Showing Up is A Good Start

“The third yama is asteya, nonstealing.  While commonly understood as not taking what is not ours, it can also mean not taking more than we need.  We fail to practice asteya when we take credit that is not ours or take more food than we can eat.  We fail also when we steal from ourselves - by neglecting a talent, or by letting a lack of commitment keep us from practicing yoga.  In order to steal, one has to be mired in avidya, or ignorance about the nature of reality, a term introduced by Patanjali in his second chapter.  Avidya is the opposite of yoga, which connects us with all that is.”

From an article on the yamas by Judith Hanson Lasater.  For the full article, go here:

http://www.yogajournal.com/wisdom/462

Showing up for class with your full presence is offering a gift to yourself, and sometimes others in the room.  This simple step of getting yourself to class could be seen as a basic practice of asteya, because giving a gift is the opposite of stealing.