In daily life, many of us feel we keep in the spirit of the Yama (or restraint) of Non-Stealing if we do not overtly take something that doesn't belong to us. For example, we would never think of going into a store to shoplift or hold-up the shopkeeper at gunpoint. However, a subtlety of this Yama is that non-stealing also refers to Non-Coveting or Non-Envy.

Let's say that you take a walk by the Bay and see a family pulling their 40 ft. speedboat out of dock, ready for a day of fun on the water. The sun is shining, everyone is smiling in anticipation. It's easy to think how nice it would be if you had such a boat. Your thoughts may even take the turn that you feel that this is something you deserve to have. Why can't you afford a speedboat and this family can? Feelings of resentment creep in - and now, the happy family off to enjoy their day on the water take on the evil markings of voracious capitalists! How our perception can be skewed by covetous feelings!

What we may not see, in our encounter by the bay, is the time and money it takes for the maintenance of anything that spends most of it's time in the water. We also do not see the hard work that went into making the money to buy a large craft. Maybe the family doesn't own the boat at all, but simply borrowed or rented it. The truth is, by allowing yourself to perceive the scene in a way which is more related to your feelings of 'what is wrong with me' than simply 'family enjoying boat', you are effectively robbing the family of their joy in the day, and robbing yourself of taking pleasure in the view.

Oh, you may not think that this type of reaction would occur. You are a generous human being who would not begrudge a stranger enjoyment in his possession. In fact, perhaps our story took a different turn, and as we walk closer to the dock, we recognize a well-liked co-worker as the Captain. He greets you and after a chat, he invites you to join the party! In this instance, we may truly revel at our friend's happiness. We may also see the other aspects that go into ownership which are a trial for our friend and have a realistic picture of what it means to be have such an expensive hobby. We could have this life too if we were willing to make the sacrifices our friend had. How easy it is to follow this Yama!

But, let our walk take yet another path. We come upon the family, and the Captain turns out to be a co-worker who just beat you out for the managerial position for which you worked so hard. You feel he obtained this position through taking the boss out for rides on his 40 ft. speedboat. Is that the boss relaxing on deck? How can our Yoga practice help us to view this scene with equanimity? Are we the same person when life goes our way as when it doesn't?

If we think of the situations where we find ourselves envious of the property of another, we can realize that the item we covet is only a sliver of the surface life - and our desire is more closely linked to our lack of spiritual satisfaction than to our perceived need for the object.

The next observation we can make is that feeling expansive towards a friend's good luck may be easy. Feeling the same towards an enemy is more difficult, and therefore, perhaps a richer achievement. We often have a greater depth of learning when the lesson has been a difficult one. If we cultivate a deep inner knowledge that happiness comes from within and not from external sources, it may also be easy to feel joy for the good fortune of others.

If we relate this to the Chakra system, our sense of self-esteem comes from our third Chakra (Manipura). It should come as no surprise that Manipura is also where jealousy manifests. Poses (asanas) that open the solar plexus, such as the fish pose (Matsyasana), the Plough pose (Halasana) or the Psychic Union pose (Yoga mudra), are good work for opening Manipura. If we combine the poses with an intention such as 'Oneness' or 'Union', we may realize that we already possess everything we need to achieve pure happiness.