Asteya
It’s interesting how we sort of consider stealing in one main capacity in our culture, generally in physical objects or like defined intellectual property. We often don’t think about how we steal from other people through our actions and societal norms and how our structures and systems steal from us and our communities. I appreciated how this lecture poised the questions about stealing and the ways we steal from one another. It was also interesting to think about this in a yoga lens which I am not sure I have really formally thought about. I think in my yoga practice I have considered nonstealing and stealing in terms of how I might steal from myself or my own practice. It was a good start to thinking about how I might practice asteya as a teacher both in my teachings but also in how I show up and the space I show up in. I was also considering how as a teacher you may not have complete control of the space you teach in and the participants and community around you, and how I might grapple with making the space feel more inclusive even if I can’t change everything about the space.
Creating your own class
I ended up making a class centered around my mom, so it is a bit longer than the 5-8 minutes, but it sort of incorporated some of the things we have done thus far and used the energy awareness and range of motion. I like the idea of teaching more chair yoga because so often we are traveling or at work in a chair and can start to easily incorporate these into our daily lives outside of our set practice!
Opening & Setting the Stage
- Welcome participants into class
- Introduce myself and explain that this will not be a traditional vinyasa class that one might have attended before
- This is an opportunity for you to safely connect with your body in this space. I will provide offerings for you to explore your body. We will begin with an energy awareness to allow you to better enter the space for our range of motion practice today. The energy awareness is an opportunity for you to explore and check in with your body prior to stillness in the practice. Then we will move to a centering and through an exploration of range of motion of our body and our emotions in tandem. Throughout the range of motion, we will come back to stillness. Through this safe and supported interplay, we will help to teach our bodies to regulate through a wide range of motion.
Energy Awareness
- We will start seated today in a chair or on the ground. First, I will just invite everyone to find a comfortable seat. Then, ask them to wiggle around and look around – see who is seated next to you, give gratitude to the individuals who are joining the practice, explore the room and see what is around you. Get yourself into this space.
- As you come into the space, take one breath or a few breaths to feel anchored in your seat for a moment and just notice. Notice how are you feeling today? What are the qualities of your first few breaths of class? What energy are you coming in with today?
- And then I invite you to explore gently shifting in your seat side to side.
- And if you’re feeling a good amount of energy today maybe you’re bouncing your shoulders or your hands or stomping your feet a few times
- If you’re feeling more slow moving maybe you are making some circles with your body or slowly shifting from side to side.
- Just naturally move your body in your seat meeting the energy you feel in your body.
- Maybe you’re unsure what you feel and you try a few different movements, maybe you settle on one or two movements
- Notice where in your body you’re feeling energy or heat and where you’re feeling stagnant
- And after a few rounds of breath exploring your energy levels, gradually come into more stillness, you can place your hands on your heart and belly or just on your lap or knees. If you feel safe, you can close your eyes here.
- And just notice in a moment of stillness, how you’re feeling now? You may be a bit more energized from the movement feeling your heart beating faster or breathing more rapidly. Or you may feel calm and centered. You may feel the need to keep moving, maybe there is somewhere you still feel needs a bit of resituating or release.
- Come into a few rounds of breath here in a more still seat. Without changing anything in your breath just notice where your breath is today. Notice as the energy moves through you.
- And I invite you to set an intention, if you have your own or you can try saying “I honor my body, thanks body for carrying me through this life, you are awesome! Let’s explore together!”
Range of Motion
- Seated spinal warm up
- Shoulder circles
- Neck
- Twist
- Side to side
- Circles
- Explore the range of motion in your wrists and hands
- Explore the range of motion in your ankles with a few ankle circles
- Explore the range of motion in your elbows extending your arms
- Explore the range of motion of the knees just extending and bringing your knees back in
- And then explore your shoulders maybe sway or do some arm circles
- Maybe it’s both or one arm
- Explore reaching in your chair
- Reaching arms to both sides to the front and back
- Reach the legs
- Reach for your feet
- Explore the chair your sitting in and just notice what your range of motion is in the chair
- And notice how does that feel physically and also emotionally
- Moment of stillness & centering
- Cat/Cow – explore spinal flexion and extension
- Moment of stillness & centering
- Side stretching/bending (seated in chair)
- Moment of stillness & centering
- Spinal twisting (seated in chair)
- Moment of stillness & centering
- Hamstring stretches (seated in chair)
- Moment of stillness & centering
- Figure four (chair)
- Moment of stillness & centering
- Forward Fold
- Moment of stillness & centering
Reflection
Seated or lying down shavasana/centering/meditation
I really appreciated Lianna’s comment that offered the juxtaposition or binary of non-stealing versus advocacy, and it gave me a lot to think about, as I’m a new social worker eager to learn from an established social worker. I also appreciated the discussion about offering ques with full agency and will continue to think about how we need to approach facilitating as though some participants have no tools in their toolbox. To paraphrase, when we offer tools, we’re actively non-stealing. I can also see how misrepresenting a class or otherwise offering a class that’s not accessible is stealing because we’re getting in the way of an individual’s journey in practicing movements of yoga.
