Vedic Lifestyle as per Ashtanga Yoga

There are many who believe that Yoga is all about Asana, Pranayama and Meditation, It actually is a greater thing.The?Ashtanga Yoga?describes it. Ashtanga Yoga as defined by?Maharshi Patanjali?gives the Eight Limbs of Yoga, which are:

1.?Yama: Describes how are behavior should be in the Society.

2.?Niyama: Describes the behaviour one should have with himself/herself.

3.?Asana: The physical exercises to strengthen our body and mind.

4.?Pranayama:?Breathing techniques for the same.

5.?Pratyahara: A bridge between the world outside and inside us.

6.?Dharana: Concentrating on an object, thinking of nothing else.

7.?Dhyana: Concentrating on nothing. Complete seize from thoughts.

8.?Samadhi: When a person even forgets about his/her own existence. The last stage of Yoga, not for the normal beings.

There are five Yamas described in Ashtanga Yoga. They are:

1.?Ahimsa?(Non- Violence): Mostly when we hear the word Non-violence we think it means that we shouldn't hurt someone physically. But in yoga it also means that we shouldn't even think or speak ill for someone.

2.?Satya?(Honesty): "Honesty is the best policy" (as we all know). Speaking the truth is important but hiding the truth by not speaking at all is also not recommended or remaining silent when someone else is lying (and you know) also counts as lying according to Yoga.

3.?Asteya?(Non-stealing): Never steal. Even someone's thoughts or ideas.

4.?Bhramacharya?(Conserving Energy): Brahmacharya is though of as abstaining from sexual pleasures to conserve energy but for normal people it can simply be conserving our energy as much as possible. Like by not

5.?Aparigraha?(Non collecting): Let go off things you don’t need and thoughts that bother you. Have only what’s useful and in amount needed.

The five Niyamas are:

1. Shauch?(Cleanliness): Keep your body (externally and internally) and mind clean. There are techniques like Jal Neti, Vaman Dhauti, etc for the same.
2. Santosh?(Contentment): Be content with what you have. Never desire for more unless needed.
3. Tapa?(Hard Work):?Give your 100% in whatever you do.
4. Swadhyay?(Self -reading): Know your true nature.
5. Ishwarpranidhana:?Leave everything to God. Don’t take credits for anything good that you do. Believe that everything happened with the will of God. This helps us to have a stable mind.

Now coming to the food. There are three kinds of food according to ancient hindu scriptures:

1. Sattvik: Whatever’s light, freshly prepared easily digestible and nutritious is considered as Sattvik food. This is the recommended diet in yoga.
2. Rajsik:?Heavy, not easily digestible food. It’s intake should be low or not at all as it’s not easily digestible and can cause stomach problems.
3. Tamsik:?Canned and processed food. Which may have chemicals in them. It’s intake is not suggested in Yoga.

We all know what’s good for health and what’s not. But the intake matters a lot too. We mostly tend to eat more than our body needs. Which should not happen. Also breakfast is the most important of all the meals and should never be skipped as the metabolism of our body is the highest in the morning and consuming food as early as posible will generate the most amount of energy. Breakfast should be the heaviest meal and dinner should be the lightest, as the body’s metabolic rate falls down throughout the day. It is also recommended that a person should not eat food after 7 PM.

Now, waking up early and sleeping early is always recommended by everyone. The best time to wake up is before sunrise. Waking up before sunrise charges the body upto it’s full potential and you’ll feel more energized. And a person should be asleep latest by 10, there should be a break of at least two hours after dinner and before sleep.