Yoga Sutras – The Eight Limbs of Yoga

Yoga Sutras – Eight Limbs of Yoga

Patanjali, considered the father of modern yoga , compiled 195 aphorisms which are called the Yoga Sutras. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are divided into four chapters or pada. The first chapter deals with Samadhi, the second with the “means” (Sadhana) to achieve Yoga, the third specifies the powers (Vibhuti) that a yogi comes across in his journey, and the fourth deals with absolution (Kaivalya).

The “right means” for the path of yoga or a yogi, as described in chapter two of the Yoga Sutras are the eight aspects or eight stages of Yogic lifestyle, called the Eight Limbs of Yoga. The Eight Limbs of Yoga can also be considered practical guides to a yoga practitioner’s personal development of mind, soul and body in developing harmony and achieving Samadhi or Enlightenment.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are:

1. Yama: Universal Moral Commandments or Ethical Disciplines
2. Niyama: Self Purification by Discipline
3. Asana: Posture
4. Pranayama: Rhythmic Breath Control
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the Mind from Domination of the Senses and Exterior Objects
6. Dharana: Concentration
7. Dhyana: Meditation
8. Samadhi: Enlightenment

Yama and Niyama control the yogi’s passions and emotions and keep him in harmony with his fellow man. Asanas keep the body healthy and strong and in harmony with nature. These first three stages are outward quests (bahiranga sadhana), where the yogi conquers the body and renders it a fit vehicle for the soul and finally becomes free of body consciousness.

The next two stages, Pranayama and Pratyahara, teach the Yoga practitioner to regulate breathing, and thereby control the mind. this helps free the senses from the bondage of objects of desire. these two stages of Yoga are known as inner quests (antaranga sadhana).

The last three stages, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi take the yogi into the innermost parts of his or her soul. The yogi does not look to the heavens to find God but rather he knows the God is within, known as Antaratma (the inner or higher self). These last three stages keep the yogi in harmony with himself and his Creator and are called Antaratma Sadhana, the quest of the soul. Another characteristic of these three stages is that there is no dividing line in between these stages. When certain progress is made in the studies of Dharana, Dhyana stage is automatically entered into and with the progress in Dharana stage, Sadhaka automatically enters in the Samadhi stage. The three stages mingle into each other as easily as three colors are mixed into each other on the canvas of an artist.

By profound meditation, the knower, the knowledge and the known become one. the seer, the sight and the seen are realized as one, inseparable. Only then does the yogi realize his true self (Atman), the part of the Supreme Soul within himself.