Ahimsa: Nurturing Non-Violence and Compassion in Everyday Life - Exploring the Eight Limbs of Yoga Series Part 2
In the first part of this series, I introduced the 8 limbs of yoga as a system and summarised each limb to give an overview. In part 2 of this series, we will take a deep dive into Ahimsa, exploring what it truly means, discovering examples of how it can manifest in our daily lives, engage in journal prompts to deepen our understanding, and explore practical ways to embody Ahimsa more fully.
Understanding Ahimsa
Ahimsa, often translated as non-violence, extends beyond refraining from physical harm. It encompasses all forms of violence, whether physical, verbal, or even through our thoughts and intentions. Ahimsa invites us to replace aggression, hostility, and judgment with love, understanding, and compassion. It teaches us to recognize the interconnectedness of all beings and to live in harmony with the world around us. This includes other people, animals, plants and mother earth. Whilst Ahimsa is a principle of the yamas - principles often applied to live well with those external to ourselves, it is also a principle I find we need to embody most towards ourselves. For those looking for healing, Ahimsa is a great principle to embody as part of your healing process. Energetically, the vibration of kindness and compassion are high frequency - creating a environment that is conducive to healing on physical, mental and emotional levels.
Examples of Ahimsa in Daily Life
In our day-to-day interactions, Ahimsa can be expressed in numerous ways. Some examples are:
Practicing active listening
Speaking with kindness and respect
Choosing a plant-based diet
Supporting cruelty-free products
Doing things from a place of love and kindness over obligation and resentment
Being mindful of our consumption patterns and reducing waste
Forgiveness
Letting go of grudges
Cultivating empathy towards others' struggles
Being compassionate to ourselves and accepting ourselves as we are
Allowing ourselves and others to make mistakes
Exercise & proper nutrition
The list could go on and on but there are just a few examples of what ahimsa might look like in a day to day life. This is not to say you must embody all of these things, but ahimsa is a reminder to embody this kindness and compassion where you can - and to practice ahimsa when you can’t.
Journal prompts explore Ahimsa within your life
The following prompts are not exhaustive, however hopefully they give you food for thought and a deeper insight into areas where you may want to explore deeper embodiment of this yama.
Explore your thoughts and self-talk. Are there any negative or critical patterns that you can transform into more compassionate and uplifting ones? Everytime you think something negative about yoruself, stop and write it down. See how long the list gets over the space of a day/week/month. Now review these comments and ask yourself if you’d say that to a child. If you wouldnt, what would you say? Then practice those phrases.
Explore ways in which you do not show kindkess to yourself. This can look like not taking care of your vessle/body, ignoring your needs, allowing people to push your boundaries or having no boundaries. Again take note over a period of time where you self sabotage yourself and don’t do right by you. How might you be able to make small changes to improve this?
Think about a experiences of people that caused you hurt. Is there a way you can let this go? by holding on to painful experiences and emotions we keep ourselves tethered to them - this is not kindness to self.
In what ways could you be kinder within your external environment - think people, the earth, animals etc.
Embodying Ahimsa in Daily Life:
To embody Ahimsa more fully, we can start by cultivating mindfulness in our thoughts, words, and actions. Taking time for self-reflection and self-awareness allows us to identify areas where we can be more gentle, kind, and compassionate. Engaging in regular acts of service, volunteering, or supporting charitable causes amplifies Ahimsa in our communities and beyond. Engaging in practices such as meditation, yoga, and breathwork helps us cultivate inner peace and compassion, radiating it outwards. No matter where you are in your journey with regards to embodying ahimsa - do no berate yourself, for this goes against ahimsa! Acknowledge there are areas you would like to deepen this embodiment, and give yourself time and space to grow into it.
So to conclude, Ahimsa invites us to embrace non-violence and compassion as guiding principles in our lives. By actively embodying Ahimsa, we can create a ripple effect of kindness, empathy, and understanding in our relationships and the world. Let us commit to practicing Ahimsa in our thoughts, words, and actions, and may it become a transformative force that nurtures harmony, love, and respect in our lives and beyond.
If you would like to dive deeper into this subject, and receive support and guidance on how you could embody it more in your life - I offer a 1:1 mentoring service where we can explore all things rewiring limiting beliefs, mindset work, relationships, overcoming self doubt and imposter syndrome, moving past fear, all areas of healing, igniting confidence, self love, and growth, moving past attachments and traumas, and so much more.
I would honoured for you to allow me to listen to – and hold space for you to shift into place where you can finally embody your best and highest self, and live a life that’s rooted in alignment, fulfillment, peace, and love.
