This Yama means more than just what we might initially think of as relating to 'stealing'.
Asteya is something that can be practiced in every minute of every day of our lives. Are we stealing from ourselves with our habits, our distractions, our focus? Are we stealing time & peace from ourselves and others by often being late? Are we stealing space from ourselves by trying to fill some perceived gap in our lives with more and more stuff?
Patanjali says 'To one established in non-stealing, all wealth comes'.
This could be taken to mean that when we allow what is meant for us to simply come to us then we find we will live a richer life, rather than constantly going after things that are stealing away our time, energy, focus & peace.
Perhaps in this way Asteya is about being more mindful of what we already have in our lives and questioning the idea of needing or coveting more. Of course it doesn't mean that we don't have goals or dreams and work towards things, it just means that we question the reasons around why we're doing what we're doing.
What's your take on Asteya? How do you understand it? ✨