What is Brahmacharya?

We've reached the fourth yama of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: brahmacharya, or energetic moderation.

Traditionally, brahmacharya has meant engaging in celibacy to give ourselves strength and energy so that we can help others and live happily.

But it has a more modern interpretation too. Energetic moderation is the idea of putting your energy into the stuff that’s important.

We only have so much energy in a day. Our energy can spiral up and down. Some things can drain it; other things can build it up. There’s sometimes no avoiding doing things or spending time with people that drain our energy. So, brahmacharya is about creating a life where we can balance energy sapping and earning.

How can you incorporate brahmacharya into your daily life?

I invite you to ask yourself: how am I spending my energy? Is it struggling with stress? Worrying about things you can’t control? Trying to please others? Or maybe wishing you were different to your current self? What value does exerting your energy on these things bring to you? I'm going to guess very little. And so, I'd now like you to ask yourself: how can I spend my energy to nourish myself? Take as long as you need to sincerely think about the answer.

You have every right to prioritise spending your energy on these things that give you vitality and make you happy.

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Sometimes you don’t have the energy to do something even though you know it will make you feel better. For example, if you know you'll feel refreshed if you go to your usual exercise class or join in with a YouTube video, but you just can't bring yourself to do it, don't force yourself. Still allow yourself to get that benefit without draining yourself by committing to doing something really small. One sit up. One press up. One of something. And congratulate yourself. You weren't feeling it, but you still did something. You may even find you have given yourself the energy to do another sit up or press up.

Remember: it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.

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When you’re in a good place, write down the things that you are enjoying so that you can look at them when you’re down and remind yourself that you have blessings. I use a diary to write down things I'm grateful for at the end of each day. I also write down one good thing that happened and, what might initially seem counterproductive and pessimistic, one bad thing that happened that day. The gratitude and good thing are there to keep me positive. The bad thing is a way to acknowledge and accept my feelings and just as a reminder that bad things happen, but I can bounce back from them and move on.

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Look at yourself like you would another person. Some of the things we say to ourselves, the way we berate ourselves and judge ourselves are wild. It’s not that we just wouldn’t do that to someone else because it’s rude, but we don’t even have those thoughts or feelings about someone else in the same situation as us. So why are we being so harsh on ourselves? Be kind to yourself.

What about brahmacharya and yoga?

Go at your own pace in a class or in your own practise. You don't need to compare yourself to what others in the class are doing or what your body could do last week or last year. Now is what matters. You, in this moment, are what matters. As long as it feels good for you, that is enough.