The 5 Yamas of Yoga: Meaning, Sutras and How to Practise Them
The yamas are the five ethical restraints that open the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (restraint of the senses, traditionally celibacy) and aparigraha (non-grasping). They describe how you treat other people and the world around you. Patanjali lists them in Yoga Sutra 2.30 and calls them a "great vow" that holds everywhere and at all times.
What does yama mean?
Yama (यम) is Sanskrit for restraint, control or a rein, the kind that holds back a horse. The plural in English is usually "yamas". The word comes from the root yam, to hold in or to check. In Hindu mythology Yama is also the name of the god of death, the one who "restrains" all beings. The two uses share the root, and the yoga meaning is the plain one: things you hold yourself back from doing.
The yamas are the first of the eight limbs, ashtanga in Sanskrit (ashta, eight, and anga, limb), which Patanjali lists in Yoga Sutra 2.29. The second limb is the five niyamas, the observances that deal with how you treat yourself. The third is asana, the physical posture. For the whole map, read our guide to the 8 limbs of yoga.
The five yamas at a glance
- Ahimsa (अहिंसा): a (not) + himsa (harm, violence). Non-harming, in action, speech and thought.
- Satya (सत्य): from sat, that which is. Truthfulness.
- Asteya (अस्तेय): a (not) + steya (stealing). Non-stealing, which includes wanting what belongs to someone else.
- Brahmacharya (ब्रह्मचर्य): brahma (the absolute) + charya (conduct, walking). Literally "conduct that leads toward Brahman". Traditionally celibacy, today often read as moderation of the senses.
- Aparigraha (अपरिग्रह): a (not) + parigraha (grasping, taking on all sides). Non-possessiveness, not collecting more than you need.
Ahimsa: non-harming
Ahimsa comes first on the list, and the oldest commentary on the Sutras, attributed to Vyasa, treats it as the root of the other four: the rest exist to protect it. Non-harming covers what you do, what you say and what you wish on others. Patanjali also names the ways harm happens: done yourself, caused through someone else, or approved of when others do it (Sutra 2.34).
On the mat, ahimsa is the easiest yama to feel. It is the moment you back out of a stretch that has turned sharp, or skip a pose your knee does not like today. Off the mat, it is a harsh remark you decide not to send. Sutra 2.35 says that when a person is firmly established in non-harming, hostility falls away in their presence. Read more in our post on ahimsa (non-harming).
Try this: for one class, notice how you talk to yourself in the hardest pose. Change one sentence.
Satya: truthfulness
Satya asks that your words match what you know to be true, and that your actions match your words. Because it sits after ahimsa, the tradition reads it with a condition attached: a truth told only to wound fails the first yama. Commentators describe truthful speech as speech that is accurate, kind and useful at the same time.
Sutra 2.36 says that for someone grounded in truthfulness, actions bear the fruit they aim for. Our post on satya and Yoga Sutra 2.36 goes through the verse line by line.
Try this: before you say yes to something, ask whether you mean it. A clear no is also satya.
Asteya: non-stealing
The obvious meaning is do not take what is not yours. The tradition widens it to include the wish to take: envy of someone else's things, position or life. Modern teachers stretch it further to time and attention, for example arriving late and taking the time of people who waited. That reading is a modern extension, and a useful one.
Sutra 2.37 says that to the person established in non-stealing, all jewels come. Commentators read it both literally and as a picture of contentment: when you stop wanting what others have, you notice what you already hold. Read more about asteya (non-stealing).
Try this: in class, stop comparing your pose with the person on the next mat. Look at your own feet.
Brahmacharya: restraint of the senses
This is the yama people argue about most. In Patanjali's time, and for monks and nuns in Indian traditions today, brahmacharya means celibacy. It is also the name for the student stage of life in classical Hindu thought, a period of study without marriage. Sutra 2.38 says that by establishing brahmacharya you gain virya, vigour or strength.
Most modern yoga teachers, starting with T.K.V. Desikachar and B.K.S. Iyengar in the 20th century, read it for householders as moderation: fidelity in relationships and not letting any sense pleasure run your life. Both readings are in use. Our post on brahmacharya: meaning and how to practise it sets them side by side.
Try this: pick one habit that eats your energy, scrolling or a third coffee, and leave it out for a week.
