Aparigraha, non-grasping

Aparigraha is the fifth yama in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. It means non-grasping: not taking or holding on to more than you need. It applies to possessions, but also to people, praise, outcomes and the next version of a pose.

It closes the list of five restraints that begin the eight limbs of yoga.

What does the word mean?

Parigraha comes from a root meaning to seize or grasp, with a prefix that adds the sense of all around. It means acquiring, gathering in, and the things you end up owning. The negative prefix a turns it around. Aparigraha is the absence of that grasping.

Some early commentators on the Yoga Sutras read it partly as not accepting gifts, since a gift can bind the one who receives it. Most also describe the trouble that comes with things: the effort of getting them, the worry of keeping them and the grief of losing them.

Where does aparigraha appear in the Yoga Sutras?

The Sutras name five yamas: non-harming, truthfulness, not stealing, brahmacharya and aparigraha. The yamas and niyamas page sets out all ten guidelines together, and the fourth yama, brahmacharya, or moderation, has its own page.

Later in the second chapter, the text gives each yama a fruit. For aparigraha, it says that when a person is steady in non-grasping, understanding of the how and why of their births arises. Commentators read this as clarity about one’s own life, which comes once the mind stops reaching for more.

The wider text, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, also speaks of vairagya, non-attachment, as one of the two supports of practice. Aparigraha is the outer, practical side of that inner freedom.

How do Jain teachings use it?

Aparigraha is central to Jainism, where it is the fifth of the great vows. Jain monks and nuns give up almost all possessions. Monks of the Digambara tradition renounce even clothing. Lay Jains keep a lighter vow: limiting what they own and giving generously.

In Jain teaching, the grasping that aparigraha restrains is linked with harm, which is why it sits so closely beside ahimsa, non-harming. Holding on to more than your share takes from others.

Mohandas Gandhi, who drew on Jain ideas as well as Hindu ones, made non-possession one of the vows of his community and lived with very few belongings.

How does it show up on the mat?

Most students meet aparigraha as a quiet cue, not a lecture.

• Not grasping at the pose. Letting a shape be what it is today, rather than forcing last week’s depth.
• Not grasping at comparison. Keeping your attention on your own mat rather than on the person next to you.
• Letting go at the end. Savasana, the final rest, asks you to stop doing anything at all.
• Not over-gathering. A practice needs very little. A mat and perhaps a block are enough, and the guide to choosing a yoga mat starts from what you actually need.

Some teachers pair aparigraha with the breath. You cannot hold an inhale forever. Each breath has to be let go for the next to arrive, which is a simple picture of the whole idea.

How can you practise it in daily life?

The Sutras leave the details to the practitioner. Many people start small: buying less, sharing more, and noticing where they cling to being right or being in control. None of it needs to be dramatic. The practice is in the noticing.