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The Yamas - Asteya: Non-Stealing From Yourself & Others

asteya/nonstealing the eight limbs of yoga the yamas

You Are & Have Enough

“To one established in non-stealing, all wealth comes.” – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra II.37

Asteya / NonStealing, is another one of the the Yamas - five concepts, within the 1st Limb of Yoga / within the 8 Limbs of Yoga - that helps us deepen our relationship with the external world.

Asteya encourages us to reduce the amount of thoughts, words, actions, energy, ideas, things, experiences, etc. we MAY be intentionally or unintentionally using to excessively take from ourselves, others and the planet.

You might be thinking..."Why would we take more than we need"?

In this blog, I will be sharing everything you need to know about Asteya/ NonStealing - the 3rd Yama, within the 1st Limb of Yoga - and how you can use it to improve your life.

Brief Yoga History: Yoga Sutras + 8 Limbs of Yoga

The true meaning of Yoga is the union of body, mind, soul, and spirit to reduce suffering.

According to the practice, we often suffer because of not knowing our true Self and the illusion of separation of our individual consciousness from Universal Consciousness.

So taking a step back... where do the Yamas come from?

The five Yamas are the 1st Limb of Yoga, within the 8 Limbs of Yoga, which are 30+ concepts that come from the Yoga Sutras.

If you'd like to dive deeper into the other Limbs, I have written the additional blogs below so far:

1st Limb of Yoga - The Yamas

2nd Limb of Yoga - The Niyamas

3rd Limb of Yoga - Asana

4th Limb of Yoga - Pranayama

5th Limb of Yoga - Pratyahara

6th Limb of Yoga - Dharana

7th Limb of Yoga - Dhyana

8th Limb of Yoga - Samadhi

The Yoga Sutras contain 196 verses, which discuss the aim of yoga and how you strive for freedom, liberation and self-realization - the 8th Limb of Yoga, also called Samadhi.

The Yoga Sutras were transcribed by a man (and most likely many of his colleagues and students) named Patanjali, presumably from India, estimated to have lived between 2nd century BCE to 4th century CE, and act as a practical guide to assist you on your journey of remembering the ultimate union.

According to the Sutras, beginning the pursuit of self-realization is the most significant step in life – as they make us aware of our pitfalls and how to overcome them.

Why would we take more than we need?

Yoga philosophy says this type of thinking, speaking and behavior happens when we are experiencing thoughts and feelings of:

Lack
Not Enough
Incompetence
Emptiness
Incomplete

Basically this boils down to feeling like there’s something missing. So how do we start to feel more complete?

Practice the opposite.

How to feel content with what the present moment is offering

The word yoga means ‘to yoke’, ‘unite’, ‘connect’, or essentially to become ‘whole’.

So by using the study and embodiment of yoga philosophy and practice of yoga poses, breathwork, reducing attachment to the 5 senses, concentration techniques/ active meditation and passive meditation, we are assisting our bodies, minds and emotions to move further towards feeling united.

When these parts of us are united, this is the key to thinking, speaking and feeling as though we ARE enough and that we HAVE enough in the present moment.

Why is this important?

When we feel like we ARE enough (beautiful, handsome, healthy, happy, etc) and HAVE enough (money, food, water, shelter, air, friendships, material items) the the present moment becomes a great place to be and we reduce the time we spend regretting the past and worrying about the future.

We find peace and we become free.

“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you.” - Lao Tzu

So how do we practice Asteya/ NonStealing?

We begin by practicing on our mats.

Our bodies, breath, thoughts and emotions on the mat (in a public yoga class or on our own) are a direct example of our embodiment of yoga, it's philosophy and the union it desperately wants us to experience.

Once we establish a consistent practice on the mat, it then becomes easier to allow the concepts to seap into the moments of our every day lives.

Examples of practicing Asteya ON & OFF your mat include:

ON The Mat:

Focus on yourself and how you are feeling in each pose
Focus on the quality of your breath...slow, long and deep, or short and shallow?
Reduce comparing your practice to anyone else’s. You have no idea how long they have been practicing, how often or other sports and activities that might have assisted them
Set some goals for your practice that have nothing to do with the poses. If you want to do a handstand, great, but you might think about why? Conquering a fear, you are taking advantage of the benefits of being upside down and reverse blood flow, you want to feel stronger, you want to acquire a new skill? The journey to a handstand can have some amazing benefits to your daily life as well. Think of your yoga practice as a metaphor for life. It's a life practice.

OFF The Mat:

Reduce comparing yourself to others
Reduce not feeling worthy enough
Reduce being fearful of trying something new
Listen more, reduce talking at people, and converse more
Reduce persuading yourself or others with negative intentions
Reduce jealousy and stealing time, attention, opportunities, acknowledge your own and others successes
Reduce stealing from the planet and future generations by using more resources than you need, or buying more than you need
Create equal respect of ourselves and others
Reduce stealing our own happiness by clinging to the fear, doubt or worry or living too much in the past or future

Benefits of practicing Asteya/ NonStealing:

Increased Self Awareness - When you’re able to take note of when and how you could be stealing/ taking more than you need in everyday life, you’re automatically improving your ability to exercise self-awareness.
Boost Gratitude - Taking inventory of what you have will help you understand the magnitude of “blessings” around you that perhaps go unacknowledged in the everyday hustle.
Creates More Space (Mental and Physical) - When you let go of the things that you don’t need (possessions, limiting thoughts) you create space for the Universe to provide you with more of what you desire.

Additional benefits include:

Exudes vibrations of love and peace
Increases willpower and acceptance
Generates mental fortitude
Cultivates courage and confidence
Helps to overcome anger, fears and insecurities
Expands our sense of belonging and purpose
Improves our relationships with the self and with others
Increases patience, compassion, empathy, communication
Reduces conflict and stress which helps to achieve peace of mind

Mantra and Active Meditation Technique for Asteya

The Lakshmi mantra to cultivate more thoughts, words and actions of abundance and prosperity in our lives.

Om Namo Lakshmi - The eternal source-sound-vibration of creation, to honor or solute, Goddess of wealth, love, prosperity (both material and spiritual), good fortune, and the embodiment of beauty.
Prema Devi Mataji - Love, Goddess, Mother, ji" is used at the end of a name to show respect, similar to adding "Shri" before a name.
Sri Ma Jaya Ma Jaya Jaya Ma
Options include:

Sit or lay down and say or sing mantra silently or out loud.

Could wear Mala beads and move fingers along beads for each verse.

Listen HERE and sing with music

Conclusion

Would you like to start embodying these amazing concepts to enhance your life and the lives around you?

Check out my 8 Limbs Yoga Tribe!

This is where you get access to weekly virtual classes and recordings, ability to request NEW videos anytime, discounts on in-person classes, events and retreats, community and support.