Within the Yoga Sutras is a grouping of personal guidelines called the Yamas, of which we've talked about the first three: Ahimsa (nonharming), Satya (truthfulness), and Asteya (nonstealing).   The fourth of of the five Yamas is Brahmacharya.

Translated, Brahmacharya means "moving toward supreme truth."  Commonly it's interpreted as "celibacy," but to make it a bit more modern and applicable we could associate Brahmacharya with the principles of moderation.  Before we explore this Yama further, I think it's worth taking a closer look at the origin of this principle.

Back in the day when the Yoga Sutras were first written down, the study of yoga was just for young men.  Looking through that lens, it makes sense that the ancient sages thought controlling one's sexual energy would be of benefit to their students.  When you're attempting to teach boys and young men deep spiritual concepts, harnessing their sexual energies – directing them inward towards spiritual growth and outward by way of physical movement via yoga asana – seems like a solid plan.  Because, you know, hormones are a real thing, especially in that age group.

These ancient sages believed it was crucial to conserve one's vital life force energy so it could be channeled into more beneficial and productive areas.  While I'm not here suggesting you should give up sex and live a monastic lifestyle (unless that's your jam), we can still apply this idea into our modern-day life when we practice a more moderate approach to the way we move through the world.

To apply the concept of Brahmacharya in the 21st century, it might help to look at it as a way to stay in the middle of the path.  When we overindulge in anything – be it food, booze, exercise, sex, or shopping – we're more likely to have negative feelings afterward (like remorse, guilt, shame, or worry).

Take a moment to think about the things you do in excess.  And, please, while you're going inward to evaluate your habits and patterns, approach this investigation with love and tenderness.  This isn't the time to be shitting on yourself while you're assessing whether or not you eat/drink/sleep too much.  Remember back to the first Yama of Ahimsa, or nonviolence.  That was the first Yama for a reason.  All other Yamas, including this one, are approached with a do-no-harm mindset.

Once you've noticed the ways you tend to overindulge in something, the next step is to think of ways to cut back a bit in that area.  Here are some places to start:

Rest More Often

We as a society tend to push push push in all the ways, which can really take a toll on our bodies.  Resting is a vital part of our human experience (when approached with moderation, of course).  Because many of us tend to wait to rest until our bodies force us to, the idea of resting might be a difficult one to put in place.  If it helps, try scheduling rest time into your day, and use a timer to help keep the down time more contained.

Eat And Drink Less

Food and drinks can be a tricky area.  I'm not here to tell you to eat a certain amount of food or to avoid certain foods altogether.  Nor am I saying to stop drinking alcohol or sodas.  What I'm talking about here is to just not load up on your plate (remember, moderation is the key to this Yama), limit your intake of processed foods as much as possible, and drink way more water than any other beverage.  

Watch Your Spending

We all have expenses, and that's not likely going to change.  Implementing Brahmacharya into your financial mindset translates into things like not using shopping as a self-soothing technique, not trying to keep up with your neighbors and what fancy things they have, and not buying things excessively.  Purchase necessities and even some fun things, but do it with a moderation mindset.

Reduce Your To Do List

This one is a biggie for me.  I live by my daily planner, and each Sunday I take some time to do a general mapping out of my upcoming week.  Where Brahmacharya comes in here would be for me to slash my to do list by a lot each day.  As someone who's a Pitta/Vata type, my nature is that I'm driven and also easily distracted.  This means that I load up my days with tasks that I feel like I could easily accomplish, and then I have to carry over the ones I didn't finish later on in the week.  A better approach (and one that I'm really working on) is to be honest with myself in my daily expectations of what I can reasonably do and then schedule accordingly.  

When we live a more moderate lifestyle, as is encouraged in the principles of Brahmacharya, we have additional room in our lives for even more goodness to appear and be received.  Here's to living in the middle of the path!