What is yama? 

Ans. Yama means restraints or abstention. Yamas are practices to eliminate wrong, harmful or disturbing behaviour. They create a foundation of right living. Yama consists of five moral codes of conduct. These are :

• Ahimsa or non-violence : It means not to hurt any creature mentally or physically through mind, speech or action. We must not display any negative emotions or injure anyone.
• Satya or truthfulness : It is a presentation of a matter with truthfulness in thought, word and deed. We must not tell a lie in all the dealings of life.
• Asteya or Non-stealing : of anything in life such as money, material, ideas, speeches or writings. We should feel satisfied, whatever God has given us.
• Celibacy or Brahmacharya : It means refraining from all the activities related to sexual enjoyment directly or indirectly.
• Aparigraha or non-possessiveness : It means to lead a life with minimum requirements