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TheEightLimbsofYoga
YogaConcepts

Therearemanyclassicaltextsonyoga.TheprocessofyogaisdealtwithevenintheVedictextsYogaTatva
Upanishad,YogaShikaupanishad,YogaChudamaniUpanishad,etc.tomentionafew.

Butonehastounderstandthatyogaiswhatiscalledaprayogasastraorapracticalscience.Itismore
abouttechniquestoevolvethehumanconsciousness,ratherthanamerephilosophy.Inthatsense,itwas
MaharishiPatanjaliwhoexpoundedthescienceofyogainsystematicway,inhisPatanjaliYogaSutras.The
yogasutrasarearrangedinfourchapters.ThesagePatanjalistartsthefirstchapterwiththedescriptionof
Samadhiorthestateofsuperconsciousness.Inthesubsequentchapters,hedescribesthevariousstepsand
processestoachievethishigheststateofSamadhi,includingtheobstaclesencounteredintheprocess.These
stepshavecomedowntousasAshtangaYogaortheeightlimbsofyoga.ThoughthewordAshtanga
YogaisnotmentionedbyPatanjali,itlatercametodenotetheeightsstepsorlimbsofyogacontainedinhis
text.TheyareYama,Niyama,Asana,Pranayama,Pratyahara,Dharana,DhyanaandSamadhi.

Yogaastaughtinmostoftodaysyogaclasses,donotcovertheentirerangeofyogaexperience.Theymay
concentratemoreonasana(physicalyogicpostures)andpranayama(controlledyogicbreathingtechniques),
withoutunderstandingthattheseareonlyapartoftheentiresystemofYogaphilosophy.Yogawas
developedasascienceforhealthylivingatphysical,mentalandsociallevels.Itgivesthescienceof
evolutionofthemindandisaimedatthehighestgoaloflife,thespiritualrealizationoftheembodiedsoul.

NowletuslookattheeightsstepsorlevelsmentionedinthePatanjaliYogasutras.Eventhoughwetalkof
eightlevels,thesearenotstrictcompartments.Onemergeswiththeother.Also,spiritualmastersguidetheir
studentsintheirowninnovativestyle.Itisnotnecessarythatonehastostartatthefirstpractice(ofYama),
eventhoughthatisdesirableandadvisable.Itisgoodtohavemasteryofonestagebeforeoneproceedsto
thenext.Butthisneednotbeastrictrule.Foreg,onemaystartwithmeditationpracticesfirstandthenlater
learntheasanas.Mostspiritualteachersmixandmatchthesetechniquesandadapttheteachingstosuittheir
students.

1.Yama
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Yogadealswithhumanevolution.Itstartswithadviceonharmonizingtheexternalandinternallifewhile
livinginsociety.ThefirsttwostepscalledYamaandNiyamaarepreciselyaimedatachievingthisharmony.
Theyareoftenwronglydescribedasdosanddonts.Butinreality,theyareguidelinesforabalancedlife.It
helpstocreateaharmoniousandpeacefulsociety.

TherearefiveyamasSatya(truthfulless),Ahimsa(nonviolence,nothurtingotherbeingsphysicallyor
mentally),asteya(nonstealing),aparigraha(noncollecting,takingfromnatureonlywhatoneneedsandnot
accumulatingbeyondonesneeds)andbrahmacharya(abalancedsexuallife,essentiallymeanscontrolover
yoursensesandlivingwithoutoverindulgence.Itcanalsomeancelibacyforrenunciantsandmonks).As
youseeallthesecontributetosocialmodeofconduct.

2.Niyama
Similarly,therearefiveNiyamaswhichcontributetothepersonalmodeofconduct.TheyareSaucha
(cleanlinessorpersonalhygiene,includingmentalpurity),Santosa(meanscontentment),Tapas(self
discipline),Swadhaya(meansselfstudy,whichcanmeanstudyingthenatureofonesownmindanddoing
inquiryintoonesownreality)andIswaraPranidhana(whichmeanstotalacceptanceoflife,facingalllife
situationswithequanimity.ItalsodenotessurrendertothewillofGod.)

3.Asana

ThenextstepiscalledAsanaorpostures.TheyogasutrasdefineasanaasSthiramSukhamAsanam,
whichmeansAsanaisaposturethatissteadyandcomfortable.Asanaisanessentialsteptowardsthehigher
practicesofyoga.Asanascanbemeditativeposes(likePadmasana,Sukasana,Siddhasana,etc)ortheycan
beotherposesaimedtowardsattainingstrength,balanceandsteadiness.Apartfromthespiritualbenefits,
eachAsanacanhaveparticularhealthbenefitstoo.

4.Pranayama
Pranayamaisthefourthstageinashtangayoga.Pranayamameanstheregulationofbreath.Breathandmind
arecloselyrelated.Ifonecancontrolthebreath,onecancontrolthemindandvisaversa.Pranayamagives
steadinessandcalmnesstothemind.Pranaorbioenergyflowsthroughpranicpathwayscallednadi.
Pranayamahelpstocleanthesenadisandremoveallimpurities,commonlyreferredtoasNadiShuddhi.
Thishasadirecteffectonthephysicalbodyasawellasthemind.Ourhealthimprovesandonegetsclarity
ofmind.Oneexperiencesasenseofwellbeing.Onlyacalmmindcangoinwards.Anagitatedmindcannot
bemeditative.PranayamaautomaticallyleadstothenextstagecalledPratyahara,whichisthewithdrawal
ofsensesfromtheexternalobjects.

5.Pratyahara

Pratyaharaleadsthemindinwards,preparingitformeditation.Inpratyahara,themindiswithdrawnfromthe
sensesandthesenseobjects,yetremainingfullyawareoftheinnerprocesses.Pratyaharaisthestage
betweenexternalizingandinternalizingthemind.Itissomewhereinbetween.Itisastagewherethemind
cannowdivedeeperintoitsinnerreality.Itisfreeofexternaldistractions.

6.Dharana

Dharana,whichisthesixthstageofyogahastodowithconcentration.ThewordusedinYogaSutrasis
Samapattiorabsorption.Ifthemindcanbeabsorpedatapointoranideaoranobject,itiscalleddharana.

7.Dhyana

ProlongedperiodofdharanaleadstothenextstagecalledDhyana.Thisiscommonlytranslatedas
meditation.Itistheabsorptionofthemindononeobject,orpointoranidea,withoutdistractionfora
prolongedperiodoftime.Itiscontinuousandwithoutbreak.

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8.Samadhi

ThelaststageofYogaiscalledSamadhiorsuperconsciousawareness.Asoneproceedsonthepathof
dhyanaormeditation,apointcomeswhenonelosesselfconsciousnessorthesenseofI.Thisisthe
beginningofSamadhistate.Inthisstatethemeditator,theprocessofmeditationandtheobjectof
meditationbecomesone.Samadhiisactuallyaseriesofstatesandexperiences.YogaSutrasdescribes
varioustypesofsamadhis.OnehastogothroughthedifferenttypesofSamadhiexperience.Finallythe
practitionerreachesthehigheststageofilluminationcalledDharmaMeghaSamadhi,whichliberatesthe
practitionerfromalllimitationsofbodyandmind.

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