In Becky Chambers’ Monk and Robot series, a tea monk and a robot wander the world asking, “What do people need?” The answer isn’t a product or a fix. It’s a feeling. A sense of being heard, valued, and whole. Many of us long for that same feeling in our lives: a way to move through the world with purpose, integrity, and care.
In modern yoga culture, it’s easy to lose sight of yoga’s roots. We see poses, wellness products, and vague talk of “good vibes.” But behind all that is something far more grounded. Yoga offers a path for ethical, purposeful living.
Yoga isn’t just what happens on the mat. It’s how we live when we step off of it.
But what does it mean to live a good life, not just on the mat, but everywhere? How do we carry yoga into hard days and small moments? What does it look like to live with integrity in a world that pulls us in every direction?
This post offers a broad overview of how I apply ethical values in daily life. It’s not a deep dive or the final word. If you’re curious to explore more, you’ll find other posts on this site that go deeper into many of these ideas.
Rediscovering Yoga’s Roots
Yoga is about more than stretching. It’s a practice of aligning our bodies, our values, and our actions. At its foundation are the yamas and niyamas — ancient principles for living with compassion, clarity, and intention.
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, yoga doesn’t begin with movement. It begins with ethics.
The yamas offer guidance for how we relate to others:
- Ahimsa — non-harming, or compassion in action
- Satya — truthfulness, spoken with care
- Asteya — not stealing, including time or attention
- Brahmacharya — moderation, using our energy wisely
- Aparigraha — non-grasping, letting go of what we don’t need
The niyamas turn that same care inward, shaping how we relate to ourselves:
- Saucha — cleanliness, inside and out
- Santosha — contentment with what is
- Tapas — discipline in service of growth
- Svādhyāya — self-study, through reflection and sacred texts
- Ishvara Pranidhana — surrender to something greater
These principles aren’t commandments. No one’s keeping score. They’re invitations. They’re practical, compassionate tools to help us meet the world with integrity.
In a time when so much pulls us toward distraction and disconnection, the yamas and niyamas invite us to pause, to notice, and to root ourselves in what matters most.
Whether we’re on a yoga mat, in a meeting, or having a hard conversation, these teachings offer a steady guide for showing up with presence and care.
A Shift in Perspective
I got serious about yoga in 2012 when my wife and I joined our local studio. On our first day, we filled out a form that asked why we were there and offered options such as exercise, stress relief, weight loss, and spiritual growth. I checked “exercise” because at the time I only understood yoga as a physical activity. It was just another activity that my wife and I could do together, like tennis or walking. I couldn’t yet see what lay beneath the surface.
We went regularly for years. I enjoyed the practice, but whenever a teacher referenced ancient texts or spiritual ideas, I’d quietly tune out. I wasn’t ready to hear it.
That started to shift when I began meditating. I started sitting more regularly, listening more closely. Gradually, I began to see that yoga was never just about the poses. It was about how we live. The real heart of yoga is in the everyday, in how we treat ourselves, how we speak to others, how we care.
Yoga became less about striving and more about returning. Not to a destination, but to something steady within. That’s what ethical living through yoga is all about: aligning our actions with our values, letting love lead the way.
My Path: Where Traditions Meet
My journey with ethical living draws from three traditions that nourish each other: Kripalu Yoga, Insight Meditation (vipassana), and Unitarian Universalism. Each offers a different doorway into the same room—a room filled with awareness, compassion, and community.
Svādhyāya: Self-Study With Kindness
In Kripalu yoga, self-observation without judgment is the highest practice. This is svādhyāya: watching ourselves with curiosity, not criticism.
Kripalu has taught me to pause. To notice how I respond before reacting. In that pause, I create space for freedom, and a deeper alignment with my values.
Awareness isn’t harsh. It’s a gentle return to what matters.
Tapas: Discipline That Transforms
Through Insight Meditation, especially in the Thai Forest tradition, I practice tapas, the steady effort to stay present.
On silent retreats, I practice sitting through discomfort without distractions. Watching emotions rise and fall helps teach me that discipline isn’t about willpower. It’s about staying, seeing clearly, and choosing wisely.
The Eightfold Path of Buddhism, like the yamas and niyamas, offers ethical guidance without rigidity. These practices support each other, offering clarity that’s kind, not cold.
Seva: Love in Action
Seva (selfless service) is where Unitarian Universalism entered my practice. The UU shared values give me a way to bring these insights into the everyday world. I’ve been a member of my local UU church since 2009. That community helps me live these practices, not just study them.
Values like love, justice, equity, and interdependence remind me that spiritual life isn’t an escape. It’s a commitment to show up fully, right here.
These three traditions don’t compete. They enrich each other. Together, they offer a path of ethical living that’s grounded, compassionate, and real.
Why Yoga Is at the Center
Yoga brings it all together: mindfulness, ethics, and embodiment.
While Insight Meditation and Unitarian Universalism offer rich spiritual wisdom, yoga adds something essential: movement, breath, and physical integration. I don’t just think my way back to clarity. I feel it. I move it. I breathe it.
At one of my local meditation centers, Common Ground, yoga and sound healing are offered alongside retreats and dharma talks. More than just programming, it’s a recognition that liberation involves the whole person.
Unitarian Universalism, too, welcomes this kind of integration. I love that I can explore yoga as a spiritual path that honors the mind, body, and spirit.
How Ethical Yoga Supports a Meaningful Life
Living in alignment with our values brings about real, tangible benefits.
Mental Clarity and Emotional Peace
Practices like ahimsa (non-harming) and santosha (contentment) offer a kind of inner steadiness. When our actions align with our values, we experience less inner conflict and more ease. We respond rather than react.
Svādhyāya (self-study) and meditation help us see our habits more clearly. And that clarity isn’t about perfection. It’s about coming back to center, again and again.
Deeper Relationships
Yoga teaches us to listen more deeply, speak more honestly, and act with compassion. Principles like satya (truth) and aparigraha (non-possessiveness) soften our hearts and strengthen our connections.
It’s not always easy, but the benefits can feel pretty incredible.
Collective Liberation
Living ethically isn’t just about personal peace. It’s about social transformation.
Through seva (service) and UU values like justice and equity, we become more aware of the systems that harm, and more committed to helping change them. Our actions become a quiet form of leadership.
Not by being perfect, but by being present.
What Ethical Yoga Looks Like in Daily Life
It’s in the little things.
- Listening without trying to fix.
- Telling the truth gently.
- Choosing compassion when it’s easier to shut down.
- Showing up for justice.
- Pausing before buying something you don’t need.
- Saying yes to community, and no when you need rest.
- Giving yourself grace when you mess up.
Living ethically through yoga isn’t rigid or idealistic. It’s a flexible, lived path. It meets you where you are and gently invites you forward.
A Quiet Path Forward
In the Monk and Robot series, the monk doesn’t offer answers. They offer tea, presence, and questions that help people remember what matters. Yoga ethics are like that.
Yoga ethics don’t demand we overhaul our lives. Living ethically through yoga invites us to notice, to listen, to live with love.
Not as saints or sages. But as ordinary people, doing our best to live in alignment with what we know is true.
That’s more than enough.
Comments