The Eight Limbs Of Yoga
Did you know yoga isn’t exactly what the majority of people think it is? It isn’t just the physical poses you practice in your solo sessions, online or at your local studio. And it’s definitely not what the majority of people see in saturated social media symbolism or mainstream media.
Those incredibly popular poses are often assumed to hold all this disicpline dating back thousands of years contains. But they're just one branch of yoga's deeply rooted tree.
According to the Yoga Sutras, a collection of four chapters that provide the foundation of most modern yoga teachings. This includes the eight limbs of yoga, which basically serve as a guide that contains all the yogic wisdom one needs to embody what this ancient practice is really all about.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga Explained
The word yoga is derived from the Sanskrit root Yuj, which means “to yoke” or “to unite.” The goal or purpose of yoga, according to Pantanjali’s Yoga Sutras is found in the Sadhana Pada (the second chapter) where the second sentence says: yogas chitta vritti nirodhah.
Translated, it reads something similar to “yoga is the control of the modifications of the mind.”
- Chitta: mind, consciousness
- Vritti: waves, fluctuations
- Nirodhah: control, to quiet
Read a bit further, and you'll find this ancient scripture also tell us that through the practice of yoga we can unite our individual consciousness with divine consciousness, ultimately realizing the bliss of universal oneness.
But there's a few things we must do before we get there. According to yogic philosophy, the way to attaining this blissed out state is found by following an eight-fold path known as the “Eight Limbs of Yoga.”
Outlined in precise detail in the Yoga Sutras, the eight limbs of yoga stem from the Sanskrit word ashtanga (ashta/eight, anga/limb). When practiced sincerely, one may realize the true goal of yoga: To control the mind, attain self-realization, and experience one's innate connection with the divine.
But the goal the aim of practicing the eight limbs. Much like life itself, the eight limbs are all part of the journey, not the destination. They're something practiced and perfected over time.
What Are The Eight Limbs Of Yoga?
1. Yama (Yoga’s “Golden Rules” / Ethical Conduct and Behavior)
The first limb of yoga is yama, which refers to moral disciplines and our ethical conduct in the world. There are five yamas, and they are considered universal practices that can be adopted by anyone despite who we are, where we come from or how much yoga we’ve practiced.
The five yamas are:
- Ahimsa: non-violence
- Satya: truthfulness
- Asteya: non-stealing
- Brahmacharya: right use of energy, abstinence,
- Aparigraha: non-greed, non-hoarding,
2. Niyama (Self-Disciplines, Spiritual Observances)
The second limb of yoga is niyama, which concern our self-discipline and spiritual observances. The niyamas offer an opportunity to travel further down the path of yoga, ultimately building character and yogic discipline.
The five niyamas are:
- Saucha: cleanliness
- Santosha: contentment
- Tapas: heat, burning desires
- Svadhyaya: self-study, study of sacred scripture/texts
- Ishvara Pranidhana: surrender to god/divine/universe
3. Asana (Physical Postures)
Asana is the third limb of yoga, the physical postures that accompany this ancient practice. Asana is what many people think of when they think of yoga, but this limb is simply one aspect of a multi-faceted path. In fact, there are only two sentences dedicated to asana in the Yoga Sutras:
- Sthira sukham asanam: The posture should be steady and comfortable.
- Prayatna shaithilyananta: [Posture is mastered] by relaxation of effort and absorption in the infinite space.
It’s said that yoga postures were developed so ancient yogis could sit in meditation for longer periods of time. In yoga, the body is also seen as a temple of the soul, and asanas serve to keep this temple strong on the journey of self-realization.
4. Pranayama (Regulation of Breath, Breathing Techniques)
Pranayama, the fourth limb of yoga, is often translated to mean “breath control” refers to a number of various breathing techniques. In Sanskrit, prana translates to “vital energy” or “life force energy”, while ayama means “regulation” or “control.” In this sense pranayama also means controlling our life force energy.
According to the Yoga Sutras, prana is not the physical process of inhalation and exhalation, but rather the energy that is derived from the natural flow of inhalation and exhalation.
In pranayama, when breathing is regulated through various techniques, prana, or life force energy is also regulated, offering the support necessary to continue earnestly on one's path.
