OUR GUIDELINES & PRINCIPLES

The AYS Wellbeing Foundation has its origins in traditional yoga, based on ancient knowledge and respects the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as the guidelines for our ethical and moral principles. 

The practice of yoga is at its core the science of wellbeing, and therefore it is our commitment to practice all eight limbs of yoga. 

This gives us the balance to have knowledge and understanding in all areas of life, Dharma (purpose), Artha (duty), Sama (pleasure) and Moksha (freedom), as they are known in ancient scriptures.

The classical eight limbs of yoga are Yamas, Niyamas, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi:

Yamas

Yamas are restraints to work with for achieving the clarity and simplicity needed for good governance.   They deal with ethical standards and a sense of integrity: 

~Kindness (ahimsa): limiting harm to others and ourselves by not being overly critical

~Truthfulness (satya): being compassionate in our words, present for others and honouring what they are going through and not judge while still standing up for what you believe in

~Honesty (astheya) in where we stand, knowing that everyone and everything has a value 

~Acknowledge balanced living (brahmacharya) with higher awareness, and accept that we are working on ourselves for a greater good

~Believe in abundance (aparigraha) and keep only what is of service and benefit, and not be controlling in our approach.

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Niyamas

Niyamas are observances and recommendations for self-reflection, and are an essential part of integrated thinking for business and in personal life:

~Clarity of mind or a cleanliness (Saucha) in a stable workspace is linked to the ability to release old accumulations, before habits are formed, to get on and get the task done. 

~Contentment (Santosha) is the indication that all is well, being happy with your purpose and surrendering to the outcome.  

~Austerities (Tapas) are the mental and physical restrictions to get our priorities right and focus on our opportunity. 

~Self-Study (Svadhyaya) is to recollect the self and practice the yamas and niyamas and learn to recognise when you are in harmony with your goals and when you are unconsciously acting counter to them.

~Self-surrender (Ishvara Pranidhana) is the act of giving ourselves to a higher purpose.

Asana

Asana, the yoga postures, are meant to reduce the quality of turbulence that disturbs the mind. The practice of Asana can be seen as the fundamental preparatory work for Pranayama (breath and the movement of energy), Pratyahara (turning within) or Dharana (concentration) practice because it helps to settle the prana (body energy).

Dhyana is meditation, which when regularly practiced gives us awareness of ourselves, which leads to Samadhi in union with the divine.