Wise Use of Energy

The fourth yama of yoga, Brahmacharya, is usually the most misunderstood. I often see it translated as ‘celibacy’ or ‘chastity,’ or associated with deprivation and sacrifice. This can make it seem removed from contemporary spiritualities or perspectives and feel like an unachievable ethical goal.

Brahmacharya comes from Brahman, the Creator or Higher Power, true Divinity, and charya, a path or way. It can be thought of as the path to the Divine, and Brahmacharya refers to behavior that keeps us on this path. The concepts of celibacy or deprivation are more linked to conservation and prioritization.

Brahmacharya is also translated as ‘the right use of energy.’ Behavior is the result of the way in which we choose to direct our energy, and Brahmacharya is therefore about using or channeling our energy in the way that keeps us on the path to the divine: conserving our energy for this path and prioritizing where we channel our energy.

For many, this interpretation of Brahmacharya invites us to move away from external pleasures and happiness, to build up those energies that fuel us from within, to find within us everything that links us to the Divine. We are the path.

In order to become our own path, we must learn to listen to ourselves. To our true voices, our bodies, and our souls. To find the silence where our Higher Selves can whisper the Divine into our hearts.

Meditation and mindful yoga practice are the perfect tools to create that space, to understand our energy, to see how we’re using it and where we could be channeling it towards.

Below are some recommended practices as always:

https://www.innerdimensionyoga.com/classes/vitality-meditation

https://www.innerdimensionyoga.com/classes/prana-flow

https://www.innerdimensionyoga.com/classes/prana-chi

https://www.innerdimensionyoga.com/classes/energy-wisdom

By Jenny