Through various pranayama practices, such as nadi shodhana (alternate nostril breathing), simhasana (lion’s breath) and ujjayi breath (ocean’s breath, victorious breath), the breath is manipulated to manipulate the mind.
5. Pratyahara (Withdrawal of the Senses, Directing Attention Inward)
Pratyahara, yoga’s fifth limb, could be considered the first step towards meditation. This is where one begins to learn to withdraw the senses and make a conscious effort to remove ourselves from the outside world.
Pratyahara is directing the attention within, away from the senses of sound, smell and sensation and deeper into our mind. This doesn’t mean our senses literally disappear, it means that our focus shifts from these senses into our inner landscape.
It's here we find increased ability to withdrawal the senses from the outside world and start to concentrate more deeply on the present moment.
According to Vyasa, the legendary sage credited with compiling the classical Hindu epic the Mahabharata, there are four common ideas about controlling the senses:
- Non-addiction to objects such as sound and touch.
- Enjoying only objects that are not forbidden by the scriptures, and subsequently rejecting objects that are forbidden.
- Experiencing objects by choice without indulgence or attachment.
- Experiencing objects without feeling pleasure and pain.
Some say that control of the mind leads to control of the senses and that when we control the mind we don’t need to separately control the senses.
Either way, pratyahara offers an opportunity to control the senses and release getting trapped in indulgence of the senses that can cause us to stray from our path.
6. Dharana (Concentration)
The sixth limb of yoga is known as dharana, which is the practice of focused concentration. Each limb of yoga prepares us for the next, so where pratyahara helps us withdrawal from the outer world, dharana invites us to begin to deal with the distractions of the mind, which are our thoughts.
Did you know the average person thinks up to 80,000 thoughts each day? Dharana helps us begin to slow down the thought process through focused concentration on a single object.
Focusing on the breath, reciting a mantra and visualization would all be considered aspects of dharana. This sixth limb invites us to fixate on a single object of concentration, of which we offer our undivided attention as best we can.
For a lot of people on the path, dharana is a point on the path they reach and think they're meditating. But if you’re thinking you’re meditating, you’re not really meditating. It isn’t until you reach the seventh limb of yoga, where you realize a true meditative state.
7. Dyhana (Meditation)
Dyhana, the seventh limb of yoga, is meditation. This is the uninterrupted meditative state, where you're completely absorbed in the moment. Here the incessent thoughts slow down to the point you reach a quiet, surrendered state of mind where there is little thought to no thought.
Meditation isn’t something we “do.” It is a state where we are completely absorbed in whatever the focus of our meditation is. Maybe it’s the breath. Maybe it’s a mantra. Dyhana isn’t sitting cross-legged with our eyes closed thinking “I’m meditating.”
This limb takes you beyond the constructs of awareness of what you're doing to a place you settle into the stillness where you're acutely aware without any focus on being aware.
8. Samadhi (Bliss, Ecstasy)
Samadhi is the final limb of the eight limbs of yoga, and this state of bliss is the final part of the journey of yoga. Samadhi is where we merge with universal oneness and attain an ascended state of self-realization.
When one reaches samadhi, they have moved through each of the preceding limbs of the yogic path, coming to a state of peace, wholeness and bliss at reaching this state of becoming one with the universe.
Reaching a state of samadhi takes deep dedication. Not everyone will climb to the highest branch on yoga's tree, but it's possible by consciously and consistently training the mind and body, contiually embodying the other limbs and not straying from one's path.
Samadhi isn't a permanent state, though. You don’t just reach samadhi, and be like “I made it, path of yoga complete.” But through continued devotion to yoga and earnest dedication to its teachings, you can continue to experience and return to this blissful state of being.
Last Thoughts On the Eight Limbs Of Yoga
When practiced sincerely with effort and dedication, the eight limbs of yoga offer an opportunity to fully embody the true essence of yoga. This is a life philosophy, a sublte spiritual science providing way of living that offers liberation and realization.
Yes, there are physical postures involved, but the point of yoga extends far beyond what most people think. Through living the eight limbs of yoga, you will realize your true essence, and along the way touch upon something that offers profound understanding of existence itself.
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