“The Eight Limbs of Yoga” were created by Patanjali as a road map to lead a meaningful and purposeful life, essentially reaching the summit of human experience!
Fun Fact: Patanjali is believed to have lived in the second century BCE and wrote Ayuveda, the ancient Indian system of medicine as well as Sanskrit grammar.
Below you will find an overview of the Eight Limbs of Yoga.
Yama– The first limb has to do with one’s ethical standards. This is mainly about how we practice off of the mat, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. There are five yamas:
Non-Violence (Ahimsa)
Truthfulness (Satya)
Non-Stealing (Asteya)
Continence (Brahmacharya)
Non Covetousness (Aparigraha)
Niyama– The second limb focuses on self-discipline and spiritual observances. Examples include saying grace before a meal, attending church regularly, or developing your own meditation practices. There are five niyamas:
Cleanliness (Saucha)
Contentment (Samtosa)
Spiritual austerities (Tapas)
Study of Sacred Scriptures and of one’s self (Svadhyaya)
Surrender to God (Isvara Pranidhana)
Asana– The third limb refers to the postures and poses practiced in yoga. Due to the fact that the body is a temple of spirit; taking care of your body is an important stage in spiritual growth. FUN FACT: Practitioners develop the habit of discipline and the ability to concentrate.
Pranayama– The fourth limb is also known as breathing techniques that are practiced among yogis. These exercises are designed to not only gain control over the respiratory process, but also to recognize the connection between your emotions, the mind, and the breath. The literal translation of pranayama is “life force extension”, it has been researched and is strongly believed that practicing these techniques will extend life itself.
Pratyahara– The fifth limb means gaining mastery over external influences. This is one of the most important stages in which we make the effort to draw our awareness away from the external world and outside stimuli. 3 Levels of Ahara:
Physical Food– The five elements that we need to nourish the body (earth, water, fire, air, and ether)
Impressions– Sensations of sound, touch, sight, taste, and smell.
Associations– People who serve to nourish the soul and affect us with gunas of ssattva, rajas, and tamas (Harmony, Distraction, or Inertia) Pratyahara involves WITHDRAWING the wrong food, wrong impressions, and wrong associations, while simultaneously opening up to the right food, right impressions, and right associations. By withdrawing our awareness from negative impressions, this strengthens the mind’s powers of immunity. A healthy mind resists negative sensory influences around it. This article IS an amazing read about Pratyahara and I encourage you to read it to learn more about how important this limb truly is, especially in today’s society : https://yogainternational.com/article/view/pratyahara-yogas-forgotten-limb
Dharana– The sixth limb is also known as concentration. This stage enables us to deal with distractions of the mind itself and how to slow down our thinking process. Our attention tends to travel and practicing yoga regularly will enable you to develop powers of concentration and full attention on a single point. Extended dharana leads to meditation which brings us to the seventh limb, dhyana.
Dhyana- Dhyana is the uninterupted flow of concentration, also known as meditation. In this stage, there are few thoughts and your mind has been quieted. The amount of strength it takes to reach ‘Dhyana’ is impressive, as it is difficult, but still possible.
Samadhi– The eighth and final stage is a state of ecstasy, where they experience bliss and being at one with the universe. Overall, Patanjali, described is the path to peace, happiness, and pure joy. The ultimate stage in yoga is enlightenment that can neither be bought or possessed, only experienced.
Yoga has many health benefits associated with it, as it is an ancient practice that connects the mind, body, and spirit through body postures, breathing, and meditation. Below are seven benefits of yoga therapy within the body.
Blood Pressure – Yoga focuses mainly on breathing. Breathing is the process of moving oxygen-rich air into and out of the lungs. Respiration refers to how the cells of the body use oxygen to create energy. A consistent yoga practice decreases blood pressure through these circulation and oxygenation exercises.
Pulse Rate – Practicing yoga frequently provides a lower pulse rate. Essentially your heart will become strong enough to pump more blood with fewer beats.
Circulation– By transporting nutrients and oxygen throughout your body through the breathing techniques, yoga practice improves blood circulation.
Organs– Practicing improves the ability of the body to prevent disease. Not only does this allow your body to have a quicker response to head off disease, but a practitioner would become better tuned to his or her body knowing at first sign if something is not functioning properly.
Immunity– Research shows that people who practice yoga have a stronger immune system.
Pain– Pain tolerance is higher and chronic pain is eliminated or limited for people who practice yoga regularly.
Metabolism– There are specific yoga poses for metabolism. These poses will help you improve your overall metabolic rate.
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I began practicing yoga in 2016 and since then I have found that there have been so many unexpected benefits on top of the obvious, be more flexible. Below are six things practicing yoga has taught me.
1. That I need to relax!
I cannot tell you how much I resisted the ‘Savasana’ when I first began yoga. The ‘Savasana’ occurs at the end of yoga practice. The savasana enables us to bring yoga from asana into self-awareness through meditation. My mind wondered to a million different topics instead of focusing on resting and recharging. This is completely normal for your mind to resist deep relaxation and it takes practice and patience. Yoga has a way of quickly showing us the short-lived nature of our attention. This is an important lesson, as the more we can identify how our mind works, the less we feel detoured by its skittishness. With practice we can learn to redirect our mind back home.
2. How to breathe.
Yoga without the familiarity of the breath is not yoga. When we practice inhalation and exhalation we are gifted a direct line to positively affect our mood and our energy. The point of yoga requires our full attention, and one way to harness this attention is the breath. Breathing techniques have essentially taught me to reduce my own stress response and I use this ALL the time.
3. That yoga doesn’t just occur on the mat.
Yoga is SO much more than just an hour practice at my gym that I attend three times a week. Yoga truly is a lifestyle, a science, and route to well-being and completion in mind, body, and soul.
3 Examples:
1. When I am present, focusing on today, the here and now, the current task at hand, I am practicing yoga.
2. When I am being open to what the world might bring, I am doing yoga.
3. When I am spreading the message of well being, I am doing yoga. Everything that goes on off of the matt is just as important as what occurs on it.
4. Be present… and okay with it.
Yoga has taught me to be present. Yoga is about the here, the now. It takes away everything else and just brings peace of mind. This brings you away from negative emotions, stress, anxiety, regret, and makes you appreciate how awarding the breathe is. Yoga enables us to escape from confinement and release your limitations in order to allow yourself to expand and grow.
5. You can achieve more than you think.
Throughout my life, I have always had the “I am not good enough” mindset and am still working on it. Yoga has helped me get out of this entrapment. This is a HUGE reason I practice, as it teaches me I am not decided, to be willing to do more than you decided. Your life becomes LIMITLESS.
The most IMPORTANT lesson, is that yoga is the experience of realizing ourselves as love. Yoga practice says come here and be you. As we practice MORE and MORE, we learn to strip away and release toxic stories that keep us from ourselves.
