The Yamas and How They Relate to Pet Ownership
The Eight Limbs of Yoga lay out a clear path to rid ourselves of the ignorance that limits us from uniting the body and mind to find our true soul. It is our soul that our animal counterparts connect to, for this is who they know us to be. When you follow the path of yoga and find the deepest meaning of who you are, you truly can be who your pet thinks you are, see yourself from their perspective, and gain the knowledge to grow your relationship together. This will increase confidence and impulse control while reducing anxiety and indecisiveness for all souls involved, regardless of their species. The Yamas are the First Limb of Yoga, so they are the first aspect of the practice that I want to dive into.
The Yamas are a list of 5 values to strive for as a human along the path of Yoga, and they offer guidance on how to interact with others, making the first limb the perfect place to start our journey of connecting with our animals on a deeper level. The Yamas of Yoga are Ahisma, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya, and Aparigraha.
Ahimsa asks us to live a life intentionally avoiding committing pain unto other souls. This answers a controversial question about how we hold our pets accountable for poor choices in a very obvious way. To avoid inflicting violence on our animal counterparts, we must avoid corporal punishment, but we must still look deeper. Much like us, our animals are more than a body, and that means that they can experience violence on a mental and emotional level as well. We must watch our animals and study their body language so that we can see what harms their soul. Our goal is to reach a symbiotic relationship with our animals so that we can develop a completely beneficial relationship while keeping their spirit intact. Nonviolence is like a magnet… When teach kindness through our actions, anger and frustration are put to peace, and our pupil finds the value in Ahisma as well. As stated in Yoga Sutra 2.35, अहिंसाप्रतिष्ठायं तत्सन्निधौ वैरत्याघः , ahiṃsāpratiṣṭhāyaṃ tatsannidhau vairatyāghaḥ, Once firmly established in non-violence, all hostilities cease.
Satya encourages truthfulness when communicating with others. Yoga sutra 2.36 states, सत्यप्रतिष्थायं क्रियाफलाश्रयत्वम् ॥३६॥, Satyapratiṣṭhāyāṃ kriyāphalāśrayatvam, when established in truthfulness, the words bear fruit. This is perfectly demonstrated in building constructive communication with our pets. When we are completely honest, perfectly consistent, always do what we say, it becomes a simple matter of observation for our animal counterparts to learn our behaviors and language. In doing so, they learn to respond. If we adhere to the first Yama, Ahimsa, they begin to reciprocate because doing good feels good. When our pets get both the external validation of praise and the internal validation of good vibes from within us, they are more likely to repeat the behavior. Therefore, if we can make our values clear through Satya, our animal counterparts will fulfill our will. For example, if my dog barks at the window every time someone passes by, and I don’t want that to happen, I need to be truthful about my role in the situation. My dog is clearly expressing anxiety, and if I let her work it out herself, she might figure out on her own that what she sees isn’t scary, or she might create a connection with the scary thing leaving and her barking. I’m not a dog trainer, so I won’t speculate as to which is more likely, but the fact that we have no guarantee over the outcome reveals the truth - ignoring the problem isn’t helping our pet. If instead I take the time to decide what I wish that my dog did when she felt afraid, I allow myself to be honest with myself about both the situation and my choices, and I can choose a path that reflects my values. For me, that would be guiding her away from the trigger and asking her to lie down with me wherever I was before she started barking. This is a way of using my actions to say, “Let’s try this again,” so that she understands that the behavior that I interrupted is undesirable, and snuggling is the right way to deal with that particular situation. Eventually, she learns to express anxiety by lying close to me. In this lay-down position, her body language really shows through because every movement stands out against the mass of her still body. This is her being completely truthful with me, expressing her fears and concerns. If I were to pretend everything is fine, ignoring her truth, I would be disrespecting our relationship and being dishonest with myself about the situation, which could lead to my dog feeling the need to be more boisterous again. Instead, I tell her how good she is and look in the direction that she is looking, trying to identify the trigger. When I do, I can address her concern and tell her, “I’m not worried about it,” in a confident and soothing voice so that she can feel the peace and ease that I am trying to project to my animal companion. If every choice you make when it comes to your animal counterpart reflects your values and is true to who you are, your pet will feel the clarity in your thoughts and follow your lead.
