Ahimsa

Ahiṃsā joins the negating prefix a- with hiṃsā, "harm" or "injury" (from the root han, to strike or kill). It means "non-harming" or "non-violence" — not merely refraining from physical injury, but a settled disposition of not wishing harm to any living being.

As your short definition says, ahiṃsā extends to thought, word and action, and toward all beings, including yourself. It is less a rule than an orientation of the heart: reducing the harm you cause and the hostility you carry. Understood fully, it shades naturally into active kindness and compassion.

Ahiṃsā is the first of the five yamas listed in Patañjali's Yoga Sūtra (2.30), and so the ethical foundation of the whole path. Sūtra 2.35 adds that when ahiṃsā is firmly established, hostility ceases in one's presence. The Bhagavad Gītā also counts non-harming among the marks of a mature practitioner.

On the mat, ahiṃsā means not forcing — respecting the body's limits and easing out of a pose before strain becomes injury. Off the mat it shapes how you speak, what you eat, and how you treat those around you, including the quieter violence of harsh self-judgement.

A common misconception is that ahiṃsā demands passivity or a single lifestyle rule such as strict vegetarianism. Traditionally it is broader and more nuanced: a lifelong reduction of harm across every level, weighed thoughtfully in real situations, rather than a rigid prohibition applied without discernment.