Yoga Philosophy: Introducing the 8 Limbs of Yoga

Did you know that the 23 hours a day that we are not on our yoga mats are also the perfect time to be practicing yoga! Or 16 hours (roughly) if you prefer to count only the waking ones. Perhaps that will be a blog post for the future - looking into the layers of the conscious, sub-conscious, and un-conscious and how one can influence the other - Carl Jung just entered the chat! Anyway back to the subject at hand. Yoga is more than just a physical practice; it is an entire system and way of life. It is not about being perfect, but being aware of and trying to align our lives and our actions with the framework of the 8 limbs opens up a holistic approach to living a balanced, mindful and fulfilling life. The 8 limbs of yoga, outlined by Patanjali in the Yoga Sutras, guide us toward inner peace, self-discipline, and ultimately - enlightenment. The limbs are briefly outlined below and will be explored in more depth in future posts.

1. Yama (Ethical Disciplines, focusing on restraint and control): Moral guidelines on how we interact with the world around us—like non-violence, truthfulness, and non-possessiveness. A reflection of or return to our truest nature.

2. Niyama (Personal Observances): Practices that focus on self-care and spiritual growth, including cleanliness, contentment, and self and spiritual study. Our personal evolution towards harmony.

3. Asana (Physical Postures): The physical poses that we often associate with yoga, designed to keep the body strong, mobile, and calm. The Sanskrit word asana translates to 'seat' - the intention behind the physical practice is to enable us to be seated comfortably during meditation.

4. Pranayama (Breath Control): Techniques to control and extend the breath, helping to regulate the mind and body. Prana translates to 'life force' or 'energy source' and yama as we already learnt translates to control or restraint.

5. Pratyahara (Withdrawal of the Senses): Drawing our attention inward, away from the distractions of the outside world. Pratyahara can also be interpreted as gaining mastery over external influences. In this mastery the mind becomes free to go within.

6. Dharana (Concentration): Developing a single-pointed focus to prepare the mind for meditation. Once we have entered pratyahara and transitioned inwards, we can bring our mind to a single point of focus such as the breath, a mantra or drishti.

7. Dhyana (Meditative absorption): Sustained attention that leads to deep meditation, where the mind becomes still. A continuous inward flow of consciousness.

8. Samadhi (Union): Pure or divine consciousness - a state of oneness with the universe, where the self dissolves into pure consciousness.

Join us on this journey to explore each of these sacred limbs in upcoming posts. In the meantime let me know if this topic resonates with you. Which of the limbs do you feel you already work well with? Which do you feel you would like to invite in and explore more of? And let me know if a journey down the rabbit hole of the conscious, sub-conscious and unconscious mind is something youwould like to explore together. This blog journey is just beginning and I am excited for the journey we can all go on collectively with it. Thank you for being here, for your interest in yoga, and for trusting me to be a part of your journey. Wishing you a wonderful rest of your day

Holly