like, I mean, I love you guys both so much for this. Like, we were we used to record on Sundays, and then Sundays were just, it was getting difficult. And it was like ⁓ and then I started a new job, and I really wanted to like clear my weekends to have a little bit more flexible time. And I said, Well, what if we did this crazy thing and did this on like so literally we record a Tuesday at nine PM Eastern time. And Sally's in California at six PM. So like we have taken one night a week and we have committed to do this together. And I would say probably of fifty two weeks a year, fifty, we hold tight to it. Absolutely. I think ⁓ maybe fifty one. I don't like I I'm trying to remember the last time we like took a week off. Like we record on I think it was India. I think if someone is on an airplane without Yeah. Wi stable Wi-Fi. Yes, yes. And then we usually reschedule. ⁓ we took two weeks off because Sarah Page and I were in India. Yeah. So I took all of my stuff with me. ⁓ that's right. Because I needed to fix your computer. We needed to fix my computer. I took my computer. So they Seth could fix it because that makes sense. But I did take my stuff down to Tallahassee when I went down to Tallahassee. I take my computer. I take my computer. And my brother was like, What are you doing in there? Part of the reason we didn't record from India is because Sally Sara Sally wasn't with us. So just saying February February twenty fifth through March ninth, twenty twenty seven. Also, ⁓ I don't know what you're doing out there, listeners, but if ⁓ you're thinking about doing something, ⁓ we'll do a proper like bumper on the episodes, but like ⁓ we just had our we just had our sort of first dig in deep planning call with our guide for the India pilgrimage next year. And it's gonna be really special. It's gonna be really, really great. Anyway, so like so we've made but like we so signing up for a podcast, right? Like we made a vow. We made a vow to each other to be in studentship together and say, okay, when it's hard, we're gonna still do it. When we're tired, we're gonna lean into it. When we need support to get to get through it, we're gonna commit because we know that. That like it's sort of like when you're committed to your practice. Like you don't always wanna go to the studio to take class every time you take class. And you show up because you're committed to your practice, you're committed to yourself, and you know that like like I've never regretted going to class. I've never like z like the classes I've loved and the classes I've not loved, I've I regret none of them. And you always feel something. It might not be comfortable, but you feel something. Most of the time it's probably hopefully a little bit of a step toward some satya, some goodness, right? Some sattva. I've never once said, boy, I wish I hadn't gone to yoga. I've never left satiya. Never once. I never once. Now we're on episode we're recording. This is episode twenty seven. Unbelievable. And you know what? Like, never once have I, no matter how many times I have dragged my ass onto the screen, and there have been several many times, but never once have I ended with the two of you and been like, well, that sucked, or that was a waste, or that like I've never, never finished in that place. Never. There have been times when I've done like I have no idea what we're gonna talk like. I know like what we have a plan to talk about, but I have no idea how I'm gonna get through this. And then it it is like I I remember I'm committed to it. I'm committed to this studentship. I'm committed to Sarah Page and to Sally. And I'm c we're committed to the the five people who are listening to us and hi to all of you in Rhode Island. We love you. We're here in Rhode Island. ⁓ right? No, truly like wherever, however you discover and find the sound of our voice, like we're we are we're committed to you. And so there's this we have a sense of a vow. I want to interject real quick. Because I really it's it is perfect. ⁓ Satchatananda says these part these points are for whole time dedicated yogis. And so for them, Patanjali allows no excuses. For people who aren't that one pointed towards the yoga's goal, these vows can be modified according to their position in life. But for people who are trying so hard to find the enlightened path, there are no excuses. Let's take a moment here and hold. two things together, which is the ahimsa and the commitment. Because it's very easy to like sometimes I think of it like, you know, like the like the like the slacking yourself on the back of like, get there, you've gotta do it. Like, I don't know. It sort of feels like it can feel a little bit it can feel almost violent. Like like to to push yourself to be To keep yourself honest to the commitment. And and you know, I've been thinking a lot about how like when we talked about the the commitment or like the we were talking about this idea that like Practice as a committed, sustained effort over a long period of time, uninterrupted, and like to this practice of like to toward the restraint of of the definition of yoga, right? Shitta vriti nirodhaha. How like it's like swaddling a baby. I still am like like I love this, this, this image, because like Because it helps me see myself with some tenderness that sometimes, to be really honest, is not easy to come by. Because like I'm like the stira of like the force, the effort. I'm good at that. I'm