On the Niyamas, Mental Health and Yoga with Dr Lauren Tober

In this third episode on Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga, we’re exploring the niyamas and how they can support mental health in our yoga teaching.While the last two episodes were on the yamas, on how we engage with the world, in this one, we turn inward to the niyamas, on how we relate to ourselves.We look at the five niyamas not as a self-improvement checklist or an impossible ideal to measure ourselves against, but as practical ways of tending our inner world with awareness, clarity and care.In this episode, we explore:Sauca as clarity rather than purity and how it shapes the spaces we teach in and the way we tend to our own inner worldWhy cleanliness and purity can quietly tip over into shame, and the importance of ahimsa Santosha, contentment, and why choosing it is a quietly radical actThe science of gratitude, and how it can help to down-regulate the nervous systemTapas, the inner fire, and why it is never about self-punishmentSvadhyaya, self-study, and the discernment that only you can make about when to push and when to restIsvarapranidhana, surrender, and making this niyama accessible for those for whom the language of God feels difficultHow the niyamas keep our practice and our teaching resourcing rather than depletingDownload the accompanying Patanjali’s Eight Limbs and Mental Health Aware Yoga ebook at https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/8limbs  Join the online Mental Health Aware Yoga training in September at https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/online Join the hybrid Mental Health Aware Yoga training today at https://www.mentalhealthawareyoga.com/hybrid This podcast is for general informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice or training. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional for personalised guidance or come and join one of our programs at the Yoga Psychology Institute for professional training. While we are grateful for our guests and sponsors, any statements, claims or endorsements made are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the Yoga Psychology Institute.