Yoga as Ecological Practice: Living Ahimsa in a Fast-Changing World
- Kendra Boone
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
What might living yoga look like for you?
When we practise yoga over time, something subtle begins to happen. We start listening more closely — to the body, to our inner responses, to what feels true. From that listening, a sense of alignment can begin to form. Some things ask to shift. Some to soften. Some simply to be accepted.
For me, yoga created a pause where this kind of listening became possible. A respect for inner timing. A felt sense of enough. From here, choice begins to feel available.
As practice continues, yoga can also begin to reveal what no longer aligns. You might notice habits, values, or ways of living that don’t sit quite right anymore. There can be uneasiness in this — even grief or tenderness — as we see more clearly the world we’re living in and our place within it. This has certainly been part of my own experience.
Yoga doesn’t rush this seeing. It supports us to stay present with what we notice, at a pace that respects the nervous system. And alongside that clarity, something else often emerges — a quiet confidence in our capacity to choose, and to respond with care.
What has your practice begun to show you?
Ahimsa: The Ethical Heart of Yoga
Ahimsa — often translated as doing no harm — sits at the centre of yoga philosophy. It is the first of the yamas, and everything else grows from here.
We can’t really separate yoga from its ethics.
To practise yoga is to live yoga.
Ahimsa isn’t abstract. It asks a very practical question: How am I relating — to myself, to others, to the land, to the systems I participate in?
As awareness grows through practice, ahimsa begins to show up in everyday life — in how gently we treat our bodies, how we pace our work, how we make decisions, and how we engage with the world.
Living ahimsa doesn’t mean never causing harm. That isn’t possible. It means reducing harm where we can, and staying awake to the impact of our choices.
Where might ahimsa be quietly asking for your attention right now?
From Awareness to Everyday Choice
Very early on, this ethical inquiry showed up for me in how I related to the material world — what I buy, where my money lives, and what I choose to support.
I found myself drawn toward systems that take responsibility for people and planet: organisations guided by B Corp principles, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification where forests and materials are involved, and financial institutions that consider long-term social and environmental impact, not just profit.
Not as rules — but as guides.
What This Looks Like in My Own Life
Yoga has influenced very ordinary, practical decisions — including how I spend, save, and invest.
Some of the choices I’ve made include banking with Bank Australia, which prioritises ethical investment and transparency, choosing an ethical superannuation fund that avoids harmful industries and considers environmental and social impact, and paying attention to where money is invested, not just how it’s spent.
Alongside this, yoga has shaped everyday consumption and plastic reduction.
These are some of the products and producers I personally use and support:
Who Gives a Crap — recycled paper, plastic-free packaging, and a strong social and environmental ethic
Mukti Organics — Australian-made skincare, formulated without unnecessary additives
KeepCup — a simple daily shift away from single-use cups
Simply Clean — refillable, low-tox cleaning products
PhycoHealth — South Coast–based, sustainably sourced seaweed nutrition
Produce Pod — reusable produce bags that significantly reduce plastic use
Shopping regularly at Southside Farmers Market, supporting local growers and seasonal food
Yoga has also shaped how I move through the world. I ride my bike for local trips where I can, rather than driving. I use the car less often and more intentionally, share one car within my family rather than owning multiple vehicles, and downsized our car several years ago as part of simplifying our footprint.
Another significant choice for me has been offering retreats locally rather than internationally. While international retreats can be appealing, staying closer to home feels more aligned — supporting community, reducing travel impact, and keeping the work sustainable and accessible.
I share this simply as an example of how awareness from practice has shaped my own choices over time. This is ongoing. I’m still learning.
What small, ordinary choices feel available to you right now?
A Yogic Rhythm for Living Ethics
Yoga has offered me a simple, repeatable rhythm.
Practice — Karma Yoga You show up. You move, breathe, pause, and feel. Life itself becomes the practice.
Reflection — Svadhyaya Patterns come into view. What nourishes. What drains. What feels aligned, and what doesn’t.
Action — Tapas Small, steady commitments begin to form: choosing fewer, higher-quality items, buying for longevity, simplifying and downsizing, reducing single-use plastics step by step, and reconsidering transport, travel, and energy use over time.
Ethics Revealed — Yamas & Niyamas Over time, certain qualities surface naturally: ahimsa (care and restraint), santosha (contentment with enough), and aparigraha (loosening grasping). These aren’t ideals to strive for — they are lived responses that grow through experience.
Embodiment, Spanda, and Trauma-Sensitive Care
Trauma-sensitive yoga has taught me something essential. When the body feels overwhelmed, choice narrows. When the body feels safer, choice expands — and with that expansion, connection becomes possible. We begin to sense our place with others, with neighbours, with community, and with the wider world we’re part of.
Yoga builds the capacity to pause. That pause creates agency. From agency, ethical action becomes possible — not as obligation, but as care.
In yogic language, this is spanda — the subtle pulsation of vitality and responsiveness. Staying connected to this inner movement helps us remain in relationship with ourselves and the world, even as life becomes more complex and fast-changing.
This, too, is ahimsa.
In trauma-sensitive practice, non-harm begins with the body: respecting pace, choice, sensation, and lived experience. From there, the ethic naturally extends outward — into how we relate, consume, move, and participate in the world.
How might care for your nervous system support the way you live?
I continue to be inspired by people who bring sustainability into everyday life through reflection and care — including voices like Gill King and her work Sustainable Jill.
Years ago, I explored similar themes through the yoga ethic of Brahmacharya, or moderation and right use of energy. That reflection still feels relevant today:https://www.kendrahealingarts.com/post/2015/06/16/moderation-and-balance-the-yoga-of-brahmacharya
I don’t receive endorsements, sponsorships, or incentives from any of the products, organisations, or people mentioned here. I’m sharing from lived experience only.
Living yoga doesn’t require doing everything differently. It might begin with noticing where care feels possible, what feels like enough, and what living ahimsa might look like in your own life.
That noticing is svadhyaya.
That next small step is tapas.
That is yoga lived.
In a fast-changing world, yoga can offer more than relief. It can support an experiential connection to your body, strengthen nervous system capacity, and help you stay responsive rather than overwhelmed.
My trauma-sensitive yoga therapy classes, courses, and private sessions are designed to support this kind of embodied care — practices that honour choice, restore agency, and help us live our values with steadiness and integrity.
Sometimes one small step is enough to begin.
Yoga builds capacity — the ability to listen, to choose, and to act in ways that feel aligned. Over time, those choices matter.
If you’d like support taking that next step, join my online Satsang Sanctuary community, where this kind of practice can be explored together.
From there, you can explore what feels supportive for you.
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