The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga's Ethical Practice Paperback – September 1, 2009

The Yamas & Niyamas: Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Practice is a beautifully written and insightful book that delves into the moral and ethical principles of yoga in a way that is both accessible and deeply transformative. Rather than focusing solely on physical postures, this book explores the philosophical foundation of yoga, offering guidance on how to integrate these principles into daily life.The author presents each Yama (social ethics) and Niyama (self-discipline) with clarity, real-life examples, and reflective exercises, making the teachings relatable and practical. It’s not just about reading—it’s about applying these principles to cultivate mindfulness, compassion, and inner growth.Whether you’re a yoga practitioner, teacher, or someone on a personal journey of self-discovery, this book is an essential read. It encourages deep reflection, personal growth, and a more conscious way of living. Highly recommended for anyone looking to bring the wisdom of yoga beyond the mat!

I feel I can move through the world with more kindness and ease after reading this book. It’s a great book for all, and an excellent resource for anyone who wishes to cultivate greater peace within themselves and in their relationships with others. Even those with little to no interest in yoga could gain something from this read, as the teachings and philosophy are applicable to many aspects of every day life.

This book is a thoughtful, well-written exploration of yoga’s ethical principles. Each chapter dives deeply into concepts like mindfulness, compassion, and balance, offering practical advice for integrating them into everyday life. While some parts are a bit repetitive, the insights are powerful and resonate long after reading. Highly recommended for anyone wanting a deeper connection to their yoga practice!

Great addition. Loved reading this and will refer back often. I thought I lost this book and almost ordered another copy I love it so much!! It is written in a way that it is easily applicable and impactful. I also read books on stoicism, and mindset.

In my opinion, this is the best and most important book on yoga to be released in a long time. Why? Because the ten yamas and niyamas -as specified by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras- are at the core of yoga and (I believe) essential for real personal growth. And yet they are given cursory treatment by many if not most yoga teachers in the west, who seem unaware of the subtle facets and profound qualities of these "jewels." And they are ignored by many of today's mental health professionals, who seem unaware that modern psychotherapeutic approaches are embedded in yoga's prescriptions for "ethical" practice of restraints and observances. Somebody really needed to write a book on this! And I must say, Deborah Adele really delivers the goods.Take for instance, Adele's chapter on Satya (truthfulness, honesty). It is a work of art in its own right, offering the wisdom and clarity one needs to liberate powerful forces within oneself. In this chapter, Adele includes the sensible yet unusual insights of Carl Jung, Yogiraj Achala, and Mahatma Gandhi, among others, along with her own hands-on understanding. In the process, Adele addresses, for all of us, the fear (dangerousness) involved with being completely truthful, the differences between "Nice" and "Real," the epic partnership between truth (satya) and nonviolence (ahimsa), and the value of conducting our own Gandhi-esque "experiments" in truth.There is so much more to this chapter than the glimpse I've given here, but I hope I've communicated the fact that this chapter (and the book as a whole) has great depth and breadth. It is evident that Adele has immersed herself in the yamas and niyamas, emerging with lessons, teachings, and insights that could be of value to anyone. Highly recommended. I learned plenty.The author's website provides lots of useful supplementary material, including some excellent video overviews, radio interviews and discussions. I liked the fact that Adele SOUNDED like a gentle, wise, effective person.I confess that I have a bias here. I believe that my own life has been influenced, and even transformed, whenever I've aligned with the yamas and niyamas over the last 15+ years. And as a result, I was in the process of writing my own (first) book on this long-neglected topic, emphasizing how it relates to progress in psychotherapy. Well, I still think there's a future in that book! Suffice it to say that I share the author's enthusiasm for her topic.

It was a good book to learn about Yoga and confirmed that Yoga is Hinduism, even though the author did not directly state this fact. One would need to be educated in the subject to catch all the Hindu allusions in the book. Specifically, the words used to describe poses and such are Hindu words, but the author made it look like it was simply morality and ethics. We can all agree that the morality of the major world religions is essentially the same, but questions: who God? and how is one saved? and what is the nature of reality and the afterlife? are the questions that radically distinguish the different faiths. This book doesn’t touch on that much, even though the point of yoga is to connect with what is really real in the spiritual realm, which makes Yoga a dangerous practice if you subscribe to a different faith. By doing Yoga, you will consciously or unconsciously engage in spiritual relativism and this will have an affect on what you believe.

A great breakdown of the Yamas and Niyamas . Once I started I couldn’t put it down, and it made these tenets of Buddhism so much clearer. Thank you 🙏🏽