or it comes more accessibly to me, better said. And the sukkha, the ease, the sweetness, like sometimes I find like I'm I'm worried that if I'm too easy on myself, I'll just go soft. And we come from a lineage, all three of us share a lineage of like a pretty strong, like power yoga practice where like it gets a little dicey in there around this, like the commitment to like stay in the room when you're in a hot room and it your head is spinning a little bit and you're sweating and you're kind of freaking out. And like More than one teacher in our lineage of practice will say, stay in the room. And they are c and they can land a hat. It can come in. It can feel kind of intense. And you know, I'm not saying that's right or wrong, to be clear. Sometimes like sometimes I I want that stira to hold me through the challenge. And it is like swaddling, right? Like when you swaddle an infant, it is like it's not loose. Cause then the baby will just like flail around and then they'll cry. And then like that's the whole that's not like the whole point. Is to really wrap that little baby up. I remember that I've said this before. Like the first time I learned how to swaddle an infant, I was like terrified that I was gonna like wrap it up too tight. I'm like, I'm gonna get like, what am I doing? It's a little baby. And they're like, no, no, no. That's like how you care for the baby. So like there's this loving embrace of like the commitment of this great vow, but not from a place of harm. Sally, you said this a few weeks ago too, that yoga is loving. It is not punitive. Ruben Vasquez on his commentary on 231, the Yamas are great universal vow to appreciate and honor the interdependent nature of life in all forms and manifestations. But what I loved, he said following that, the yamas are guidelines suggesting ways to establish intelligent relationships with yourself. And with the world around you. In Sanskrit, Yama means self control. The yamas apply, like we said, at all times and all places to every person. When you are trying to apply the yamas, be aware of your internal arguments you might be having with yourself. These arguments might indicate that you might be trying to find ways not to apply the yamas fully. But then he says, and I underlined. The practice is to apply the yamas to the extent that is possible for you at the present time without generating more reasons to judge yourself. The practice of yamas is a process and every step creates the opportunity to see yourself and the world around you in a new light and through a different lens. We are not creating more reasons. I mean, unless you're one of them lucky ones, it doesn't judge yourself and I don't believe it. Yeah. Yeah. We're not creating any more and I really get stuck in that trap. Like I can get stuck in the you should be doing this better. You've studied this, you know. But I really loved like doing the best you can in the moment. And this is not make 'cause we know when we're not really doing our best. You can't pretend about this stuff. You know. I just want to ⁓ reference Nisha Joy Devi. Thank you for that, Sally, because I wouldn't have done it without your your bringing her in. One of the most important ways to keep our intention is the power of setsign. Company of those who share the same truth. Because we were just talking about this. When we need reassurance to stay focused on the practices, whom do we call on? If it is someone who is Already has experienced the benefits of practice, we will receive encouragement to continue. Without the same understanding, a well-meaning friend might convince us to venture onward to other horizons. The yamas and niyamas are expressed in all aspects. I'm gonna have to repeat this because it's really important. The yamas and the niyamas are expressed in all aspects of our thoughts, words, and actions. This is what allows them to be at the same time. powerful and challenging to abide by. But I love the power and the importance of like minded people in your setsong. Don't you find sometimes that it's it's I don't know what it is. It's kind of easy to go to somebody who doesn't believe the same way that you do because you don't really want to go into that amount of rigor or to you know tap us. You know, well, such and such says us, but and then it leads you to a different horizon. And you might I might. I don't I won't speak for y'all, but I mean like sometimes I'll go to somebody this isn't true, but it's ⁓ I would say I wouldn't go to Seth because Seth is gonna hold my hand to the fire and keep me in the work of it. Maybe I'll go to, you know, somebody else who, you know, kind of keep it fuzzy around the edges and give me the excuses that I want to hear. Yeah, let's me off the hook. Thank you. Let's me off the hook. That is exactly what I was gonna say though. By like minded, it doesn't mean that the three of us or whoever the satsong that you're a part of is have the exact same opinions about everything. The like minded for me is about moving toward growth, moving toward truth, moving toward honesty. So exactly that, sometimes the most, you know, I mean, my sister-in-law held me in something and helped me see something I wouldn't have seen last weekend. And That is the like-minded, like caring, loving, honest. And that it comes from a place of again, like of not harming. It's like it's not punitive. It's I think you know, again, like this, like this, this the