The first of the eight limbs is Yama – restraints from negative behaviour to find peace within the outside world. We will go through each and every one of the Yamas in details in the coming weeks in this blog series.The Yoga Sutras Chapter 2.30-2.31 states ‘Yama is abstention from violence, lying, stealing, incontinence and greed. These basic rules of conduct transcend class, place, time, place or circumstances.’Thus the 5 Yamas (restraints) suggested by the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are:- Ahimsa – non harming/non violence- Brahmacharya – moderation, right use of energy – Aparigraha – non-coveting, non-cravingWe start at the beginning, with the most important one in my opinion, Ahimsa – non harming / non violence, where we are advised to restrain from anything that causes harm to others and ourselves through action, word and even thought.The Sutra 2.35 says ‘When we believe in not harming others, all creatures will cease to feel hostility in our presence.’Now think about this for a second. The 10 commandments also states ‘You shall not murder’. Non harming goes a little bit further than this. Most of us would not even think about murdering someone or causing physical pain to them. But, how many times do we hurt people by our thoughts (yes, they can feel the negative thoughts directed at them), words or actions? Or, against ourselves! The affirmations that keep on going in our heads, are they negative (harming to us) or loving and positive?I encourage you to be mindful of being non harming this week, towards yourself and others. Be it in thought, words and actions. Be it slight, moderate or severe. See how when you practice this Yama / restriction, how is the world reacting to you.Ahimsa can also be translated as cultivating loving kindness. Ask yourself these questions daily to connect to Ahimsa:Where can I bring in more loving kindness towards myself in thoughts, speech and action? Where can I cultivate loving kindness towards all people that I know in thought, speech, action and energy? Where can I show my loving kindness to the whole world/universe in thought, energy and action?