The Ahimsa of Yoga

Ahimsa is being non-violent to all living things. It does not ignore the suffering. Spiritual bypassing is a big issue in the yoga and new age community. It ignores and dismisses the plights of the suffering by “rising above it.” By ignoring your fellow human, you replace Christian tactics of believing bad things happen to sinful people with a misunderstood concept of karma or their misaligned thoughts and intentions (ie you weren’t positive enough). You blame the victims and the suffering.

I ask you to become aware of these tendencies and to live the path of yoga, the path of love. Love is not blind. Love is not dismissive. Love is not neutral. Love is not ignorant.

All action and non-action is action. Neutrality is action. And neutrality is not necessarily ahimsa.

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” – Desmond Tutu