By JACCI GRUNINGER, MS, C-IATY, ERYT500
Los Alamos

Just in time for the holidays! Bramacharya is the perfect Yama to consider during the whirlwind giving season.

Like the other Yamas, Bramacharya has many layered meanings. The literal translation is “walking like or towards Brahma”. In the Hindu tradition, Brahma is the creator.

This translation is about doing everything in your power to lead yourself to your higher power or the creator. It required strict adherence to rules, practices and self-study. One of these rules was celibacy so students of yoga would conserve their sexual energy to further themselves on their yogic path.

A more modern interpretation is the right use or conservation of energy.

The right use of our energy should bring us great peace, contentment and happiness.

How we use and conserve our energy influences everything we do. We can apply this concept to all aspects of our lives including our sexual energy. Anything done with excess can contribute to low or unbalanced energy: what we eat, our relationships, thoughts, and our actions.

In the Tantric Hatha Yoga Tradition, we use our practice to enhance our level of aliveness. Realistically, anything that we do that increases our life force or our prana could be considered yoga.

You might enjoy hiking and find it creates a level of aliveness for you – that is yoga. Everything we do requires energy management and the practice of yoga is about energy management.

To work with Bramacharya, we must first witness, watch and discover how our choices impact our energy. You might want to ask yourself, “how am I expending my energy?” Do you spend a lot of time worried or stressed? Do you try to make yourself someone you are not? Are you always busy?

Next, we need to be aware of the habit. For example, let’s take the idea of being busy. In our society it has become the norm to say we are busy. What if you recognized that you wanted to be less busy? You could start by answering the question, “how are you?” differently.

If you wanted to be less busy, maybe you could answer the question with, “I’m finding space to breathe and be with myself” or “I am letting go of doing so much.” Imagine the reaction you would get! We also need to be flexible, knowing that sometimes we will be depleted by something we are doing or not doing.

What if before any decision you could just pause and ask, “Is this energy building or depleting”? If we do something that depletes our energy it is important not to get angry or upset but rather to be kind and gentle and invite ourselves back to moderation and to try again next time.

Daily Practice:

• Respect your energy;
• Balance the physical and mental concentration needed for the proper holding of a pose; and
• Serve your inner Spirit as opposed to your ego.

Jacci Gruninger is a Certified Yoga Therapist and Thai Yoga Massage Therapist. She has been teaching for more than two decades and spent 12 of those years training yoga teachers for the Pranakriya School of Yoga Healing Arts. She regularly helps clients manage the ups and downs of life with yoga, meditation, breathwork and bodywork.

Her office is at 190 Central Park Square #212. For her in person and online teaching schedule and information on other services, visit www.yogawithjacci.com.