swaddle thing was such a big unlock for me because like I think for so long I felt like I heard restraint and I always had mapped that to like like this like like like holding down or like I I've used this analogy of sometimes I feel like my like the ⁓ you know, my my my the demons of my self-doubt and and like all the negative narratives in my mind that like if I don't keep it like locked in the cage in the corner, he's just gonna like mean Seth is just gonna like run him up and right. And so I've always felt like there's been this like I've had like been a like a it's like a battle. Like I've gotta keep him down. Down in there. And over the last a couple months have like softened around that a little bit. It doesn't mean that I'm like, ⁓ sure, Seth, you means Seth just like go run amok. ⁓ but instead of like thinking that I have to like risk that like the the the restraint is like a holding down or a pushing away. Now I'm like thinking of like, how do like what do I need to swaddle in? Right. And like and so I think that that's also like this like a sense of the satsang, like who holds you accountable in a way that is loving? Who and right, where and how do you cultivate association with people? 'Cause this is we've done this for each other in in a I I can think of so many different contexts where there's been a moment where it's like, I love you. And I'm gonna tell you something I know you don't immediately wanna hear in this moment, but it's in service and it from a it's in service of your best self because I know that that is like the thing you really want to be up to. And sometimes like we'll even say, like, are you is this the time to hear that or not? And then sometimes the answer is no, and that's okay. Because sometimes like we have a moment where we get to say, like, we're fragile, and like, I know you love me, and tomorrow. I just need a matcha friend today. Yes. Sometimes it's okay. Right. It's it's sort of like how, you know, I think in really healthy studio communities, there's a constant dialogue of feedback, especially between teachers, right? But the first question is, is this a good time to receive some feedback? I will say no. And there are times where I too will say, for whatever reason, like, Thank you so much. Will you text me? Will you text it to me? Or can I can I text you tomorrow? Or I'll say I've said to teachers who I know give really good feedback and I really want to hear it and process it, and I know that I'm not in the place to really receive it. I will say just that. Thank you so much. Your feedback is always so thoughtful. And will you like write it down and then schedule send to text it to me tomorrow? That would be really supportive. Talking about ahimsa, so often feedback can be very ahimsic. It really, for me personally, anything. You mean very sorry, you mean very himself. Yes, it can be very hemisphering. And that's what these practices. And it's sort of like it's sort of like you know, we have to consider the source, and we can still be very kind. There are certain people that I will not accept feedback from because I know that they do not have my best interest at heart. I know that. And I'm sort of like, is this is this opinion or is it thoughtful feedback? But my point about it is is you know, being able to say lovingly, kindly, but very definitively no. Right. Right no. Right. Thank you and no. I hear that is what you are saying. And I and it's like like because like you can choose to take it or leave it. Like the feedback is given. Great. Thank you. It goes for everything. It's not just in a class. It's like, you know I quit a job that You know, on its surface was like, you know, it was a executive level leadership startup, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But one of the ways I knew that I was done and like it was black and white immediate, was I got some feedback that I was so clear I was not interested in receiving. And I thought, and no, I really was like, I got this feedback and I was like, if my boss, the founder CEO, is giving me this feedback from my peers, and I believe That it is not in service of my greatness and I have no interest in receiving it. Well, if I'm real real about that, that means time to go. And I quit that morning. I mean, I was professional. I didn't like just like walk away and leave them in the lurch. I we figured out an exit plan. But like I knew that was that was like such a clear indicator. Because like the deeper vow. I was just about to say it's a vow. The vow of living my yoga means. I don't get to pick and choose. I don't get to take it when I like a little. Like I do call myself a yogi. I aspire to that. Right. I don't always achieve it, but I aspire to it. And I love to that statement, and like that this is a, you know, this is from a place of loving restraint. Like there's another commentary, I think it's Master Carrera who says, like, the the the the effort should be born of a place of the love of the practice, that that is what overcomes. the resistance, that it's the love of what we know to be true as bigger than ourselves. That it is that like the relationship we have with Ishvara is is so deeply loving. It's and it's so personal. Right? I've always like had a hard time with religious constructs that talk about like a jealous God, an angry God, a vengeful God. Those feel like kind of human small emotions to me. If God I ⁓ even as a kid I remember feeling this