YAMAS - BRAHMACHARYA
"Devoted to living a balanced and moderate life,
the scope of ones life force becomes boundless"
Nischala Joy Devi
The act of conserving vital energy. Being consciously mindful of your senses to live with balance and moderation in your daily life. Brahma translates to meaning 'infinity' and Charya translates to meaning 'moving in infinity'. In ancient wisdom Bramacharya was the practice of celibacy as it was believed that this conservation of vital energy was thought to assist greatly in reaching enlightenment, however it was discovered that many who practiced celibacy did not attain enlightenment. Bramacharya gained a new definition as the conservation of the five senses. Yoga was seen to identify the five senses as the layers surrounding the journey to self realisation over 3000 years ago, they were called the five Koshas. These five Koshas can be recognised more familiarly today.
5 Koshas
- Body
- Emotion
- Thought
- Spirit
- Breath
Think about how you can cultivate Brahmacharya in your life with focus on the five Koshas and the balancing of our 2 energies. Our 2 prime energies are the divine and the human ie the spiritual self and the physical self.
We live in an age of instance where technology has made some incredible advances to which there are many benefits and we certainly know how to live life to excess, however the downside is do any of us know how to live more calmly, to access down time, to re-balance and achieve an equilibrium? Modern life is moving so fast that we have been swept along in the current and we need to remember to press pause, we need to re-learn the art of moderation to practice Brahmacharya.
We all have male and female energy within us and in our life. The right side of the body is considered to be the male force whilst the left is considered to be the female force. The right is represented by the sun and by action/doing whereas the left is represented by the moon and receiving/nourishing.
To bring Brahmacharya into your life it helps to set an intention at the beginning of each day that promotes balanced living through the conservation of vital energy. For example you could set the intention of kindness, being gentle with yourself and all else. In relation to Yoga you could practice an energetic series of sun salutations representing the male energy and follow this with a calming Viparita Karani (legs up the wall) to focus on the female energy. Viparita Karani is an excellent morning asana to help revive you if you have experienced a difficult nights sleep, bringing balance and equally ideal for the end of the day especially if you have been standing up for most of it.
Kundalini Yoga is a great example of practicing Brahmacharya as it creates powerful energy from subtle movement, Kundalini instructors such as Maya Fiennes are definitely worth checking out if you would like to try some Kundalini Yoga.
Om Namaste
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