Patanjali's Eight-Limb Path of Yoga

Hi Everyone -

If you don't receive my yoga+fitness newsletter, checkout an excerpt from this month's edition below! If you would like to be on the newsletter, just send me your email address (kaleigh@kaleighlundy.com) and I will make sure to send it your way. Enjoy! -K

PATANJALI'S EIGHT-LIMB PATH OF YOGA:
When most of us think about yoga, the first thing that usually comes to mind is the poses (asanas) or breathing (pranayama). However, those two aspects are actually part of an Eight-Limb Path of Yoga defined by Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras outline a plan for living that flows from action to knowledge to complete liberation! The first four limbs are the limbs of tapas, or spirituality to action. Included are asana and pranayama as well as the yamas and niyamas, or the five moral restraints and five observances of yoga. The yamas and niyamas are sometimes compared to the Ten Commandments and are the true foundation of the yoga student's life. (I've included a chart below with the breakdown on each). These four practices nourish the body, refine the mind, and bring peace to the heart, allowing us to meet the pressures of life with equanimity.

YAMAS

Ahimsa - Nonviolence
Satya - Truthfulness
Asteya - Nonstealing
Brahmacarya - Moderation
Aparigraha - Nonhoarding

NIYAMAS
Sauca - Purity
Santosa - Contentment
Tapas - Zeal, Austerity
Svadhyaya - Self-Study
Isvara - Pranidhana - Devotion to a Higher Power

The next two limbs of the Eight-Limb path are pratyahara and dharana. Pratyahara means "turning inward" or withdrawing the mind from the senses of perception. In the stillness of pratyahara, dharana - or concentration - can be developed. The deepest sense of connectedness and awareness can now be established in the form of dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (union with the object of meditation). Once we've achieved samadhi, we re-experience our primal oneness and attain complete harmony!

The Eight-Limbs are a map that we should continually refer to as we move through our yoga journey. As you start to more fully incorporate each limb, you will soon realize they are all intertwined. It's hard not to practice one without practicing another. Remember not to think of this path as having a finish line or ending. It's a continuous, life-long journey with ups and downs and zigs and zags. As long as you remain open to your own spiritual potential you will transform into the person you were always meant to be! -Namaste!