Ahimsa is a Sanskrit term meaning non-violence or non-harming.

Ahimsa is the ethical foundation of yoga, as it is the first of the restraints (yama) listed in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. Ahimsa is a restraint with regard to one’s behavior toward others, in thought, word and deed.

The practice of ahimsa is extremely crucial and relevant today due to the high levesl of violence, slavery and ignorance present in the world. Practicing ahimsa means actively abstaining from any activity that may cause harm to another being. In this practice, we train ourselves to be kind and considerate to all, even those whom we may initially judge as being very different or separate from us.

When we practice ahimsa, we create the causes for true happiness and contentment (santosha in Sanskrit) and contribute to our own eventual enlightenment. A key ingredient of ahimsa is compassion, which helps us to see ourselves in others, and work toward seeing the oneness of being, a state in which outer differences of form do not exist.

To practice ahimsa well is to treat all of life, including animal beings and plant beings, with respect and gratitude. In practical terms, ahimsa can translate into a vegan lifestyle, which causes the least amount of harm to others and to ourselves.

All beings desire happiness. All beings desire freedom.
As yogis, it is in our power to help liberate all beings, so how could we not?