The 5 Yamas of Yoga Explained

In short: the yamas are the five ethical restraints that open the eight-limbed path of the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali: non-harming (ahiṃsā), truthfulness (satya), not stealing (asteya), sexual restraint (brahmacarya) and non-possessiveness (aparigraha). Patañjali calls them a “great vow” that holds everywhere and always, and the classical commentary treats non-harming as the root of the other four.

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Before any posture or breathing technique, the classical yoga path begins with how you treat others. The yamas are that starting point. This guide explains where they come from, what each of the five means in the text and its main commentary, how later traditions and modern teachers read them, and how people work with them in daily life today. It is part of our yoga philosophy section.

What are the yamas?

The Sanskrit word yama (यम) originally meant a rein or curb; the Monier-Williams dictionary cites it in the Rig Veda for the reins of a charioteer, and later as self-restraint and “any great moral rule or duty.” In yoga it names the first of the eight limbs (aṣṭāṅga) set out in the Yoga Sutras. The yamas are restraints: things you hold back from doing, mostly in how you relate to others. Their partner list, the niyamas, are observances you cultivate, such as cleanliness, contentment and study. Both are explained in our guide to the eight limbs of yoga.

The source: Yoga Sutras 2.29 to 2.39

The Yoga Sutras are a compact text of about 195 short aphorisms in four chapters. Scholar Edwin Bryant, writing in the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, notes that most scholars date it to around the 1st or 2nd century CE, though estimates range from several centuries earlier to no later than the 5th century CE. The yamas appear in the second chapter:

2.29 lists the eight limbs, beginning with the yamas and niyamas.
2.30 names the five yamas. In Charles Johnston’s 1912 English version: “non injury, truthfulness, abstaining from stealing, from impurity, from covetousness.”
2.31 calls them universal, “not limited to any race, place, time or occasion” (Johnston), a mahāvrata or great vow.
2.33 to 2.34 give a method: when harmful thoughts arise, cultivate their opposite (pratipakṣa-bhāvana).
2.35 to 2.39 describe what is said to follow when each yama is fully established.

The oldest surviving commentary, attributed to Vyāsa and known to have existed by the 5th century CE, singles out non-harming as the root of the others; the other four are kept, it says, so that non-harming can be perfected. That reading has shaped almost every later interpretation.

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The five yamas, one by one

For each yama: the Sanskrit (IAST and Devanagari, checked against the Monier-Williams dictionary), what the classical sources say, and what the text says follows when it is established. The “results” in 2.35 to 2.39 are traditional teachings about spiritual attainment, not promises a modern reader can test.

1. Ahiṃsā (अहिंसा): non-harming

Literally “not injuring.” Bryant summarizes the commentary’s definition as not injuring any living creature, anywhere, at any time. It covers actions, words and thoughts. Monier-Williams notes it is a cardinal virtue for most Hindu traditions and especially for Buddhists and Jains. Sutra 2.35 says that in the presence of someone firmly established in non-harming, hostility falls away.

2. Satya (सत्य): truthfulness

Words and thoughts that match the facts. Because non-harming comes first, the commentarial tradition holds that truth should not be used to wound; honest speech is meant to be kind and useful. Sutra 2.36 links perfected truthfulness with actions bearing their intended fruit.

3. Asteya (अस्तेय): not stealing

Not taking what belongs to others, and, in Bryant’s summary of the commentary, not even harboring the desire to do so. Sutra 2.37 says that for someone established in it, “all treasures present themselves” (Johnston).

4. Brahmacarya (ब्रह्मचर्य): sexual restraint

The word first named the life of an unmarried student of the Veda, and Monier-Williams glosses it as continence and chastity. The classical commentators read it as celibacy and control of the senses. Many contemporary teachers who teach householders present it more broadly as moderation and responsible, faithful sexuality; that is a modern interpretation, and it is worth knowing which reading a teacher is using. Sutra 2.38 associates it with vigor.

5. Aparigraha (अपरिग्रह): non-possessiveness

Literally “not grasping” or not accepting possessions beyond what is needed. The commentary, as Bryant explains it, sees the trouble in acquiring, keeping and losing things, which breeds attachment and harm. Sutra 2.39 says that one who has mastered it understands the “how and why” of their own existence.

