Satya: Embody Truth

Nov 5

Scroll to the end of the post for November’s Playlist!

November 2024 Focus

The Second Yama: Satya

Journey on the 8 Limb path

The first step in our yoga journey is Moral restraint. There are 5 Yamas, restraints, to live well. Restrain yourself from: violence, lies, theft, greed and excess. Fairly universal, but our yogic lens can help us dive deep and pursue transformation.

Satya is the second Yama of yoga after Ahimsa (Non-Harming). They work together, to be beneficial truth must also embody love. A truth that causes harm is not Satya. Truthfulness and integrity bring stability and anchoring into your life. This month we will explore the benefits of finding truth in thought word and deed.

“When we lie, the sages say, we disconnect from our higher self; our minds become confused, and we cannot trust ourselves.”

— -Irene (Aradhana) Petryszak

Lies,

even little white lies change us and pull at our integrity. I got into the habit of making us excuses for being late. Things that seemed more important than what had really held me up. My husband called me on it once, “-But Christine, we aren’t stuck in traffic, we just left late. Why lie?” I tried to explain that to me it felt more respectful to have an excuse, but even as I said it, I realized the real reason was to avoid judgment. Pausing, I saw how edgy even small lies make me feel. I apologized for my tardiness and confessed to my friend that it wasn’t traffic. My friend was understanding of my poor time management rather than judgmental. A weight lifted from my shoulders and I felt closer to them as a result. I can’t control how others react to me. Lies of convenience make assumptions about others that may not be true. If I had complained about the traffic there would have been commiseration, but potentially follow up questions, which road? Was there an accident? By telling the truth I avoided falling into more ‘white’ lies. Whether it’s a seemingly harmless lie or a whopper it always affects you. Being honest takes both bravery and vulnerability and it opens you up for deeper connection.

“Satya-pratiṣthāyāṁ kriyā-phala-āśrayatvam

To one established in truthfulness, actions and their results become subservient”

— Yogic Sutra 2.36

A different understanding of truth

While Sat means truth it means much more. Some other meanings

unchangeable
that which has no distortion
reality
pure essence

To think about Sat in this way is to consider what is true in all three periods of time, the past present and future. With a world in such flux there is only one thing at is True, unchangeable, infinite and we can call that God. You do not need to be any specific religion to follow Yoga or Satya. Yoga is not a religion, but a philosophy. I am a Christian and find a lot of meaning in seeking truth through the Christian lens of God. However, the yogic understanding of God is open ended and you may think of God, the universe, a higher power, a higher form of self or another religious understanding and still arrive at Satya. If you let your thoughts, words and actions hold to that which is unchanging, then the result of your actions are not chaos, but balance. “Actions and their results become subservient” is essentially the idea of manifesting, saying something to bring it into being. It isn’t a magical power, it is just a way of looking at the flow of time as a whole rather than the tiny part we are in now. So much of my life makes sense when I step back and see it from a distance. Take the long view of things now and they don’t seem as scary.

Following Truth

When you experience hardship try to see the Truth in the situation. So much is temporary. All hardships, challenges, illnesses, and arguments end. Knowing this can bring both a patient resilience to your life and an urgency to make the most of the time and opportunities we are given. Seek out what is unchanging in yourself, and follow the light of something higher within and all around you. Love justice and integrity are some of the results of following your inner light—your inner truth.

“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.”

— Mahatma Gandi

Let’s break these big ideas down. The embodiment of truth in our everyday lives is a skill that takes practice, just like anything else. Here are the same steps we used last month to practice Ahimsa, but this time we will focus on Satya.

Feel it all

To find your own truth, be real with yourself. If you want to be honest with the world be honest with yourself first. Notice when expectation, prejudice or denial keep you from perceiving your inner most self. Your experiences are valid. Take some time to be still so you can just be. Just being, you may notice and learn all kinds of things about yourself and what you need.

I am responsible for my body and my actions

Being truthful is being in harmony with yourself. If you say or do something that breaks that harmony find a new path, and repair any damage done along the way. Lying to yourself or others is a form of harm. WE practice ahimsa by apologizing and trying to make things right. When I know I’ve screwed up, sometimes I want to make excuses and down play the situation. I honor my truth by owning up to my mistakes and failures.

Ask for help when you need it

It’s a hundred year practice— take your time and ask for help, because we need each other. Our company and our environment have a lot to do with feeling safe in vulnerability and honesty. My husband is a great accountability buddy, like in the story above about white lying for convenience. My husband is my safe person that can call me on my bullsh*t. Therapy is another way that I get help to be real with myself. I have learned so much about my own illusions and filters in therapy. When my core beliefs about myself are not true or kind I need an outside person to help me see myself.

Take a deep Breath

Our pranayama and asana practices of yoga can help peel away the layers of untruth. Moving and breathing are great ways of cultivating that inner harmony that is Satya.