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Niyamas are behaviors and ways of being in the world (virtues) that are valuable to cultivate within ourselves. There are five of them just as there are five yamas. They (together with the Yamas) provide the fertile bed in which the rest of the limbs can flourish.

Saucha (Purity of the body). Saucha incorporates the poses and breathing exercises of Hatha Yoga with dietary practices and attention to keeping the body clean inside and out. Saucha is considered essential for physical health. In addition, it places great value on mental hygiene and Satya (non-lying). Some of the physical cleansing practices are alien and a little scary (like swallowing 15 feet of damp fabric and pulling it out again). Others have been proven to be highly effective in protecting the practitioner from illness (like rinsing the nasal passages with salty water).

Symbolically, when we wash away the dirt of the world, we are washing away worldliness itself and saying we are ready to turn our minds and hearts to something higher. We are showing ourselves to be open to enlightenment and we feel lighter.

Wiccan often ceremonies begin with a bathing ritual. In Catholic churches congregants dip their hands into holy water before entering. The baptism ceremony in many Christian denominations is all about washing away the past and going forward with a more spiritual consciousness.

Francis Bacon in 'Advancement of Learning' (1605) wrote: 'Cleanness of body was ever deemed to proceed from a due reverence to God.' Yet, though we say, "cleanliness is next to godliness" we treat it as part of our secular lives (showering after a workout on the way to work). We have built cleanliness into the mainstream of our culture. We reap the health benefits, but if we were to bring mindfulness to our bathing rituals we might also reap the spiritual benefits.

Santosa (contentment). It's difficult for a person in the midst of stress and striving to be able to meditate or to have his or her mind become "one-pointed." This means that we need some level of contentment to practice meditation.

One of the major teachers who brought yoga to the United States, Iyengar, says, "A contented man is É blessed because he has known truth and joy." To "know truth and joy" we need to stop. We need to be still and present to what's happening right now. We need to see that the sunset tonight has its own glory and the breeze right now carries its own unique perfume.

To develop a sense of contentment, try keeping a gratitude journal in which you write down, every day, five things you are grateful for (as seen on Oprah, for one). Or rewrite your life story in terms of lessons learned, blessings received and successes earned. Read it every day instead of telling yourself and others the hard luck story of your life. I promise you, there is more good in most people's lives than they every realize. Concentrating on the good in yours can transform it!

Tapas (to burn/commitment/consistency). This niyama is not described consistently in the literature and is very difficult to get a handle on. Many descriptions make it sound like a kind of religious fervor, something familiar in Christianity and Islam as well.

Yet, the translation, "to burn", seems to indicate a burning away of whatever prevents us from expressing our truest selves or distracts us from a clear focus on our personal goals (either imposed from outside or from within). It may seem paradoxical to set tapas beside santosa (contentment). Yet the burning away of irrelevancies in our lives can leave space for contentment to develop.

"To burn" also points toward passion for self-expression which is closely related to living with integrity and following your own internal guidance. Tapas means making those things that feed our souls (yoga or music, nature or cooking) a priority in life at least on a par with work, paying taxes or getting the kids to soccer practice. It means passion for what feeds us and lovingly tending our internal flame.

Svadhyaya (Study). This one has both inner and outer components. It means both self-study and self-education. In yoga tradition it is taken to mean study of God and the study of god within the individual. Many assume this indicates a very narrow scope of study. That's not necessarily true.

To me it means exploring my own nature–getting to know who I really am. Since I am not only this body and this personality it means learning about the universe around me, studying both philosophy and physics, as well as learning how to sail or play a sousaphone. It also means learning about the people in the world around me because we are all connected and what I learn about them, I learn about myself as well. All things reflect the nature of god or the divine. By studying all of this my quality of life improves and my understanding of the divine increases. This is true for any aspect of life I was unfamiliar with before. And if science is your religion? Studies have shown that people who make a priority of continual learning have a better quality of life as they age. New neural pathways are continually being created which keeps the brain flexible and protects it from deterioration.

Isvara Pranidhana (surrender to God). I've seen it translated "dedication to God" or dedicating one's actions to God. This is a big virtue in Christianity too. But Buddhism, which isn't known for a devotion to a god, promotes this virtue as well. Buddhists call the concept non-attachment. It arises from one of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths: "All suffering arises from desire." Desire leads to attachment. A great line I found on belief-net.com is, "By holding on to that which in any case is forever slipping through our fingers, we just get rope burn."

But if we do what must be done, or what is at hand to do and we let go of the outcome, we take ourselves outside the cycle of suffering. If we do the best that is within our power and turn the rest over to "God" we let go of huge burdens. We can be happy whatever the outcome of our efforts.

That letting go of outcomes is one of the tougher disciplines in the New Age lexicon. It is also very powerful. Worrying about outcomes keeps us from enjoying the here and now and also, sometimes, from doing the best we can right now or taking advantage of opportunities.

Problems arise when we as individuals think God wants infidels dead and the sinful to be punished. I say, if that's what God wants, let God take care of it. I'll do the best I can here and now and strive not to be attached to what other people do or don't do. I feel happier already.

Taken together I see a great deal of practical good in the yamas and niyamas and solid base they provide for the next six elements of yoga's eight limbs.

The spirit in me salutes the spirit in you. We're all in bodies together.