way, like if God is so big, what is God jealous of? How could God be jealous if God is God? Like, how could God be f like vengeful toward humans? We're so small compared to God? And and and I'm not trying to tell anybody their their experience, I'm just describing my own. And and and and so like then when I discovered, you know, like Sanatan Dharma and and yogic philosophy and and and and Buddhist philosophy, where this idea is that like Depending on which flavor of these you you is attractive to each and every one of us, that like, you know, the Buddhists don't even care about a creator God. It's sort of not about that. But, you know, like even if you look at like the the the I the word Ishvara, it is not about a single fixed point that like God is this, it's not that. And that it's born from like the loving kindness of the of it within as a true nature, the true self. That like that like there's just this And I just, I don't know, I just think this is such a beautiful way to see the world. This is a vow that, like, if I aspire to be a yogi, then it means I have to believe that every single person has the capacity for goodness. That that is the most, that is the fundamental nature of their being. Even the people who do terrible things, even people who have done terrible things. It is true that their actions are terrible, but they still possess, even if it's even if that light has been so covered by tragedy and trauma and misunderstanding and sometimes the diseased mind that like the diseased body can get in the way of our access to that. But it's there. I spent a day on Saturday at ⁓ Saturday or Sunday? Sunday at the Bhakti Center in New York City in the lower in the East Village. And it was with ⁓ Radhika Das, who is a beautiful Kirtan player and artist. And Dial Karunga, who is just a a a real wonderful person and he big in the Bakhti. And it was a lot of this kind of talk. It was a lot about holding ourselves accountable to being who we say we are. A lot of of you know, you can't feel this way. It was it was a beautiful day. And of course we all danced and sang and, you know, Kirtan was was off the hook. Off the chain? I don't know. Anyway, Radica is such a beautiful Kirtanwala. ⁓ my gosh. And he was so on, but what he was saying was you can't look at something and think, I hate you, you're horrible, why are you here? Blah blah blah. And then come out and chant the names of the divine. There's there's a just not authentic. It's not it's not an authentic, it's not who you are. It's not who you say you are. Not who you say you are. Yeah, but you'll eventually the dissonance. Exactly. And then, you know, then we get into karma. But it's sort of like, you know, it was just so interesting to hear him who you just don't even really think about him maybe having those thoughts or feelings that he's so much more enlightened, so much more on the path. And no, he's like, listen, I check myself all the time. All the time. Because the thoughts ⁓ that he has around himself, the thoughts that he has around somebody in the audience. You know, he sold out he sold out the crowd. There were two thousand people, two thousand something people in the audience. And the next day he comes to the Bhakti Center, there's maybe twenty-five, thirty. It didn't matter to him. It doesn't matter. Yeah. It was it was just really a beautiful day. Beautiful day. But it was Bethany always framed that. I'm sorry, go ahead. No, i it was just the way that he he put that in it just really made me kind of rock back on my heels. that it's everybody struggles with with the vow. Yeah, Bethany liked to say, there is no in here out there. Right? Like you can't. So this is in the context of a teacher training. And like, and I I I I I love this lesson, and I think it's very powerful and it's very true. Like, if you wanna be a yoga teacher, if you wanna really practice yoga, what part of that Mahavratam is that this is like a whole life commitment. You can't just like Be this, you know, loving embodied like presence on your yoga mat and then go out and be a jerk to the barista. Right. Like it won't work. Something will not fully connect. And part of what I think is like both terrifying and exhilarating is is that we don't get to pick and choose. It's a great universal vow. And and it and it doesn't We and it does not apply selectively. And we lovingly hold ourselves accountable to aspire to the more deeply, richly, fully, authentically embodied practice. And we know that like our practice is a practice. It's not a perfect, it's not where the goal is not perfection. The practice of the practice is perfection. the goal. Yes. And I want to say this one thing because I love that you referenced Bethany. She has been on my mind her little sayings of wisdom, her pearls of wisdom. But it it adh it kind of goes to this as well, which is there are no shortcuts. Yeah, there's no shortcuts. The work is the shortcut. Yep. The work is the shortcut. There is no in here out there. You don't get to just do this in one part because like what will arise is that if you get really serious about it in the studio, a ask Any serious yogi. And what will happen, I think, is they will eventually tell you that they realize that like they were like at first it was like, I and now I'm gonna speak to my other teacher's wisdom. Rima once gave a beautiful Dharma talk. This is years ago. I can't believe I remembered this. I don't know if she