What Are the 8 Limbs of Yoga

The practise of yoga (abhyasa) and detachment or renunciation (vairagya) are the means to stop the movements of consciousness. Practice is the positive aspect of yoga and involves pranayama, asana, niyama, and yama. The involuntary way of renunciation entails samadhi, dhyana, dharana, and pratyahara.

The eight limbs of yoga in 'The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali' are:

1. Yama – Abstinence

The first step of the eight steps of yoga is Yama, which has the following rules and ethical principles intended for living in society:

• Ahimsa: non-violence. Not wishing to hurt in word, thought, or deed
• Satya: truthfulness. Being honest and sincere
• Asteya: not to steal. Not to take advantage of a situation that a person has entrusted to us
• Brahmacharya: sexual continence. It doesn’t indicate celibacy, but, it does imply not wasting sexual energy
• Aparigraha: non-greed. Receive exactly what is right. No holding on to material possessions, emotions, or thoughts

2. Niyama – Observance

This step describes the individual attitudes and disciplines with regard to oneself.

• Shaucha: cleansing both internal and external. A balanced diet, pure thoughts, and the practice of asanas and pranayamas cleanse the body internally
• Santosha: Developing a feeling of contentment, regardless of the results of one's actions
• Tapas: Self-discipline. Removes impurities from the mind and body
• Svadhyaya: Reflection and self-observation leading to spiritual development
• Isvara Pranidhara: Frees the practitioner from worldly wishes and desires

3. Asana – Yoga Postures

Asana signifies posture or pose. Asanas are certain body positions that cleanse the energy channels and balance the body’s flow of energy, generating emotional, mental, and physical stability. They should be performed with complete awareness and effortlessness, seeking comfort and calm, and maintaining a steady and constant breathing rhythm. Perfection in asana is achieved when effort ceases, and relaxation is achieved by sustaining awareness and stability.

4. Pranayama – Breathing

The word pranayama is made up of 'prana' and 'ayama'. Prana signifies 'vital energy' and exists in all things, animate and inanimate. It's deeply related to breathing and is more subtle than oxygen or air. All things that vibrate in the universe are pranas. Ayama means stretching, prolongation, amplitude, expansion, extension. Hence, pranayama literally means vital energy or expansion of prana.

Pranayama techniques use the breath to control the flow of energy or energy channels of the pranamaya kosha or prana in the nadis. Breathing involves four parts:

• Inhalation (Puraka)
• Exhalation (Rechaka)
• Retention of the inhalation (Antarana Kumbhaka)
• Retention of the exhalation (Bahya Kumbhaka)

Retention is the most crucial part of the pranayamas. All movements, including breathing, generate fluctuations in the mind (vittris). When breathing ceases, a state of 'pause' is achieved, and deeper levels of consciousness are accessed. The veil covering the intellect is lifted and the light is able to penetrate vigorously into the parts of the Self that are most deep.

5. Pratyahara – Withdrawal

Pratyahara concentrates on withdrawing the senses, mind, and consciousness from contact with external objects and then internalising and directing them towards the soul.

It's the science of restraining the senses by depriving them of what feeds them, the external objective world. They are liberated by withdrawing the supply of nourishment in the form of desires and their satisfaction. The aim is that the senses lose interest in their respective objects – for the eye, form; for the ear, sound; for the nose, smell; etc. – and withdraw from the external world to aid the mind in its inner quest.

6. Dharana – Concentration

Dharana means concentration, in which, its main technique is to fix the consciousness on a fixed point. Dharana comes from the root 'dhr', which means 'to carry'. It's to guide the mind towards a point that's fixed and to maintain it there for a determined time, with unidirectional attention being the prior step to meditation. Through concentration, the functions of the mind are controlled and focused.

7. Dhyana – Meditation

Dhyana means meditation. It's mainly based on the steady holding of dharana, wherein, dharana develops into dhyana. It's a contemplative state in which attention shifts from unidirectional to non-directional, and the stream of attention turns into regular and continuous. In this step, chronological and psychological time pauses, and the mind examines its behaviour.

8. Samadhi – Absorption

Samadhi signifies complete absorption. When the meditator is absorbed by the purpose of meditation, self-consciousness is lost. This unity of object and subject is samadhi. In this step, the fluctuations of the mind stop and a constant flow of consciousness is experienced, permeating the five koshas or sheaths, which were already purified, and reflect only the soul’s light.

 

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