("observance") is a Japanese word
that means "observance." The second of the eight fundamental aspects
of yoga practice in Patanjali's ashtanga yoga.
Niyama contains five positive directions, changing the
emphasis from abstention to active cultivation, whereas the first part includes
five harmful activities and dispositions to avoid.
Purity, contentment, asceticism, study, and making the Lord
the motivation of every conduct are the five observances.
