The Eight Limbs of Yoga – How many do you know?

• For many, the word yoga is synonymous with the phycial asana practice. But yoga is more than just headstands, handstands, downward dogs and complicated twists and bends of the body. The word Yoga means ‘Union’ and stands for the union of the body, mind and the soul.
• Yoga is more than 5000 years old, a tradition or way of life passed down from a Guru to the students  in ancient India. Sage Patanjali wrote what we now know as  the Yoga Sutras, a text with 195 aphorisms which gives a guideline for living a meaningful life. 
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• In his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali describes Yoga as an eight fold path:

1. Yama: Integrity of the self
2. Niyama: Observance of self discipline
3. Asana: Postures
4. Pranayama: Breathing and breath control
5. Pratyahara: Control of the senses
6. Dharana: Concentration or focus
7. Dhyana: Meditation
8. Samadhi: The final state of bliss and union.

• The yamas and niyamas are observances that we follow in the society as well as towards ourselves; they are the do’s and dont’s of ethical behavior. They can be our guideline towards a yogic life of fulfillment and contentment. 

• The Yamas:  

• The Yamas are the rules of moral behavior towards the society and to self to be practiced through thoughts, words and deeds. These are further divided into the following:
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1. Ahimsa: Non violence:  
2. Satya: Truthfulness 
3. Asteya: Non stealing
4. Brahmacharya:  Celibacy or Sense control to direct energy away from sexual desires 
5. Aparigraha: Non possessiveness 

The Niyamas

• Niyamas are the  rules of personal behavior or observances that are recommended for a healthy living. 

1. Saucha: Cleanliness
2. Santosha: Contentment. Please read more about Santosha here.
3. Tapas:  Heat; Disciplined use of energy
4. Svadyaya: Self study
5. Ishwarapranidhana: Surrender to the higher power

Asana 

• Traditionally the practice of asana was to prepare the body for the internal practices of meditation . In modern times, we use the asanas more for their  physical benefits.  
•  When asanas are practiced in the right and balanced way, it leads to calming and purification of the mind.  It is easier to begin with asana practice and as the mind calms,  work towards the yamas and the niyamas. The focus on  breath during the asana and pranayama practices also helps to develop the inner awareness,  which in turn assists in practicing the ethical codes. 

Pranayama 

• Prana is the life force and when we work with this energy/ breath, it helps change the way we perceive things, and move our awareness into the more subtle layers within the body. 

Pratyahara

• Pratyahara is the ability to withdraw our senses inorder to be present in whatever we do. Practicing pratyahara helps us eliminate all distractions. It  prepares us  for the yogic journey by helping to focus the mind inward. Pratyahara can also be described as  taking away the negative influences in our lives and moving towards healthier choices.

Dharana

• Dharana is  focus or concentration on one object or  a task– for example focusing on the breath, during asana practice would be dharana. What we usually think of as meditation in our practices is also Dharana as we try to focus on a single point or object. 

Dhyana

• Dhyana occurs as we progress in our yogic journey.  It is the is the next stage of Dharana, where we are completely absorbed in our focal point.

Samadhi

• Samadhi is the ultimate bliss or enlightenment that all yogis aim towards. We can look at Samadhi as  the ability to see equality or oneness in everything. It can also be thought as the point when we are one with the universal energy.

• This basic description of the eight limbs helps us to understand that there is more to yoga than the asanas. Each of these limbs are intertwined and slowly prepares our body towards the next stage.The first four stages focus on refining our personalities, gain physical strength,  develop inner awareness, along with a healthy relation with our body and mind.This preparation is essential to  progress towards  the next four limbs which helps in attaining a higher state of conciosuness. It is a great idea to incorporate the first  five limbs into our daily lives in order to work towards the next three. 
• In our yoga training Centre, there was a board outside the door which said : ” Leave your ego and shoes outside the door”. The approach towards these principles should also be similar. We already  stress the importance of ‘leaving the ego behind’ in our asana practice. Rather than trying to achieve perfection quickly through forcing into a posture, it is important to accept where we are in our practice, enjoy the journey  and let the postures happen with time.  Similarly, our  personal yogic path should be a non judgmental  journey without rushing to reach the destination.  

• Written by:
• Hema Laxman, RYT 200
• Owner, Flamingo Yoga & Wellness