Eight Limbs of Yoga

Eight Limbs of Yoga Eight limbs of yoga concept come from ashtanga yoga, which translates into 8 limbs. This is one of the most important concepts of yoga that one must understand. If you want all the benefits of yoga, you will have to focus on the philosophy and theory of the yoga as well as the practice.

Here is the concept and philosophy of 8 limbs of yoga.

Philosophy and Origin: We can find the traces of 8 limbs of yoga from the Patanjali sutra of yoga.

This is one of the most sacred sutras of Hindu religion. The word asht means eight and anga means limbs of the body. So, if we think of yoga as a person, there will be eight limbs of this body. The philosophy of the 8 limbs of yoga means that there are eight most important parts of yoga practice, and to get all the benefits, you should know these parts or limbs and work on each of them. Here is a list of the eight limbs of yoga and complete details about them.

1. Yama (attitudes toward our environment): Yama is the first limb out of the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga. This first limb of yoga is related to your attitude to things such as the environment. There are five stages in this limb of yoga. Each related to something different.

These are the five Yama’s. Ahimsa or nonviolence, Satya or truthfulness, Asteya or non-stealing, Brahmacharya or continence and Aparigraha or non-covetousness. Each of these signifies something in ourselves, for example, ahimsa is about making yourself nonviolent and avoiding harming anything. Other Yamas also work according to their meanings as well.

2. Niyama (attitudes toward ourselves): Niyama is the attitude towards self, this about how you treat yourself or what you consider yourself. This is very important as it helps us understand

the concepts of things such as integrity, and resilience. There are also five Niyamas, here are these. Saucha or cleanliness, Samosa or contentment, Tapas or heat, Swadhyaya or study of the sacred scriptures and of one’s self, and Ishvara Pranidhana or surrender to God. All of these dictates one state in which we consider ourselves. This concept is very important as it teaches us to believe, and surrender to God.

3. Asana (physical postures): This is about the physical position or posture of a person. When you do yoga, you get your body in multiple positions or postures. These postures in Hindi are known as the asanas. There is a huge list of possible asanas that you can do. It depends on what type of yoga practice you are doing. As we are studying ashtanga yoga, there are postures that are specific to this yoga. They are the focus of consideration in this part of 8 limbs yoga.

4. Pranayama (restraint or expansion of the breath): This is the fourth limb out of eight. It is known for controlling breathing.

When you are doing yoga. You control your inhale and exhalation process.

This limb of yoga talks about controlling and allowing the air to come in and go out of your body. Pranayama techniques are known as the superior techniques in terms of breathing as they provide more oxygen as compared to normal breathing.

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses): This is the fifth limb of ashtanga yoga. This is about relieving your physical senses or withdrawing from your physical senses such as hearing, watching, touching, smelling, and tasting.

6. Dharana (concentration): This is the sixth of eight limbs of ashtanga yoga. This is about increasing your focus, attention, through concentration. This is one of those practices that allow you to look away from all the things that are around you and focus on one point. This is helpful in many ways in practical life.

7. Dhyana (meditation): This is the seventh out of the eight limbs. This is about meditating and giving your mind the calmness, it needs. This is one of the most important parts. It comes after concentration as to reach this level; you will need to withdraw from your senses and concentrate on one point to reach this stage.

8. Samadhi (complete integration).

Samadhi is the eighth limb of ashtanga yoga. It is about integration. This is significant as it helps you integrate yourself, with your inner self. You become one with nature. This is the ultimate goal of yoga. Once you reach this place, you are at the highest level of yoga and you will be able to get all the benefits of yoga that you want.

Conclusion: To better understand these concepts and learn more about the eight limbs of yoga, you should consult with a teacher or learn from a professional yoga teacher. You can do that from home by going to the website of Arhanta Yoga Ashram and learning from them online.