The Eight Limbs of Yoga

The mystic sage, Patanjali, brings Yoga alive through this eight-fold path. Yoga, "to yoke or unite," integrates the mind, body, and spirit and provides the tools and knowledge needed for the self-healing journey. Yoga connects us to our higher self and unites us with nature, expanding our joy into our communities and world. Yoga, however, is more than just the physical practice of postures and poses.

Among the most ancient Hindu scriptures are the Vedas, where the Yoga Sutras and The Eight Limbs of Yoga are found. The yogi and philosopher Patanjali created an eight-step path on how to live with meaning and purpose. This eight-fold path is called Ashtanga, meaning "eight limbs" (ashta=eight, anga=limb).

Patanjali explains how each branch of Yoga builds on the one beneath it. He taught yoga as a "natural desire to expand" rather than forcing results from a joyless state. T.K.V Desikachar writes in The Heart of Yoga, "We can begin practicing yoga from any starting point, but if we are to be complete human beings we must incorporate all aspects of ourselves, and do so step by step."

The Eight Limbs of Yoga aren't meant to be followed religiously as a law but rather like a compass that points you home to your true north. They reflect nature with branches that intertwine and support the whole tree. Each step provides wisdom through "relationships with others, our behavior, our health, our breathing, and our meditation path." (Desikachar, 7) Patanjali maps out these aspects into Eight steps, they are:

Yamas: The first limb of Yoga is our foundation for all other limbs. Within them is our belief system, which gives way to our attitudes regarding how we see the world and behave toward others each day. The Yamas are an inventory of our relationships, beliefs, and social ethics, not a moral checklist. The five Yamas are:

Ahimsa (nonviolence)

Satya (truthfulness)

Asteya (non-stealing)

Brahmacharya (abstinence and moderation)

Aparigraha (non-hoarding and greed)

Niyamas: The second limb turns our focus inwardly toward our mind, body, and spiritual well-being. The Niyamas draw our attention toward our personal practices and attitudes with these five guidelines:

Saucha (clarity, purity of body and mind cleanliness)

Santosha (contentment)

Tapas (balance of energy, purification through discipline)

Svadhyaya (self-reflection, self-study)

Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to a higher power)

Asana: The third limb of yoga is the physical aspect of Yoga, which in Sanskrit translates to the seat of your practice. Postures of asana are led by your breath and attention. According to The Heart of Yoga, they should be steady, alert, and comfortable. Asana aims to maintain a connection to your Yamas and Niyamas while finding your edge in each pose and strengthening you for the following branches.

Pranayama: The fourth limb is your yogic breathing practice. It connects your breath to your thoughts and initiates your movements in asana. Breath is the vessel that carries Prana, our precious life force energy. Including a deep breathing practice in your day helps to anchor you to the present as you move Prana through your energy pathways and flow through the seasons of life.

Pratyahara: The fifth limb of yoga in Sanskrit means "withdrawal of the senses," which is a practice of noticing and tuning out distractions. The Heart of Yoga explains with pratyahara we remain "unmoved and uninfluenced" by stimuli, drawing our senses away from the external. (108) When this happens, we draw our senses internally to hear our truth.

Dharana: The sixth limb of yoga in Sanskrit, "Dhr," means "to hold." The withdrawal of our senses in Pratyahara leads us to focus and concentrate on whatever we are making contact with. Desikachar teaches that "deep contemplation and reflection can create the right conditions" for dharana. (109)

Dhyana: When the deep focus of dharana is unbroken, your focus turns into dhyana, the seventh limb of yoga. This limb connects us to what we are focused on "because the mind needs focusing on a particular object before a connection can be made." (Desikachar, 109)

Samadhi: The eighth limb of yoga is Samadhi, meaning "to bring together, to merge, to complete." This is when we become fully absorbed in our focus, without realizing you are aware; it's your "aha!" moment. This state is hard to achieve and takes practice, but you can capture its essence by doing things that put you inside of a flow state.