Why is ahimsa important

Expands our sense of belonging. Improves our relationships with the self and with others. Increases assertiveness, patience and communication.

Reduces stress and helps to achieve peace of mind. In short, practicing ahimsa non-violence helps us create a positive, peaceful, and harmonious world for ourselves and others. Regular practice of yoga asana , pranayama , and meditation can help to develop this attitude of non-harming. Yoga calms the mind, increases self-awareness, and helps one to recognize the supreme expression of Self.

Meditation brings that inner peace which in turn establishes non-violence. The practice of non-violence is a two way traffic. Ahimsa brings about the union of the mind, peace of mind, and when you are peaceful or calm within, you naturally become non-violent.

One of the challenges, if not confusions, that often happens with practicing ahimsa non-harming in parallel with rest of the yamas and niyamas , is how to balance them.

To make this balance work, we can consider that ahimsa is the central practice of the five yamas , and that the other four yamas and niyamas are in support of that. Learning how to delicately balance truthfulness while not being painfully honest with others is a real art of yoga.

Think of the many situations in life when your so-called truthfulness could cause pain to others, including simple examples, such as your comments about a meal served at a friend's home or what you might say if someone asked you about their physical appearance or clothes when dressed for some special occasions.

If your mind is not in the moment and quiet enough to artfully maneuver around such a situation, which would you choose, to be painfully honest or mindfully honest for the sake of not hurting the other person? Sure, we'd like to be proficient enough to practice both non-harming harmlessness and non-lying in perfect balance, but until we master this skill, we need to be ever mindful of the most important practice, which is to first and foremost to cause no harm.

The same method can be applied to practicing the rest of the other Yamas and Niyamas. One by one, we can get mastery over each and this will ultimately lead to mastery over all of them in letter and spirit. Sign up for Beyond Breath - a free online session on Breath and Meditation and take a first step towards self care and ahimsa today!

She can be followed on Instagram , Twitter , and Facebook. National Website Menu. Talk to a Teacher Courses Entry Level Courses. Talk to a Certified Teacher Call But humans live out of sync with the mechanism when we go against our qualities of love, kindness and friendship for all living beings.

When we forget how so many invisible lives have made our single day liveable and comfortable we imperil our own lives. The best way to see that negative actions are kept to a minimum is to think through your actions and see if they are necessary to your existence.

If you understand that each shoe, wallet, steak or diamond has consequences for yourself and other beings would you do it? Ahimsa means non-injury. It is an indispensable condition for liberation from the cycle of reincarnation, the ultimate goal of Jainism. According to Jainism every act by which a person directly or indirectly supports killing or injury is violence himsa , which creates harmful karma.

The aim of ahimsa is to prevent the accumulation of such karma. Jains share this goal with Hindus and Buddhists, but their approach is particularly comprehensive. Their scrupulous and thorough way of applying nonviolence to everyday activities and food shapes their lives and is the most significant hallmark of Jain identity. Jain vegetarianism is central to ahimsa. It is not just a matter of not eating meat.

It is eating less, eating your last meal before sunset, eating while sharing, eating that which is in season and local. To me it means the training of the body and mind to appreciate everything — want nothing. Jains believe that all animals, plants, and human beings contain living souls. And we can see that while the incident in the coffee shop was seemingly divided between inflictors of pain and a recipient of pain, it was everyone who suffered—both in the moment and beyond.

If we live our lives by smiling and saying one thing, only to turn around and say or do the opposite, we also likely imagine a world where others are doing this to us. This contributes to ongoing insecurities and a defensiveness in relationships, which negatively impact our lives and those of our loved ones.

The ahimsa-based practices of pausing, looking ahead, empathizing, and choosing well move us closer to a stress-free life. If we have nothing to hide or regret and live that way as a practice, we live more simply and freely.

This is yoga. Nonviolence, like charity, must begin at home. The Vedas encourage honoring our own dharma, or path, as we follow principles such as ahimsa. My mom and dad have always shown my sister and me that we coexist with all beings, including small ones. Bugs take care of weeds and pollinate our Earth.

Birds feed on bugs and fish. We all contribute to the health of our planet. If we can show ahimsa by being kind to even the smallest creature—such as letting an insect outside instead of killing it—we start to see the world differently, through a much wider lens. Here, fellow yoga practitioners and teachers share their unique understandings of ahimsa:. A kinder option is to teach people to discern what is best for their bodies and their health. And… not shame people for their choices.

Watch Minute Ahimsa Yoga Sequence.