this week’s offering is a ~18 minute heart opener asana practice focused on asteya, the principle of non-stealing. you can jump right into practice with the video above.
as per usual, this post also includes background on the principle, my reflections on applying it, and a few notes on the video.
under WEEK 3 PRACTICE, you’ll find a practice guide and reflection.
YAMA 3: ASTEYA
asteya is a sanskrit word that combines [steya] which means thieving or stealing, and [a] a negative qualifier, non. together: non-stealing.
when i think of this principle i can’t help but think of my time in the toddler room. those low shelves and windows and the fifteen or so tiny humans with their big heads and stubby legs marching around claiming the world. and us teachers hovering and swooping and attempting to tame them. i can’t help but think of springtime when life started pressing up all around us on the playground and the toddlers—so easily overcome—would grab at the flowers, roots and dirt and all, and hold them in their hot little fists.
to know what is not ours we must know what is. the first boundary we all have to learn is the boundary of self. where do i start? where do i end?
as with most principles, the more you dig the deeper you go. on the surface, asteya instructs us to not take what is not ours. to avoid the acute physical act of stealing.
a layer deeper, this principle can be applied to time and energy. it offers lessons on how not to drain resources from others that were not offered to us. when is it our turn to share? our turn to listen?
asteya also calls upon us to apply satya, our honesty, and question—of the things that are ours, what do we truly need? are we hoarding resources to ourselves that should be shared with others? are we taking more than we can use?
are we greedy in our relationships? do we take hostages? do we smother or hold so tightly that we allow no room for the living things around us to grow? do we know what it means to give freely?
[video notes]
i’m very new to making asynchronous yoga videos, some funny/awkward things you may notice:
-i look like i have T-Rex arms when i do backbends in Sun A
-my eyes are weirdly open in savasana a lot (didn’t realize you could see my eyes)
-music/cues/syncing are all a work in progress
as always, i love feedback on how to make these practices work in the best ways possible for you, so please feel free to comment/email/reach out with suggestions <3
WEEK 3 PRACTICE: ASTEYA
heart opener asana practice
why heart openers?
taking - holding - grasping - grabbing / giving - letting go - releasing - surrender
asteya is a practice of balancing forces—we open our hearts to learn what we have to give and accept what we need. to to take stock. to settle our selves, bodies, lives.
focusing on our opening the heart allows us to become grounded and secure. to trust ourselves to know what is ours and what is not. to unblock fear and resentments. when we are honest in this accounting we can give generously and receive graciously.
practice guide
this is a 18-minute flow that begins with some dynamic poses to wake up the spine followed by a series of statically held heart openers.
if you have a bolster or pillows or blocks you can grab those and set them toward the back of your mat so they are ready for you.
as always, what i offer is only a guide, a suggestion. please adapt poses and pace to match your body and your breath as they are today.
settle in, we’ll begin together lying on our mats.
/reflection
in this week’s offering of words, “This Room and Everything in It” Li-Young Lee writes:
I am letting this room
and everything in it
stand for my ideas about love
and its difficulties.
as you reflect on asteya this week, as yourself: what ideas about love and its difficulties do the things in my life stand for?
when i am gone how will the artifacts of my life represent who i was? who i was not?
what about my relationships? the remnants of those unruly entanglements i built and tended?
if i melted into the ground right now what unfinished business would i leave behind?
[yama series]