Values: What Matters To You?
Determining your values
Getting a sense of what our values are is instrumental to making change and growth. When we understand what we value, we can make decisions that align with what is most important to us and we can foster genuine connections with others who embody how we want to live and what kind of energy and vibration we want to surround ourselves with.
So how can we determine what our values are? Well, I will share with you a few of my favourite go-to’s that I’ve found helpful for clients and I will also discuss how the Yamas and Niyamas can be a great foundation for developing your own set of values. I will also provide some helpful questions of inquiry so you can start to consider how you want to embody what matters to you most in your inner and outer world.
The core values of yoga
The five yamas and five niyamas that make up the ethical precepts, or core values, of yoga. They provide a recipe for living in the world with ease and integrity. Long before the West embraced sweaty asana classes and tight-fitting yoga pants, these principles were a deeply embedded part of yoga culture, providing practitioners with a philosophy for how to make their way through the world. Rather than being a supplement or an afterthought to yoga asana, they are the starting place of yoga—meant to be practiced before you do your very first Sun Salutation.
“The yamas are really about restraining behaviours that are motivated by grasping, aversion, hatred, and delusion. The niyamas are designed to create well-being for ourselves and others,” says Stephen Cope, the author of The Wisdom of Yoga. People sometimes think of them as yoga’s Ten Commandments, but they aren’t concerned with right or wrong in an absolute sense. “There’s no thought of heaven or hell. It’s about avoiding behaviors that produce suffering and difficulty, and embracing those that lead to states of happiness.”
What are the yamas and niyamas?
The five yamas ask practitioners to avoid violence, lying, stealing, wasting energy, and possessiveness. The five niyamas ask us to embrace cleanliness and contentment, to purify ourselves through heat, to continually study and observe our habits, and to surrender to something greater than ourselves.
Tools to get started:
Try this tool from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy called The Value Living Questionnaire it gives you a list of several items and assists you in determining whether you’ve been living by your values.
Journalling (self-study) or as in Sanskrit svadhyaya:
Get out a journal and ask yourself the following questions!
What do I really want to do with my life?
By what values do I want to live my life?
What would happen if I could begin living my life with the values I desire? How would things be different? How would this impact me as well as others?
How can I act on this information and what can I start doing today?
Next, take a few minutes to write down a description of yourself living out your values. What it looks like, sounds like, feels like for you. Make it as detailed and descriptive as possible.
Reflection:
Was there any information as you worked through this journalling session that you perceived or received that surprised you?
Be sure to comment below! I would love to hear how these exercises served you!
If you’d like to get more support on living in alignment with your values feel free to book a free 15-minute consult and you could also check out my friends @Value-Based Living who work specifically in this line of work on all things values!