Aparigraha: non-grasping
Parigraha means taking hold on all sides. Aparigraha is the opposite: not hoarding, not taking gifts that bind you, not clinging to what you have. Where asteya is about what belongs to others, aparigraha is about your hold on what is yours. Many teachers apply it to ideas too, such as a fixed picture of how your practice should look or how far you should fold.
Sutra 2.39 says that when non-grasping is firm, you come to understand the how and why of your own birth. It is one of the more mysterious lines in the text, and translations differ. Read more in aparigraha, non-greed.
Try this: give away one thing you have not used in a year.
How to practise the yamas
Patanjali gives one method himself. When a harmful thought comes up, cultivate its opposite: pratipaksha bhavana (Sutra 2.33). If you catch yourself wanting to snap at someone, bring to mind the reason you care about them. Sutra 2.34 explains why: harmful thoughts lead to endless suffering and ignorance, whoever acts on them.
A few practical ways in:
- One yama a week. Five weeks, one lens at a time. Write down one moment each evening where it came up.
- Start on the mat. Class is a small, safe place to watch yourself: pushing past pain (ahimsa), pretending a pose is fine when it is not (satya), comparing (asteya).
- Read the source. The yamas take up about ten short verses, Sutras 2.30 to 2.39. Read them in two or three translations and see where they differ. Our post on what a sutra is explains the form.
You do not need to be perfect at the first limb before you roll out a mat. Most teachers today see the limbs as practised side by side, not climbed like a ladder.
Where sources disagree
A strict vow or a direction to walk in? Sutra 2.31 calls the yamas a mahavrata, a great vow, not limited by birth, place, time or circumstance. That is strict language. Many modern teachers present the yamas as values to grow into. Both are fair readings. The strict one is closer to the text, and the gentle one is closer to how most people use it.
Brahmacharya: celibacy or moderation? The text and its classical commentators mean sexual abstinence. The moderation reading is a 20th-century adaptation for students with families and jobs. It is widespread, and it is newer than the Sutras.
Five yamas or ten? Patanjali lists five. The Shandilya Upanishad and some later hatha texts list ten, adding qualities such as kshama (patience), daya (compassion), arjava (straightforwardness), dhriti (steadiness) and mitahara (moderate eating). If you meet a list of ten, it comes from that later tradition.
Only yoga? The same five vows, under the same names, are the great vows of Jain monks and nuns, and the Buddhist precepts overlap. Scholars still discuss who influenced whom. What is clear is that Patanjali drew on an ethics shared across Indian traditions of his time.
Do the results in Sutras 2.35 to 2.39 happen literally? Some traditional readers say yes. Others read them as descriptions of how a person who lives these values is met by others. No study measures jewels arriving, and we do not claim they will.
What we can say with confidence: the yamas are Patanjali's list, they come first for a reason, and they deal with conduct toward others. The rest is interpretation, and the interpretations are worth reading side by side.
If you want to read the Sutras with a teacher, start with our introduction to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, or browse the yoga philosophy classes.
Frequently asked questions
What are the yamas in yoga?
The yamas are the five ethical restraints that form the first of the eight limbs of yoga in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (2.30): ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacharya (restraint of the senses) and aparigraha (non-grasping).
What does yamas mean?
In yoga, yama is Sanskrit for restraint or control, from the root yam, to hold in. Yamas are the things a yogi restrains from. In Greek, "yamas" (short for stin ygeia mas, "to our health") is a toast meaning cheers. The two words are unrelated.
What is the difference between yamas and niyamas?
The yamas are restraints that deal with how you treat others and the world. The niyamas, the second limb, are observances that deal with how you treat yourself: cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-study and surrender to Ishvara.
Which yama is the most important?
Ahimsa, non-harming. It comes first on Patanjali's list, and the classical commentary attributed to Vyasa says the other four yamas exist to support it. Truthfulness, for example, should not be used to cause harm.
Do I have to be celibate to practise brahmacharya?
In the classical texts brahmacharya means celibacy, and monastic traditions still keep it that way. Most modern teachers read it for householders as moderation and fidelity. Which reading you follow is your choice. The text itself is clear about the original meaning.
Are there five or ten yamas?
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras list five. Some later texts, such as the Shandilya Upanishad, list ten, adding qualities like patience, compassion, straightforwardness, steadiness and moderate eating.
Do I have to master the yamas before practising asana?
No. Most teachers today treat the eight limbs as practised together. Many students first meet ahimsa on the mat, when they learn to stop before a stretch turns painful.
