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What are the 8 Limbs of Yoga?
The eight limbs (or stages) of yoga are a guide toward a full yoga practice.
Yamas Principles for how to treat others and our environment
Niyamas Principles for how to treat ourselves
Asanas Posture practice
Pranayama Control of the Life Force (breath)
Pratyahara Sense Withdrawal
Dharana Concentration
Dhyana Meditation or contemplation
Samadhi Enlightenment
Although presented sometimes referred to as stages, they are not sequential. You need not start at with the first (yamas) and work towards the last, (Samadhi or Enlightenment). Accurately called limbs, they grow and expand together and in proportion to each other. Most often, it is through the third limb, the poses (asanas), that is the portal through which westerners first see yoga. In parts of India, the first two limbs are examined and studied for significant time before a yoga mat is unrolled for asana. Others begin with meditation (Dhyana) and begin an asana practice to ease their sitting posture.
Samadhi, Enlightenment, as the last tends to reinforce the idea that these limbs are a linear progression. But yoga acknowledges that enlightenment is not a constant state. Even if reached, Samadhi can be lost if the other aspects of your yoga practice stall.
Patanjali referred to the eight limbs as the eightfold path, or ashtanga yoga. Others refer to these eight limbs as raja (royal) yoga or classical yoga. One source of confusion is Ashtanga Yoga which refers to a specific vinyasa school set forth by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. So Ashtanga Yoga can mean either this eightfold path or Pattabhi Jois’s vinyasa sequences.
What are the Yamas?
The Yamas are rules of conduct universal in their application and are the first limb of yoga. (Sanskrit translation is in italics)
Non-violence Ahimsa
Ahimsa is compassion and love for all living things and beings. This practice is fostered by freedom from fear and anger.
Truth Satya
Satya requires honest communication in thoughts, words and deeds. This practice encompasses a trust of our inner values and heart as well as integrity in our actions to our values and heart.
Non-stealing Asteya
Asteya directs us not to take belongings, time or attention from another without permission. This instruction also includes not using an item or taking more time for other than its intended purpose or for longer than sanctioned.
Chastity Brahmacharya
Brahmacharya literally translates as “brahmic conduct.” Patanjali stresses celibacy, however others emphasize the higher meaning of brahmacharya – to see the divinity in all. Iyengar notes that “without experiencing human love and happiness, it is not possible to know divine love.” 1 Further, Brahmacharya mandates we use our sexual energy to reconnect to our spiritual self and to know divine love.
Greedlessness Aparigraha
Aparigraha encourages the simple life free from needless possessions. “Parigraha” translates as “hoarding or collecting”; hence Aparigraha is the opposite. Your mind must trust that everything that is essential will be available. In this manner, you will not feel the lack of anything.
What are the Niyamas?
Niyamas are rules of conduct for the individual and are the second limb of yoga.
Purity Saucha
Saucha instructs us to maintain a clean body, mind and environment. Personal hygiene is important, as is proper consumption of nourishment. A mind cleansed of disturbing emotions is also a component. Finally, your surroundings should also be clean and pleasant. Iyengar recommends, “The banks of a lake or river or the sea-shore are ideal.” 2
Contentment Santosa
Santosa is the capacity to feel fulfilled with the life that one has and at peace with the stage of growth we are in currently. Good spirits and hope are nurtured to sustain this practice.
Ardour Tapas
Tapas is also translated as “burning enthusiasm,” of the body, speech and mind. This practice asks us to create a joyous momentum to carry us forward and to meet our life fully - our happiness, sadness, goals, chores and challenges.
Self-Study Svadhyaya
Svadhaya requires us to be engaged learners and endlessly search for knowledge. We are to study our strengths and weaknesses with a gentle mentor who can aid us in welcoming a limitation or redirecting unhelpful behavior.
Dedication to the Lord Isvara pranidhana
Isvara pranidhana celebrates the spiritual and allows for meaning greater than our selves. We are to approach life and our selves and others with care and attention and love in order to honor and give meaning and respect to life and to the divine within all of creation.
What are Asanas?
Asanas is the practice of physical postures. Asana hones the body to serve as a vessel for the soul. Each pose includes three parts: rising, abiding and dissolving. These components are also described as coming, being and going. These aspects stress that yoga poses are not static contortions. In this step, the physical aspect differs from other physical endeavors and sports. In the latter, the body is first and foremost. With asana, the body serves the mind, spirit and heart. 3 Iyengar writes, “A soul without a body is like a bird deprived of its power to fly.” 4
What is Pranayama?
Pranayama is the control of the breath. Prana translates as life force or breath. Ayama means length, expansion, extension, stretch, regulation or restraint. Therefore, pranayama is the prolongation and restraint of life force or breath. “Yogi’s life is not measured by the number of his days but by the number of his breaths.” 5
What is Pratyahara?
Pratyahara is Sense Withdrawal. Judith Hanson Lasater wrote an informative, reflective essay on pratyahra, which is the yoga practice of withdrawing the sense. (Yoga nidra is a state of being, pratyahra is an action) Take the time to read her essay, Return To Stillness; In a world of information overload, the yoga practice of pratyahara offers us a haven of silence. Click here.
What is Dharana?
Dharana is concentration (more to come)
What is Dhyana?
Dhyana is meditation or contemplation (more to come)
What is Samadhi?
Samadhi is enlightenment (more to come)
1 B.K. S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York: Schocken Books, 1966) p. 35.
2 B.K. S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York: Schocken Books, 1966) p. 37.
3 B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York: Schocken Books, 1966), p. 40-1.
4 B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York: Schocken Books, 1966), p. 41.
5 B.K. S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga (New York: Schocken Books, 1966), p. 43.
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