How to Practice Brahmacharya Self-Regulation in Yoga and Daily Life | Yoga Philosophy and Ethics

Brahmacharya is one of the yoga ethics – Yamas – that focus on authentic, mindful living – paying attention to how we think, speak, and act – and, like all the Yamas, mindful of the impact we have on others, our communities, and the planet.

In this discussion, I share practical ways to explore Brahmacharya not only on the yoga mat, but in everyday life. We’ll look at:

• Responsible and respectful use of your energies (mental, emotional, physical, social, etc.)
• Self-regulation, being mindful of your impulses and urges and how they impact others.
• Establishing healthy boundaries and respecting others’ boundaries.
• Managing your energy or life force. Not wasting energy on trivialities.

We also take a few tangents on the subjects of venting, self-criticism, and yoga teacher burnout.

Watch the video below for the full discussion, or scroll down for the transcript notes and some journal prompts for your own practice.

How to Practice Brahmacharya Self-Regulation in Yoga and Daily Life

Hi folks, it’s Heather Agnew here – senior yoga teacher and educator – and in this discussion, we’re exploring the fourth of yoga’s social ethics, the Yamas which is  Brahmacharya.

To begin, I have to admit that I am colouring outside the lines of the traditional interpretation of this ethic in two ways:

Firstly, I expand on the traditional interpretation of Brahmacharya a little by speaking of about Brahmacharya in terms of moderation or the wise conservation of our energies – physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual.

Secondly, while Brahmacharya is usually framed around how we conduct ourselves in relationship to others, I also want to consider how it applies inwardly – how we care for ourselves and manage our own energy and thus reflect that energy outward.

These are modern reflections, but ones I think can help us live this Yama more fully in today’s world.

Before we dig into Brahmacharya, let’s have a quick introduction to, or reminder, of what are the Yamas and Niyamas:

A Quick Introduction to the Yamas and Niyamas

In the Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, written about 2,000 years ago, we are introduced to the eight limbs of yoga, a progressive practice that includes breathwork, movement, mediation – but the first two limbs, the Yamas and Niyamas, guide us in ethical living.  The Yamas and Niyamas invite us to make conscious and mindful choices in how we relate to others, and how we care for ourselves in our yoga journey.

You may have noticed that in much of modern postural yoga in the West, the emphasis is on our own personal growth – our inner journey. But the first limb of yoga, the Yamas, grounds us in maintaining an awareness of how we interact with and impact on others.

The Yamas focus on our social conduct: how our thoughts, words, actions, and energy affect those around us. And, taking a broader view, to consider how we contribute to the well-being of our communities, our environment, and the wider world.

Today, we’ll talk about the fourth of the Yamas, Brahmacharya – energy management or self regulation – and how we might practice this in yoga and in daily life.

Grab a notebook and get cozy and let’s explore together how yoga’s foundation of energy management can guide us on the mat and in our everyday lives.

Brahmacharya in the Yoga Sutras

Yoga Sutra II:38 says:

When we are firmly established in chastity, subtle potency is generated.

Or, my preferred translation:

When established in restraint, vitality is gained.

 

So, what does that mean in our everyday life?

Well, as I’ve said I’m not interpreting this as chastity in terms of abstaining from sexual relationships – which it seems fairly clear was the intended translation at the time.

Instead, I take a more modern perspective on Brahmacharya to explore how we can be more aware of and intentional about how we build, sustain, act with, and reflect our energy or prana.  That might look like:

• Responsible and respectful use of your energies (mental, emotional, physical, social, etc.) in relationship with others.
• Self-regulation, being mindful of your impulses and urges and how they impact others.
• Establishing healthy boundaries and respecting others’ boundaries.
• Managing your energy or life force. Not wasting energy on trivialities.

Because Brahmacharya is one of the Yamas – these ethical principles that guide how we relate to others – our focus here is on how we manage our energy in relationship with people and communities. At the same time, our ability to meet others with compassion and mindfulness depends on how well we care for and regulate our own energy first. If our personal reserves are depleted, it’s difficult to show up for others with presence and kindness.

So, in this discussion, we’ll look both outward and inward: how we direct our energy in relationship, and how we can consciously replenish and ‘budget’ our energy so that we’re living with greater awareness and compassion for all beings.

We’ll talk about this more in a moment, but you might keep this analogy in mind:

Think of your energy like a bank account. What deposits energy for you, and what makes withdrawals? You can’t keep withdrawing without also refilling – and this is where mindfulness and supportive practices and lifestyle habits might play a key role.

So, let’s get into some ways you might practice this energy moderation in your life.

Practical Examples of Brahmacharya in Daily Life

There are so many practical ways that we can explore Brahmacharya, and, as we’ve been doing throughout this series, we’ll explore this through a few life categories which might be useful more clearly focus on how we might practice this Yama.