The class discussion about trauma and the nervous system was really intense, and part of why it took me a while to finish the recording. I really appreciated the video discussing the nuance of regulation versus resilience/capacity. In so many movement and vibration spaces, I hear people continually talking about nervous system regulation, and I can’t help but cringe a bit because there is an expectation to aim to be perfectly regulated, which is totally unnatural and unattainable, especially for marginalized and minoritized populations.
First and foremost: Jen, I'm so sorry to learn about the loss of your husband. Thank you again for your prayers and support after Izzy's accident last summer.
What really stood out to me in this session was how Asteya applies to so much more than just material things. It made me think about energy, attention, and how I show up. When I overextend, look for validation, or give more than I can sustain, I am taking from my own PEACE. Practicing Asteya, for me, is learning how to protect my energy and show up in a way that feels honest and sustainable.
I also realized how much I have “stolen” from myself over time. My stress response tends to be fawning—giving, accommodating, and trying to keep things smooth. It’s exhausting. And it’s not necessary anymore. I am not a little girl. I am not dependent on others for my basic needs. Remembering that helps me come back to a place of agency, STRENGTH and choice.
I noticed patterns of comparison and wanting to “get it right” as well. Just seeing that was helpful. It brought me back to the idea of sufficiency—trusting that I am enough and that I don’t need to prove anything.
The conversation around trauma and the nervous system really landed, too. It reminded me how important pacing and tone are when teaching. Slowing things down, keeping it simple, and building in somatic pauses can make a big difference. Those moments of pause are where people can actually feel something and connect...and the magic of yoga can happen 😉
I liked the sequencing framework—starting with awareness, then gentle movement, then coming back to stillness. It feels practical and accessible, especially in the environments where I teach. It doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective.
Overall, this session left me feeling more grounded in the idea of teaching from a place of ENOUGH. Not over-giving or performing, just showing up, being present, and trusting the work.
I really related to what Jen said about being their “big loser daughter, who is fucking up again,” while having zero desire to prove who she is or what she believes. I was an Economic Development and Research Officer with the Town of Oakville, a municipal government, for six years, making approximately $95,000 a year. After a police assault during a wellness check, I became disabled with PTSD and my entire life changed. My family wanted me to get back to work and keep paying the mortgage on what they viewed as their investment.
I’m now on the Ontario Disability Support Program, appointed to the Lived Experience Advisory Group for TO Prosperity, where I advise on Toronto’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, and doing the facilitator training with Prison Yoga Project! I never expected to be on this path, but like Jen, I’m happy to be on it instead of returning to my corporate job. I think my body knew even before the police assault that I couldn’t walk that path forever.
I also identified 100% with what Caili shared. I am also 33, and when she talked about why she would bring a vulnerable four-year-old around family she knows is not safe, it captured exactly how I feel about no longer engaging with my family. I felt the same about Brit Weeks describing disclosing to her family, having them refuse to address it, and saying, “you never listened to me.”
I really appreciated the Yamas & Niyamas Support rainbow slide because I had literally just been thinking that I needed an overview of everything. I had also just completed Module 5 and considered “What is Stealing?” When I saw the slide, I thought about the saying “Indian giver” and how, 30 years later, I have a much better understanding of how hypocritical, racist and harmful that expression was.
Jen mentioned the idea that we hold what happened to our ancestors in our bodies for seven generations. I recently learned that I am seven generations into the future from my fifth-great-grandfather, George Clingersmith, who was half white and half Indigenous. Knowing that while reflecting on the racist attitudes toward Indigenous people I heard from my mom growing up is quite interesting.
I especially appreciated the Asteya — Non-Stealing list of ways humans steal from other humans, and what Liana said about non-stealing and advocacy. For the last six months, I have had to relentlessly advocate for myself and others. Thinking about advocacy as refusing to let someone’s dignity, voice, rights or opportunities be taken away really resonates with me.
I also loved what Jen said about going beyond equity and inclusion toward belonging. That is key in the DEI frameworks I've learned about and experienced.
Finally, thank you, Jen, for all of your sharing. I was thinking about you with you being in healthcare during that time you would have experience with the OxyContin push. The only woman who was ever truly a good mother to me was prescribed and got addicted to Oxys, and I witnessed the opioid crisis hit my hometown of Sarnia, Ontario, Canada incredibly hard. I’m also so sorry to hear about your husband’s accident.
For the rest of the session I really focused on listening to the material without writing everything down because sometimes I feel pulled in two different directions. Jen using her “yoga voice” was really funny lol. It’s nice to see the previous version of the Facilitation Workbook and see the newest draft version released this week. Thank you PYP, so happy to be working towards my goal to finish by October 15, 2026. 🧡