How the yamas have been interpreted

Not one fixed list. Patañjali’s five are the best known, but they are not the only version. The Monier-Williams dictionary notes that the law book of Yājñavalkya (3.313) mentions ten yamas, and the 15th-century Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā also lists ten. Other texts add qualities such as patience, compassion, forgiveness or moderate diet. If a teacher gives you a list of ten, they are not wrong; they are drawing on a different text.

Shared ethics across traditions. Johnston observed that Patañjali’s five closely resemble the Buddhist precepts, and non-harming is central in Jain ethics too. The yamas belong to a wider South Asian conversation about right conduct rather than to yoga alone.

Strict and adapted readings. In the text they are a “great vow” for someone seeking liberation, often a renunciant. Modern practitioners, most of whom have jobs and families, usually treat them as guiding values to grow into. Neither reading is the only valid one, but it helps to be honest about the difference: the text describes an ideal of complete restraint, while most modern teaching is about steady effort.

The Gita’s angle. The Bhagavad Gita approaches ethics through action without attachment to results, an idea developed in karma yoga. Reading the two side by side shows how differently yoga traditions frame a good life.

Yamas and niyamas: how the first two limbs work together

Patañjali follows the five restraints with five observances, the niyamas, in sutra 2.32: śauca (cleanliness), santoṣa (contentment), tapas (discipline or austerity), svādhyāya (study, which classically meant reading texts on liberation and repeating Om) and īśvara-praṇidhāna (devotion to God). Bryant notes that the text gives some 20 sutras to the yamas and niyamas and only three to posture. The pairing is deliberate: the yamas mostly govern how you treat the world, the niyamas how you shape yourself, and together they prepare the mind for the meditative limbs that follow.

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Common misunderstandings

“They are rules with punishments.” In the text they are a vow the practitioner takes on, and sutra 2.34 explains harmful acts in terms of their consequences, ignorance and pain, rather than as offenses to be punished.
“They only apply on the mat.” Sutra 2.31 says the opposite: they hold regardless of place, time or circumstance.
“Non-harming means never feeling anger.” The method of 2.33 assumes harmful thoughts will arise; the practice is to notice them and cultivate their opposite.
“Ahimsa includes being kind to yourself.” Many modern teachers say so, and it is a helpful idea for anyone who pushes too hard. It is a modern emphasis; the classical commentary focuses on not harming other living beings.

Practicing the yamas in daily life

The yamas are not exercises with a finish line, but there are simple ways people bring them into ordinary days. These are suggestions drawn from how the yamas are commonly taught, not rules from the text.

Non-harming on the mat. Many teachers start here: don’t force a pose your body isn’t ready for. Our guide to pigeon pose shows how props let you work within your range, and the same idea applies to every pose.
Truthfulness in small things. Notice exaggerations and white lies for a day, and ask whether what you are about to say is true, kind and useful.
Not stealing time or credit. Arrive on time, return what you borrow, credit others’ ideas.
Restraint with appetites. Pick one area (late-night scrolling, impulse buying, an extra helping) and practice pausing before you act.
Non-possessiveness when traveling. Pack light and leave places as you found them; our guide to personal growth through yoga has more on mindful travel.
Working with the opposite. Following sutra 2.33, when anger or envy comes up, deliberately bring to mind its opposite, such as goodwill. A short loving-kindness meditation is one modern way to practice this.

Reflection helps. Some practitioners choose one yama a week and jot down, each evening, one moment when they kept it and one when they didn’t. If you go on a yoga retreat or stay at an ashram, you may find the yamas discussed in morning talks or satsang, often with the ten-yama lists of a particular lineage.

Frequently asked questions

What are the 5 yamas?

In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (2.30) they are ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (sexual restraint) and aparigraha (non-possessiveness).

What is the difference between yamas and niyamas?

The yamas are restraints, mostly about how you treat others. The niyamas are observances you cultivate in yourself: cleanliness, contentment, discipline, self-study and devotion. Together they are the first two of the eight limbs of yoga.

Which yama is the most important?

The classical commentary on the Yoga Sutras treats ahimsa, non-harming, as the root of the others; the remaining four are practiced so that non-harming can be perfected.

Does brahmacharya mean celibacy?

In the classical commentaries, yes: it means celibacy and control of the senses. Many modern teachers who teach people with families present it as moderation and faithful, responsible sexuality. That is a modern interpretation, so ask which reading your teacher follows.

Are there 5 or 10 yamas?

Patanjali lists five. Other texts, including the law book of Yajnavalkya and the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, list ten, adding qualities such as patience, compassion or moderate diet.