• Personal relationships
• Yoga practice/teaching
• Workplace
• Lifestyle
• Community
• Earth/environment

1.  Personal Relationships

In our personal relationships Brahmacharya can be practiced in many ways:

• Being aware of how you direct your energy and what energy you are asking of others.
• Being attentive to your energy reserves and notice how when your reserves are low this can ripple out into your relationships and affect those around you.
• Respecting the boundaries that others establish – time, energy, space etc.
• Having respectful and consensual connections with others. This includes being open about expectations and needs. For example, when in times of anger or frustration, you might feel the urge to call up a friend and vent your anger, but you might first check in and get consent – ask if they have the time and bandwidth to hold space for you to talk through your problem and respect their wishes if they aren’t able to hold space for that energy today.

Quick Tangent: On the subject of venting, and I say this as a venter, it’s quite common for people having a tough moment to want to vent their anger to a friend or family member. But current research suggests that venting is counterproductive as it increases arousal and anger.  A better strategy for managing intense feelings might be to reduce arousal, with things like deep breathing, yoga, progressive muscle relaxation similar to what we do guided relaxations. We’ll talk a bit more about this in our lifestyle section, but something I think is useful to keep in mind.

• Considering our use of energy in relationships – that includes family, friendships, romantic relationships. How are we building, sustaining, and spending our energy in these relationships?
• Remembering that relationships aren’t transactional – we won’t always receive the same amount of energy, time, or attention that we give. In some relationships, we naturally give more; in others, we receive more. It can be helpful to step back and look at the bigger picture of all your relationships, noticing the overall flow of giving and receiving. What matters is that somewhere in your life, you have relationships or spaces that help refill your energy bank account or your energy cup.

Consider: What are some ways you might practice Brahmacharya in your personal relationships?

2.  Yoga Practice/Teaching

How might we practice Brahmacharya in our yoga practice and teaching?

In your yoga practice:

• Being aware of how you are using your energy on the mat and how it might impact others.
• Being respectful of the boundaries established by the studio, teacher, and fellow participants. This includes respecting the time of the teacher and fellow students before and after class.
• Being mindful of the capacity and scope of practice of your teacher – that might include things like not asking for health or medical advice or asking for more than your teacher is able to offer in the context of a yoga class.

As a yoga teacher:

• Maintaining integrity in your relationships with students – you are in a position of influence, and this demands the highest of ethical standards.
• Being accountable for your actions and modelling self-containment.
• Avoiding unprofessional interactions with students in or out of class – this of course includes not having romantic or sexual relationships with students.
• Emotionally – sticking with your scope of practice and maintaining compassionate and professional boundaries with students.
• Mentally – ensuring you have scheduled enough time and space for your admin, class development, finances, non-yoga activities, and rest so that you are able to give your best when you are teaching.
• Physically – being aware of how much energy you are using for each class. Consider not using full demos in every class or for every pose, rather using cuing, gesture, semi-demos etc. When we overuse our physical energy as teachers, this can have a few impacts: in class it can reduce our ability to view and be attentive to our students, over time it can lead to overuse injuries or burnout, and when we are demonstrating too often in our teaching – where we are less mindful of our own bodies, breath, and needs – this may come at the expense of our own health and our practice.

This leads me to a quick tangent on Yoga Teacher Burnout

Yoga teacher burnout is common, and so energy conservation is something we do have to think about in our professional teaching practice.  Consider how much speaking, demonstrating, social time, social media time, class development time, travel time, etc. you can give while still maintaining a healthy energy balance. A useful sign to watch for is your own practice. When burnout is looming, often the first sign is the loss of or deprioritizing of our own practice.

As a teacher it can be useful to do a bit of an ‘energy audit’ on occasion to look at what classes are a good use of all your energies (mental, physical, transport, financial, etc.)

Consider: Are there ways you could practice Brahmacharya in your yoga practice and teaching that I’ve not mentioned?  What comes to mind for you?

3.  Workplace

In the workplace how might we practice energy management?  In many ways it is similar to what we might do in our personal relationships.

• Being aware of the impact of your energy on those around you and respecting the boundaries of space, time, energy of others.
• Maintaining professional working relationships.
• Ensuring that conflicts are managed respectfully and timely – not allowing conflicts to go unattended so that people ‘simmer’ and build resentment. This can be a huge energy waste in the workplace – think about the energy it takes to keep something simmering.
• And, this note came from one of our teachers-in-training which I found quite useful: In meetings or development sessions, if others aren’t being give enough space to contribute, or haven’t previously had the opportunity to have their voices heard, you might practice some restraint of your own voice to give other team members the opportunity to contribute.
• Being efficient with tasks and avoiding procrastination. This comes more naturally to some people than others, but I’ll admit – I’m quite dedicated to efficiency. For me, it means I can move through both professional and domestic work smoothly, leaving more energy for other activities and relationships. That said, efficiency isn’t always the best approach. Sometimes ideas need time to percolate, collaboration benefits from open-ended brainstorming, and moving too quickly can cause us to miss important – or even magical – moments.

Consider: How else might you practice energy management in the workplace?