remembers it. I'll have to ask her. And she talked about how, like, especially since he it's here in New York City and she was teaching us at the old Jiva Mukti yoga. So gosh, this is seven plus years or six and a half, seven years ago now at least. But she gave this talk. And she's talked and she said, you know, sometimes we start and we we start like we're running to class. Right? Like, ⁓ I gotta get to class, I gotta get to class, I gotta get to class, I gotta get to class. Then you start showing up regularly and you it's like it's it's you s you don't know why, but like you just know that like this thing seems to help. And so you wanna get there and and then you keep going and you keep going and you sort of like And now all of a sudden you're in a practice. And then what starts to happen is that you've been running to it and you start wondering what you're running away from. And you start getting really curious. Like, what am I running from? And and like this stuff just starts to like seep into your pores from the gross to the subtle. And and they're and you start wondering, like, well, how do I like? And you catch it in funny small ways. Like I've noticed, like in a moment of real intense emotion, I start ujaii breathing. I don't even mean to do it. But like I've trained myself like in a moment where I need to focus. It's the first thing. Like I my body now like reflexively just like and and then I and then I like again like what are the values? Who do I say I am? And how do I put my attention there? Okay, let's put our attention to to a teaching tip. So of the Yamas as a whole or these great universal vows, twenty the thirty thirty-one verses, like what's a teaching tip that ⁓ you could offer, whether it's to an individual practitioner who's teaching for themselves and to maybe somebody in their life, whether it's to other teachers of asana classes. Sally, what's something that would inspire some ⁓ a a teaching tip for you this week? I'm gonna go with creating equanimity and space for flow. And maybe like I think I read somewhere like they talked about how the stream flows around the rocks. But I was could you allow your mind, body, and spirit to flow around the obstacles? But then actually, can you also get curious about the obstacles? Because sometimes I think there's a lot of wisdom in the obstacles. So can for me, I'm practicing, can I first turn my mind back? to neutral or equanimity. And then can I notice what I'm resisting, notice where I'm flowing, and move more toward flow. Beautiful. Sarah Page, what's some what's a teaching tip for this week? I have been doing something ⁓ and I've been very surprised at the response and the resistance in classes, which is yeah, I have been doing you sort of a just the facts, sir. Just the facts. I have I have asked that it be a very simple and very traditional and very classic flow. That we not ⁓ jump up into handstands, go into the binds, come into sidecrow because we're just so tired of doing chair twists that it's too much, it's too much, it's too much, and my now my head, my chitta, so I'm gonna come into sidecrow. ⁓ so I've been really holding people in the poses and keeping it very And it's so interesting. ⁓ on Sunday when I did it, I thought I was gonna get lynched. I had a woman in the middle of class go. In the middle of class, she goes, she goes, Why is this so hard? And I said, consider it's challenging. And that's your question. That's your work. And so try that on with a class. I I, you know, just maybe just a sequence, maybe not the whole class if that's not where you are. Tonight it was really interesting. There was just a sense of deep calm and focus. And ⁓ probably has to do that I was more calm and I was more focused, but it's ⁓ it's an interesting it's an interesting thing. So see if you can't just s not just don't let your class off the hook. Hold them accountable and and hold them in the rigor, hold them in the tapas and see what occurs. Yeah, I'll offer ⁓ So just invite your class to really commit to the class. Like what if what if this was the thing? What if it's the only thing for this hour, this 90 minutes, whatever? What would it mean to fully commit to it? Like period, full stop. Doesn't mean you have to do what I say because I say so. It means that for you, you are fully committed to class. And like and and I and I and I too, Sarah Page like will say, and maybe that also means like just dropping all the extra stuff and just doing the class as it's offered. Not because I'm so brilliant, but because there's an exercise of just doing just the thing and really making that a commitment and a vow. Yoga is science of the mind. When we take out all the drama and the excess, it's just you and your mind. And it's your mind that is saying, I gotta leave, I gotta drop down, I gotta wipe and water now, I've gotta do this, I've gotta do that. It's not and it's just that's the science of it. That's the control of it. But it's just the just like the vow is this class. The vow is just the class, just this class. okay, Sally, what's some inquiry? So much inquiry. I know. So much inquiry. So much inquiry. And I'm trying to narrow it down, but I still have a few of ⁓ how do you experience yourself, others, and the world around you? Do your thoughts, actions, and words support you and the world around you as you are and as you are not? And if you discover that you're creating harm, is there a practice you can