Ahimsa is the first Yama - or we can say the very first step on the path of authentic true Yoga! Yoga as a path of Union or oneness. Ahimsa means non-harm. To not harm in 3 aspects!

Do not harm others, do not harm ourselves and do not allow others to harm you.

This is a very difficult path, hence walking the path of yoga is said to be like walking a knife's edge.

Not only do we try to live with these 3 aspects in mind but we also try to practice these our actions, our speech and our thoughts. Interestingly the hardest part of this tends to be non harm towards our own self! We are usually very hard on ourselves and if one thing goes wrong we can only focus on that instead of all the other (and more numerous) things we did right that day! We often speak to ourselves in ways that we would never talk to someone we love and care for if they asked us for advice.

I remember saying to my children-if you have to say something unpleasant , try to find a way to speak it skilfully or sweetly and softly - so you do not cause harm.

There will always be many different situations that require skilful judgment moment to moment, but to not harm is our aim. The Yoga Sutras state that whoever masters Ahimsa or non-harm will find that no violence can take place in their presence.

The outer world is a reflection of our inner world.

Aum shanti shanti shanti.