4.  Lifestyle

How can we practice Brahmacharya in our lifestyle, and how can our lifestyle strategies and habits can help us in our practice of Brahmacharya?

• Build and sustain your energy through daily habits – this might include nutrition, sleep and rest habits, movement habits, time in nature, and of course yoga, meditation and breathwork.
• Discover ways to self-regulate, like we learn in yoga, so you can engage with emotions and experiences mindfully, maintaining your energy instead of overextending it to others
• Notice your energy reserves (or lack thereof) might impact on others. When our energy reserves are low, are we as conscious and compassionate as we can be?
• Be mindful of where you waste energy on trivialities like excessive scrolling, venting, gossiping, etc.
• Let’s return to that idea of an ‘energy bank’, and think about what puts energy into your bank, and what withdraws it. You can’t keep withdrawing energy without also refilling it -and this is where your lifestyle habits can help.
• What drains energy? Worry, confrontation, rumination, unaddressed conflicts, self-criticism. Build sustainable mental habits – and get help when you need it.

This leads me to a bit of a tangent about how mental habits like self-criticism steals your energy.

Criticizing and judging yourself overly takes energy.  It drains your mind, your body, your confidence, and your growth.  Let’s explore that for a moment:

 Imagine you’re holding a bowl filled with energy. Every nourishing choice -movement, good food, meditation, time in nature, connection with others, quiet alone time – adds to the bowl and fills it up. From there, you can decide how to use that energy and what you want to “water” in your life.

Now think about habits like self-criticism, worry, doubt, judgement, wishing things were different, or living in the past. These are like tiny holes in your bowl, leaking energy all day long – until what was once a bowl becomes more like a sieve.

When your energy is low, it’s harder to show up as your best self. You might find yourself less patient, less understanding, less tolerant, or choosing what’s convenient over what’s conscious. So, tending to your energy isn’t just about your own wellbeing – it also shapes the way you move through your relationships and community.

Through practices like yoga, we can strengthen our “container” and patch the leaks, so that more of our energy goes toward what we really want to grow rather than slipping away unnoticed.

Consider: What are some ways you might practice Brahmacharya in your lifestyle, or how your lifestyle habits can support or enhance your practice of Brahmacharya?

5. Community

How can we practice Brahmacharya in our community relationships?

• Being aware of how you use your energy in public and considering the needs of others.

For example: I think of a time years ago when someone close to me was talking about her challenges being on a cruise after she had had hip surgery. There were lots of people around, and kids running, and she felt really vulnerable and had a bit of a rough time of it throughout her holiday.

At the time I didn’t really understand – or, more accurately I wasn’t that understanding. But since then, I’ve gone through some of my own both temporary and more permanent mobility issues and now I get it. When you are more physically vulnerable, people rushing around close to you feels scary. And I’m a bit of a rusher – my natural pace is quite brisk – so in public spaces I’ve learned to moderate my pace so that I don’t make the more vulnerable members of my community feel uneasy or at risk of being bumped or falling.  It’s such a small thing to do to restrain my usually brisk habits to make others around me feel safer.   

• Being respectful of community boundaries – that includes neighbors, in community gatherings, etc.

For example: That might include little things such as letting neighbors know in advance if you are going to have a big gathering at your house, keeping your dogs leashed and contained, or not using loud tools early in the morning or later at night.

• Take some time to think about all that you receive from your community – from public infrastructure to lovely neighborly relationships, to social safety nets, to libraries and free public spaces. If you did a bit of an energy audit, do you feel you give to your community as much as you receive?
• Finally, remember that we get energy by doing for others, by being of service to our communities. Helping is one way to put new energy into the ‘energy bank’

Consider: What are some ways you could commit to practicing Brahmacharya in your community?

6. Energy/Environment

When it comes to Brahmacharya and our relationship with the earth, there are some clear ways that we can be conservative about our energy:

• Being conscious of how you personally, and we all collectively use the earth’s resources.
• Being conservative with your energy usage and reducing our environmental impact
• Reducing our carbon footprint, or even adding energy to the system through the use of renewables
• Being aware of our emotional energy when it comes to dwelling on the climate crisis – not allowing the news cycle to cause us to become hopeless. For some of us, that might mean having some boundaries around doom scrolling if it’s impacting our energy, mental health, and ability to stay engaged.

Consider: Are there other ways that you practice Brahmacharya relative to the environment?

In closing

I hope that this has given you some ideas about how you might practice energy management or energy conservation in your own life.

You might choose just a few ideas to bring into your practice and daily life, and maybe keep track of how it feels, and how the world responds to our engagement.

If you are open to it, can you share some of the ideas that you’ve noted down to practice in your own life?

If you’d like to read or watch more on yoga philosophy and ethics stay tuned to our BLOG or YouTube channel for more in this series.

If you are keen to further explore the Yamas and Niyamas in yoga practice, teaching, and daily life, check out our Yoga Philosophy Lifeskills and Professional Development online journaling programs.