Brahmacarya may be the single most contentious tenet on the yogic path. Perhaps because, on the surface, it appears to draw such a hard and fast line between the ascetic in the cave and the householder. It is classically translated as “chastity” or “celibacy” and not as easily clarified. If you were to really look into the classical roots of this concept, you would almost need to understand the whole of the history of Yoga and all of its branches and manifestations.
Suffice it to say, a more helpful modern interpretation of the word Brahmacarya is to “walk with the divine.” In the same way that a renunciate may choose chastity in the form of sexual celibacy, we householders and modern yogis may choose to purify our own energy (prana). We can do this by staying in the present moment and expressing our prana wisely. We don’t want our energy to leak out in frivolous pursuits. We want to channel it so that we are in line with our dharma, or right path.
In asana, we can work with the energies of the chakras to purify what we manifest in our poses. The “lower” chakras – particularly muladhara, the root chakra, and svadisthana, the sacral chakra – are what tie us to the Earth and our own creativity. We channel that energy up and through our heart, anahata chakra, and manifest it into the world. A great practice for this is udiyanna bandha, or the abdominal lock.
In general, consider your own energy in your asana practice. When you move into a pose, breathe there and consider the flow of prana through your body. Make any adjustments that feel right to facilitate that flow. Keep your awareness in the present moment – bringing together your body, your breath, your prana as one seamless manifestation of the divine.
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