Asteya means “not stealing,” and the Sutras say, अस्तेयप्रतिष्ठायां सर्वरत्नोपस्थानम्, asteyapratiṣṭhāyāṃ sarvaratnopasthānam, where asteya is established, all gems come. When we relate this to our relationship with our pets, there are many things that we can look at. First is respect; are we respecting our animal, ourselves, and the relationship of our souls? When we treat our animals with respect we recognize their emotional and mental needs as well as their physical wellness requirements, without doting unnecessarily in a way that would cause harm and hinder their ability to live a life of confidence. We can also look at resources and needs; are we meeting our animals’ needs in a way that also meets our own? If we are not but have the ability to, we are preventing a soul from having their needs met, which is stealing. Animals of all species need food, exercise, mental stimulation, affection, space, and sleep. Are we aware of how much our animal and ourselves need of each health requirement and spending our time fulfilling both of our needs? When we find enriching ways to keep ourselves active, rested, and well-nourished, we bring the importance of these needs to the forefront of our minds, which allows us to create a more enriching life for our pets by including them in these thoughts. If you are conscious of making sure your pet eats a vet-balanced recipe, you are likely to eat well and reap the benefits of balanced nutrition yourself. If you are always finding new ways to keep your pet engaged with games and learning activities, you are also getting the benefits of mental stimulation. If you set structured naptimes for your pet and work or do calm activities during these times, you benefit from life-work balance and are also likely to rest well at night by using your stillness to communicate bedtime (lack of activity aka fun times) to your pet as they rest in their usual nighttime sleeping spot.
Brahmacharya is the embodiment of celibacy, and all that it represents. The Yoga Sutras say, ब्रह्मचर्य प्रतिष्ठायां वीर्यलाभः, brahmacarya pratiṣṭhāyāṃ vīryalābhaḥ, when celibacy is established, vigor is gained. This Yama teaches moderation in the energy that we exert on others. When we save our energy and the essence of our being, we allow ourselves to look within for happiness rather than depending on outside influences. Our relationships with our pets are a perfect way to practice this ideal. It’s easy for us to lose ourselves in pet ownership, tending to every perceived need and actual whim that we determine our animals to have because though animals require a lot of sleep, but they also need enrichment during their waking hours. It’s up to their caretaker to teach the animal how to determine when they should be resting. If we give into our pets’ every desire, they don’t get enough sleep, and we both end up burnt out, and the capability for rational thinking is diminished for both species. Whereas, when we exercise our bodies and minds alongside our pets to the point of fulfillment and then stop, practicing self-restraint and moderation, we both benefit from a proper balance of rest and working energy. Since animals need much more sleep than humans, a symbiotic lifestyle would show human applying their vigor to advancing their self-study or life’s work while their animal counterpart gets additional rest.
Another way to practice bramacharya in our animal-assisted yoga practice is to understand its place in impulse control. These rules are designed by and for humans, and they can help us relate to our animal counterparts. Sometimes humans lose control of their sex drive or other impulses, and their actions lead to harm and discomfort to other people. Sometimes our animals are overstimulated and lose control over their impulses, whether that is in the form of an attack, unwanted vocalization (like barking unnecessarily), or unproductive physical engagement (like humping when not purposefully breeding). The more we offer guidance in these situations while remaining established in ahimsa, satya, and asteya, the more we teach our animals how to productively function and thrive in a human’s world while developing a deeper understanding of our own undesirable or overbearing impulses.
Aparigraha means nonhoarding. There are many translations for the Sutra’s guidance on the matter, so we will take this one word by word. Yoga Sutra 2.39 says, “अ"परिग्रहस्थैर्ये जन्मकथंता संबोधः, aparigrahasthairye janmakathaṃtā saṃbodhaḥ, nonhoarding-settled birth-why(and now) clear understanding. This is one of those times where understanding the language of the original text is especially helpful because although most translations provide the same general idea, the truest meaning of the words comes from the heart of the individual. In Animal-Assisted Yoga, we will put this in perspective of the birth of our relationship with our animal counterpart. What brought these souls together to share a path through life? As we reach a stillness to see our own soul and experience who we really are the way our animals do, we see the light in one another and see why this animal, this soul is meant to be with you in this time. The final Yama to complete the first limb of animal-assisted yoga explains how to accomplish that. By being settled in a state of non-hoarding, by rejecting greed.
What is greedy and what is necessary varies between all humans and all animals, but living in excess feels different than taking what you need no matter who you are, and doing so is ultimately not beneficial for anyone involved. When we have resources that tell us specifically what our animals need, we can easily abide by that, and doing otherwise is not healthy for our animals, making it a show of greed on our part since we are in control of their lives. When we want to interact with our animals in a way that we don’t need to, and that interaction hinders the ability for them to meet or learn their needs, we are showing greed. For example, my dog is adorable when she is sleeping, and it is so hard not to go over and snuggle her, but doing so limits both the amount of sleep she gets and the likelihood of her wanting to relax later. Since her body needs way more sleep than mine does, I should use that time to focus on my own needs that don’t overlap with hers.
These Yamas are meant to be the fundamental rules of yoga. The first thing on your checklist of understanding the practice. The way we treat others, especially our loved ones, partners, and teammates, is the foundation for who we are, the person we build, and it reveals the soul within us all. I like to say, “Kindness counts,” and my mama always told me, “You can spread a lot more happiness with a smile than a frown.” These are the things we must remember above all else. Treat each soul you encounter with respect, including animals and yourself.
