By Lynn Lalka
The second Yama, or ethical restraint, is Satya, or truthfulness. The practice of Satya calls upon us to speak, think, and act in a truthful manner. And on its face, this may seem like a rather straightforward directive. We are told from a very young age to “always tell the truth.” And this is something our young brains can usually comprehend to some extent – only say things that are true and do not lie. But what even is the truth?
Things can quickly begin to get muddy. As a second grader, when we are asked who threw the ball over the fence of the playground, we may say we don’t know, even though we do know that it was our best friend Tommy that threw the ball. When we are late to a meeting with our boss as an adult, we may say, “The traffic was awful!” when truly we just left our house too late. We often begin to justify untruths – If I tell on Tommy, he’ll get in trouble! If I tell my boss I didn’t manage my time correctly, they’ll think less of me and it will affect my job!
I think it can be pretty easy to start living a life that isn’t fully truthful. Our awareness is so often pulled to things outside of ourselves – outside obligations and expectations, jobs, caring for others, staying sane in afternoon traffic. The list goes on and on. “Where our awareness goes, our energy flows.” And sometimes this may mean that when we finally do stop and pause, we feel like we’re in a Talking Heads song – “How did I get here?” We may get to a place where we don’t even know we are being untrue to ourselves, because we are so disconnected from our Self that we don’t know what the truth is anymore.
I often think back to those strange times in 2020. Honestly, there were a lot of things about COVID that I enjoyed, particularly being home more and having fewer external pulls. But I also had a baby in May 2020, and navigating late pregnancy, birth, and the newborn stage (with a three-year-old) during already strange times was really something. However, I am also very much a glass-half-full kind of person, and every time people would ask me how I was doing, I would say, “I’m good! I’m fine!” And honestly, I really did believe it! I’ve gone through quite a few seasons and periods of necessary introspection since then, and I realize now that not only was I being untruthful to others when I appeared so cheery and optimistic about the situation, but I was also being untruthful to myself.
Through the practice of yoga, we are inviting ourselves back into our Selves. The pulls of external forces, drawing our awareness and energy toward them, will always be there, but through our practice, we can invite ourselves back in. And to be truthful with others, we first have to be truthful with ourselves. The word yoga translates to “to yoke” or “to unite.” So much untruth comes from disconnection – from being split off from our inner knowing. Satya asks us to gently return, to listen more closely, and to honor what is actually true.