call upon to create space for love? How do you stay the path when you meet resistance? Hmm. How do you stay the path when you meet resistance? It's a good question. Working on it. Teach me Teach me your way, sensei. Sarah Page. Where are you where are you letting yourself off the hook? Where are you letting yourself off the hook? Where are you? for me personally, where are you making it easy? And even more importantly, why are you making it easy? Mm. And you might even yes Anne to say, like, and where are you making it hard? Yeah. That's what happens. That's what I say. Like, where could you allow it to be easy? It's like in class, right? Why d it doesn't have to be dramatic. You know, everything that we do on the mat is transferred out into life. So, you know, for me personally, why do I resist my mat? Why is it that I resist getting to my mat? There's something else there. Am I who I say I am? So what is your vow? Yeah, my inquiry would just be to when I feel like I'm starting to overprogram myself, I have a tendency like I like to I like to run at about like ninety-five to a hundred and ten percent capacity at any given time. I think I'm at my I I I don't know, my story. I have it that I'm at my best when I'm like running right to the edge. It's no see it's no coincidence too. Like we've we've all been attracted to practices that have that the intention of it just to push us to the to our edge. So then sometimes like I I like to like pause and like Just like sort of take stock. Like, what am I really committed to? And so like sometimes I'll do it in a day. Sometimes I'll just like like sometimes I'll jot it down. Sometimes I'll just like keep a running tally in my mind of just like, okay, like I say I'm committed to that, but am I really? You know? Like I'm not great about committing to like seven hours of sleep every night. Could I do that if I made it like a great vow? Of course I could. Do I? No. Am I getting by? So far. So like that one I'm sort of like, well, maybe I need to just like like maybe it's okay. Like I like I don't you know, somebody could tell me like I'm yeah, I don't know what doing with my but like maybe it's okay. And like if that's not what's happening, then I have to decide. Well, either I need to like commit to it and make it happen, or like let go of that commitment, because sometimes that is also okay. You know, we we we didn't talk about this, and I don't want to go too far down the path for, but I will just say for a moment that like, you know, the vows we make on the material plane are sort of different than the vows we make on the spiritual plane. The vows of these yamas have been true for many thousands and thousands of years, right? ⁓ and I've always and I've thought like if I was ever going to enter into like a long-term committed relationship ever again, that would feel like or we were gonna get married, I don't think I would make very traditional vows to my future husband. I think my vows would actually look and sound a little bit different. And I think they would be not I vow to love you this way forever, because I don't think I can keep that promise. I don't know if I can keep that promise, right? What I can try to promise is that. I will always love you enough to be honest with you about when and how the nature of my love is showing up and be honest even if it's uncomfortable if that feels like it's shifting. Because I never want to I I want to always be in a place where we respect each other enough, where where the vow of our truthfulness to each other and not to cause harm to each other supersede a material commitment. That we have to be together exactly as the way that we are now. And I know that's tricky. And I haven't talked about that to somebody yet. So we'll see how it goes. Hopefully. But like, but that's that vow I feel like I could keep. But like a blind vow that I will be with you forever and no one else, I don't know if I can keep that vow. You know, and so I ask myself then, like, okay, well, what what commitments? Like, so the inquiry is a long way around. Sorry. That's a long way, that's a long way around of saying, like, get I just I think it's really valuable practice to just look at what you're committing to, look at the vows you're making, ask yourself if they're serving you, let go of the ones that aren't serving you, and be gentle and loving because above all else, this sh like these this inquiry, this practice, this is this is a loving embrace. And the motivator is the love of something bigger than yourself because it's your best self. And I make this vow to the two of you because I know I know that like right now in this phase of my life in every fiber of my being that like showing up with you is a step toward my better self. Same. Thank you. Two hundred percent. Thousand percent. Infinite percent. Infinite percent. All right. Makes me a much better person. And to all of you listening, we are so grateful for your time and attention. And if you get benefit from these words, ⁓ please consider leaving us a rating, a review, follow, share it with a friend. and ⁓ for that for now, I'll say thank you, Sarah Page. ⁓ you're so welcome. Thank you, my love. Thank you, Sally. Thank you, love you both. Love you guys, and thank you for listening. This is the Sutra Squad Podcast, and we we we will be with you again soon. We vow. Have a beautiful day, evening, night, and we'll see you soon. Bye bye. Good night. Bye.