Deepen Your Practice Through Civic Engagement
As modern yogis, many of us don’t live in caves, devoting every waking moment to meditation or asana. We’re part of the larger society—balancing family, work, and our spiritual practice. This means that yoga isn’t just confined to the mat but extends into every facet of our lives, including civic duties like voting. Engaging in the world around us is a form of yoga, and today I’d like to explore how yoga and voting intersect.
Voting as an Expression of Yogic Principles
Yoga is more than just a physical practice. It has a rich philosophical backbone, and the teachings within the Yoga Sutras offer ethical principles that can guide our actions in the world. These principles align beautifully with the act of voting.
Let’s look at a few key concepts from the first two limbs of the Eight Limbed Path in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: the yamas (ethical disciplines) and the niyamas (personal observances). These teachings are often described as the ethical “code” of yoga, and their wisdom can guide us toward making conscious, compassionate choices at the polls.
Ahimsa: Non-Harm
The first yama, ahimsa, means non-harm. When we vote, we practice ahimsa by supporting policies and candidates who seek to reduce harm and promote well-being for all living beings. While we can’t eliminate harm entirely, we can make choices that minimize it in the long run.
Voting with ahimsa in mind invites us to ask: What policies or leaders will best serve the collective good? How can we vote in a way that promotes healing, safety, and care for the earth and its people, now and in the future?
Satya: Truthfulness
Another yama, satya, encourages truthfulness. It asks us to align our actions with truth, both in our personal lives and in the wider world. When we vote, we can promote truth by choosing representatives who value integrity and facts. This also means doing our own research, seeking out reliable information, and making choices that feel aligned with our highest truths.
Swadhyaya: Self-Study
One of the niyamas, swadhyaya, or self-study, reminds us to reflect on how our individual choices, like voting, impact the collective. It encourages us to ask: Are we voting only for our own self-interest, or are we considering the needs of the whole? Are we making decisions from a place of reactivity or from a grounded understanding of the facts?
Karma Yoga: Selfless Action
Another yogic principle that connects beautifully with voting is karma yoga, the yoga of action. In the Bhagavad Gita, karma yoga is the path of selfless, right action. Voting is an opportunity to act in service of others, contributing to the greater good.
Karma yoga teaches us to act without attachment to the results. While we may deeply care about the outcome of an election, it’s important to participate with the intention of doing what’s right, regardless of the outcome. This practice of non-attachment helps us remain steadfast in our commitment to civic engagement, even when things don’t go our way.
Dharma: Living Your Purpose
Living in alignment with our dharma—our personal and collective purpose—is another key aspect of yoga that informs voting. Each of us has a unique role to play in society, and part of our purpose is contributing to the community we live in. Voting is one way we can fulfill that responsibility.
Voting isn’t just about individual interests—it’s about collective dharma, or social responsibility. By participating in the electoral process, we have the opportunity to help create a more just and peaceful society for everyone.
Overcoming Apathy
One of the obstacles to voting that we see in the Yoga Sutras is vesha, or aversion. Apathy, or feeling like our voice doesn’t matter, is a form of aversion. It’s easy to feel like our individual vote won’t make a difference, but yoga teaches us the opposite. It asks us to step into our own power and recognize that every action we take, no matter how small, can ripple out into the world.
Civic Engagement as a Yogic Practice
Voting is a powerful extension of our yoga practice. When we approach it with mindfulness, reflection, and ethical principles, it becomes a form of service. It’s a way to practice compassion, promote justice, and contribute to the world around us.
I encourage you to engage in the voting process with integrity, to research your candidates and policies carefully, and to approach the ballot box with the same mindfulness that you bring to your yoga mat.
For more on aligning your everyday life with yogic principles, check out my Yoga Teacher Training program. It offers an opportunity to deepen your practice and learn how to carry your yoga off the mat and into the world.
