What is Satya? Yoga and Truthfulness

The 8 Limbs of Yoga

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, there are eight limbs of yoga. For the most part, in Western society, many people focus solely on the third limb of Asana (the yoga poses). However, there is so much more to yoga. From breathwork to meditation to the philosophy of treating ourselves and others, the eight limbs of yoga offer many ways to grow and work on ourselves.

The Yamas

The first limb of yoga is the yamas. Yamas translates to restraint, which is the restraint that we use when interacting with others and making good choices. There are five branches that make up the yamas. These include ahimsa (non-violence), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (temperance), and aparigraha (non-attachment). This blog will focus on the second of the yamas, Satya, and why it is so important to practice.

Satya

Satya is the practice of honesty, of not lying. We are taught from a young age that lying is wrong, but the practice of satya looks deeper into being truthful all around. This includes the little white lies we might tell others and even the ones we might tell ourselves. That's right! We sometimes lie to ourselves and don't even realize we are doing it. Are your thoughts truthful? Are your words honest?

Think about the last piece of gossip you heard. When you go on thinking about the same gossip afterward, you may be continuing the lie in your mind. If you don't know with absolute certainty that it is true, and you choose to believe it anyway, this is not practicing satya.

Practicing Satya

Sometimes, satya involves the benefit of the doubt, the consideration of whether or not what you are hearing is the absolute truth. It is important to ask ourselves, "Is this true?" We can also ask, "Am I sure this is true?

Now, think about how often you say mean things to yourself. When you are down on yourself and call yourself names, even this is lying. The angry things we might mumble towards ourselves can give us the wrong idea about who we are and teach us lies.

Now, think about when someone asks how you are doing. Have you ever said, "I'm fine," without meaning it? Have you ever had a day where you truly weren't fine and said you were anyway? Did you know that even this is not practicing satya?

We all have moments where we mess up, but what is important is to realize when this happens. Ask yourself if your words and thoughts hold the absolute truth. The yamas are restraints for a reason. It takes time to build awareness of how we act within our lives and what we can do to keep growing.

Start your practice and take it day by day. You are deserving of the absolute, divine truth.