The eight limbs of yoga
While here in the West we tend to focus on yoga as a physical practice, the postures (asana) are actually only one of eight “limbs” or components of the philosophical system of yoga, according to the Yoga Sutras of Sage Patanjali. The Sutras tell us that yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. The eight limbs of yoga laid out in Book II of the Sutras (and then elucidated through Book IV), offer practical guidance for how to achieve that state of yoga–to free the mind from fluctuating thoughts and other distractions. In other words, they comprise a kind of “how to” guide for self-realization and living well.
The eight limbs of yoga are:
1. Yamas: Five “moral restraints,” which have to do with how we behave toward others and the external environment:
Ahimsa: Nonviolence
Satya: Truthfulness
Asteya: Non-stealing
Brahmacarya: Moderation
Aparigraha: Renunciation of (unnecessary) possessions; nongreediness
2. Niyamas: Five “ethical observances,” which have to do with how we behave toward ourselves.
Saucha: Cleanliness
Santosha: Contentment
Tapas: Austerity/discipline
Svadyaya: Self-study and study of the texts
Isvara Pranidhana: Devotion to a higher intelligence; contemplation of a higher power/God
3. Asana: Physical postures
4. Pranayama: Breath control
5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana: Concentration, the ability to direct our minds
7. Dhyana: meditation
8. Samadhi: Full meditative absorption leading to bliss, freedom, enlightenment
Interpretations differ regarding whether to achieve a state of yoga one needs to successfully “complete” each limb in turn before moving on to the next. I have always been drawn to interpretations that instead suggest that while there is a kind of progression of the limbs from more eternally facing to more internally facing/subtle, and the limbs do build on each other, we can be practicing all of the limbs simultaneously, and in fact, working on later limbs (pratyahara, say), can help to enhance and improve our practice of the earlier limbs (the niyamas, such as santosha, for example). In my personal practice and my own teaching, I tend to think of the mat as a “laboratory” for working the other components of yoga–nonviolence, self-study, discipline, and withdrawal of senses, to name just a few–that we would like to cultivate off of the mat.
Even a basic understanding of the eight limbs of yoga and what they are seeking to achieve can enhance a yoga practice and its transformative potential. Having such an understanding is also an important way to contextualize the Western practice of postural yoga and honor its roots as part of a larger philosophical system about how to live in the world.
A final note: There are many, many different translations of and commentaries on the Yoga Sutras, some of which may use slightly different translations or interpretations of the key terms as I’ve laid them out above. For a particularly accessible translation, which follows a beautiful and very practical discussion of yoga as a life practice, I highly recommend T.K.V. Desikachar’s The Heart of Yoga; Developing a Personal Practice.
