When someone says “Yoga”, you usually think of moving through a set of poses on a yoga mat. That is only 1 limb of the 8 limbed yogic path! The 8 Limbs of Yoga come from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The word “sutras” is interpreted as thread or weaving things together. The sutras were written down around 200 CE but were spoken or sang many years before. Patanjali is credited for putting these basic tenets of yoga all together in written form.
What are the 8 Limbs?
The 8 Limbs are a laddered process to help control your mind and, ultimately, experience bliss. Each limb prepares you for the next. They are all separate but also interconnected. These 8 steps help to remind you of who you truly are. The Self is who you were at birth before what you were told to be through your upbringing, environmental and social factors of life, past stories that can bind you to staying where you are and thinking that is all there is. It reminds you that you are pure joy. You are connected to others and to something bigger than yourself. When you come back to your true Self, you can help alleviate your suffering.
Limb #1: Yama
The first two limbs, Yama & Niyama, are ethical principles to help you know yourself and how you connect with others. They are a guide for how you live your life and to help you move through obstacles that come up along your path. The Yamas and Niyamas are the moral foundation before you move to limb #3, Asana, the physical act of yoga.
Limb #1 invites you to live in harmony and peace with other people. Yama is translated as abstinence or restraint. The first limb contains 5 different Yamas:
- Ahimsa-non-violence or non-harming. With Ahimsa, the invitation is to use kindness and compassion instead of violence or harmful behavior.
- Satya-truthfulness. Being the truest version of yourself.
- Asteya-non-stealing, even with your or other people’s time, objects, words.
- Brahmacharya-moderation. This is an invitation for you to appreciate what you already have instead of thinking you need more.
- Aparigraha-not taking more than you need or holding on. This includes material possessions, others’ time, or emotions.
Limb #2: Niyama
Niyama asks you to think, “what is possible?” Limb #2 is about exploration that leads you to peace.
- Saucha-simplicity, cleanliness. This tenet asks you to cleanse your body, how you talk, and how and what you think so you can be still. Also, for you to move through your life with ease.
- Santosha-contentment. Santosha asks you to accept what is.
- Tapas-discipline, effort. With tapas, you make the conscious choice for discipline and growth.
- Svadhyaya-self-study or self-awareness.
- Ishvara Pranidhana-surrender, dedication. This principle asks you to let go and sense there is a greater plan than your own.
Using the yamas and niyamas helps you live a life that is easeful and balanced. They remind you to realize the goodness that is already inside of you.
Limb #3: Asana
Asana is the third limb on the 8 limbed path of yoga. This is what most people associate with the word YOGA. Asana is the physical act of practicing yoga. Asana was originally created so you could sit for long periods of time in meditation. It has evolved over time from being used by warriors to incorporating contortionist poses and gymnastic exercises for modern day yoga postures.
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali wrote that asana has two qualities, ease and steadiness. He said asana was ‘taking a seat’ and it was needed before pranayama, limb #4. According to B.K.S. Iyengar, asanas remove the obstructions that stop the flow of prana, or life force, and the pranayama regulates the flow of energy through the body.
Limb #4: Pranayama
Limb #4 is one of my favorites! Prana means life force, vitality, or energy. Iyengar wrote that it is “potential hidden energy in all beings”. Yama means stretch, extension, expansion, length, restraint or control. Pranayama is the movement of your life’s energy by using your breath. Practicing pranayama can also cleanse the body along with the mind. Many yogis believe that pranayama would improve the circulatory system which would help detoxify the body by improving digestion and eliminating toxins. There are breathing practices to slow you down and others to speed you up.
If you control your breath, you can control your mind. Through the practice of breath control, you strengthen your mind and will. As you inhale, you bring in more energy. As you exhale, you move energy out of your body. If you retain the breath or pause in between inhales and exhales, energy develops within your body.
Limb #5: Pratyahara
Pratyahara, or limb #5, is withdrawal of the senses or turning your attention inward. Limb #5 starts to move the steps from a more external focus to an internal focus. The practice of turning inward begins to bring the mind under control and quiet your mind chatter. This limb teaches us how to find the pause. Instead of reacting, you can find the pause and respond with a clear heart and head.
Turning inward allows you to find answers within yourself instead of seeking out answers from others or the outside world. You learn to nourish yourself from within instead of numbing your feelings or thoughts or looking to someone else to fill you up.
Examples of practicing pratyahara are closing your eyes, sitting in silence, finding stillness in your body, focusing on your third eye center, performing a body scan, self-reflection, taking savasana, focusing on one sense at a time.
Limb #6: Dharana
The last 3 limbs go together and are progressive states of concentration.
Dhri, the root word for Dharana, means to maintain, resolve. Dharana is the effort of concentration on a single point. My teacher, Brett Larkin of Uplifted Yoga, says it is like taking your mind to the gym. It takes effort and practice. You can do this by focusing on an external object like a candle or picture. Or have an internal focus like a dhristi, a chakra, mantra, or japa. This practice helps to release tension by having you in a flow state.
Limb #7: Dhyana
Dhyana is meditation. When limb #6, Dharana, lasts for a long time it becomes Dhyana. Unlike dhyana that takes effort, dharana is effortless and easeful. You are completely absorbed in it. It happens naturally and spontaneously.
You can practice dhyana by letting go, surrendering, having faith and trust. In this state, you are not affected by the dualities of your mind. You can see things from a different perspective. It is complete surrender.
Limb #8: Samadhi
The last limb in the 8-step path is Samadhi. When limb #7 lasts for a long time, it merges with Samadhi. Samadhi means absorption, or a superconscious state. Here, there is a feeling of bliss and interconnectedness. You are in a state of now which contains all possibilities and yet No Thing. It is said that in this state you lose your awareness of the mind, body, physical surroundings, and even your breath. It is the ultimate state of peace. In tantra yoga, you use the peace you find in samadhi and bring it back into your daily life. Using your non-duality awareness to live with ease and fulfill your purpose.
Samyaya
Samyaya is dharana, dhyana, and samadhi happening at the same time. People believe the same thoughts over and over until they are ingrained in their neural pathways. This creates suffering. By practicing the last 3 limbs, your thoughts become calmer and the mind becomes more clear. You can release old thoughts, stories and patterns that no longer serve you and create new more constructive neural pathways to support you.
Much love & health,
Resources:
Iyengar, B.K.S. (1981). Light on Pranayama. Thorsons.
Adele, D. (2009). The Yamas & Niyamas. On-Word Bound Books, LLC.
Harris, G. (2019). The Language of Yin. Luminary Press.