The Eight-Limbed Yogic Path
The Eight-Limbed Yogic Path: Reaching Enlightenment
Yoga is so much more than touching your toes or handstands. Yoga translates to “yoke” or connect. According to Patañjali, the Eight Limbs of Yoga are extremely important to any yogini devoted to their practice. This yogic path is called “ashtanga” (ashta meaning “8” and anga meaning “limb”). The Eight Limbs of Yoga is an ethical guideline on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life by reducing suffering. By following the path of the Eight Limbs of yoga, we can soon take yoga off the mat and integrate it into our daily lives. Let’s dive deeper into the path of the Eight Limbs of Yoga!
The first limb is “Yama” and it is composed of the theory on how to behave morally and socially. There are a total of 5 Yamas (Ahimsa - Nonviolence, Satya - Honesty, Asteya - Nonstealing, Brahmacharya - Self-restraint, and Aparigraha - Non-attachment). By incorporating these disciplines into your daily lives, you can begin to live a meaningful and purposeful life. I believe that Ahimsa is the foundation of this enlightened path. By bringing kindness and compassion, and not harming yourself or any living creature, we can soon see that violence arises from weakness, fear, ignorance, and restlessness. We can use Satya daily by being honest (and also kind when being honest) with ourselves and others. By being true to yourself, you can live with integrity. When questioning if you are truly practicing Satya, ask yourself “Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it non-harming?” Asteya has many meanings behind “non-stealing”. For instance, if you are consistently late, you are stealing others’ time. We all know how precious time is. We can also steal from ourselves, by not being able to let go and move on, holding ourselves back from relationships, taking away time to make love, memories, and bonding. Brahmacharya has evolved over the years. It meant self-restraint, celibacy, or chastity, however, now it can be used differently. For example, the right use of internal energy and that energy is invested. By accepting and understanding things are out of your control, you can redirect the energy used to try to control certain situations. Instead of being angry, worrying, or trying to fix something, by using self-restraint, that same energy can be redirected towards something that can better yourself. We can also apply the traditional meaning of chastity or celibacy today by noticing how behaviors towards sexual and intimate desires are manifested, is it kind, honest, non-harming, respectful, and without any attachment? Aparigraha can be used in so many ways in your daily life. Letting go of anxiety, worry, and negative emotions, can be freeing and is like lifting a huge weight off your chest. Being able to let go and fully forgive someone is also a form of aparigraha. To reach aparigraha we must be able to neutralize the desire to accrue and hoard wealth, materials, and emotions and bring simplicity into our daily lives.
The second limb is “Niyama” (ni meaning “within” or “inward”) and it refers to self-discipline and observance. There are a total of 5 Niyamas (Saucha - Purity, Santosha - Contentment, Tapas - Discipline, Svadhyaya - Self-study, and Ishvarapranidhana - surrender). Saucha can be used daily in many different ways; such as personal hygiene, keeping your home clean, removing toxic products, eating clean and nutritious foods, and removing negative thoughts/words. We can take saucha further, outside of our homes, mind, and physical bodies by keeping Gaia, our Mother Earth clean and doing what we can do to reduce trash and pollution. Having Santosha means to be content, grateful, or satisfied. We can achieve Santosha by finding things to be grateful for, accepting things as they are, and being present. By realizing we cannot control everything, accepting the present moment as it is, and not fighting or resisting it, we can use that energy towards love, patience, and understanding our patterns (thoughts, words, and actions). We cannot control everything that is going on, but we can choose love, kindness, and understanding. Tapas is the practice of discipline. To ignite the fire within and activate the third chakra (Manipura/solar plexus), we must cultivate self-confidence, inner strength, and willpower, and build heat from within. In order to achieve tapas, we must carefully choose how we use and direct our energy. We can also practice tapas by consciously observing which relationships really enhance us, generating our life force, or which ones are bogging us down. We can then make the decision to remove the toxic relationships or the relationships that no longer serve us. Svadhyaya (sva meaning “self” and adhyaya meaning “study”). Traditionally, svadhyaya was meant to study sacred and spiritual texts, prayers, and mantras. Today, however, we can practice and achieve svadhyaya by recognizing and reflecting on our patterns (thoughts, words, and actions) and showing up consciously. By being mindful, aware, and able to understand and identify our ancestral lineage, traumas (ancestral and our own traumas), and identities, we can reach svadhyaya. Ishvara pranidhana is the practice of surrender and devotion to a higher power. By surrendering the idea of expectations, learning acceptance, and letting go to devote our actions to a higher power, whatever that higher power may be. Letting go is not easy and never will be, but we can slowly release trying to control situations, our mind stuff, and what life throws our way. We can also incorporate ishvara pranidhana into our āsanas but surrender into the pose instead of resisting against the pose and taking rest when needed. Surrendering does not have to show weakness but understanding and honoring the mind, body, and spirit.
Moving onto the third yoga limb: Asana. Asana is the physical practice of yoga. Although āsana is movement or postures, it translates to “seat” or “to sit comfortably”. The goal is to move mindfully, holding the posture firmly, while being comfortable at the same time. Asana is important to the eight-limbed yogic path to strengthen your physical body during a moving meditation. With Asana, we can learn discipline and concentration. Ideally, we want to practice these āsanas with effort and ease and without pain, while keeping focused and our breath deep, controlled and lengthened. Remember, if your breath has become shallow, it is a sign that āsana has no longer maintained its level of comfort in your physical body.
The fourth yoga limb is Pranayama: the ability to practice breath restraint/control (“Prana” means life force and “Ayama” means restraint). This practice helps master mind control as well as emotions. Breath is the greatest yoga teacher. We can learn and understand so much, by simply practicing Pranayama whenever there are feelings of stress, anxiety, fear, anger, etc. There are several different breathing techniques. By practicing Pranayama, we can begin to improve and increase your sense of control, quality of sleep, energy, and serotonin, and reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and so much more!
Now, you may be wondering “I have no idea where to begin! How can I start practicing Pranayama?” Box breathing (four parts of breath) is a simple Pranayama technique that is perfect for beginners (as well as all Prāṇāyāma practitioners). Here’s how you can start box breathing today: find a comfortable easy seat (sukhasana), keep your spine and neck lengthened, the crown of your head towards the sky, core engaged, and shoulders away from your ears. You can choose to close your eyes or keep them open. Take one deep inhale in through your nostrils, sigh all the air out through your mouth, letting everything go, releasing all tension and stale air out. Let’s begin!
Puraka (inhale) through your nostrils for 4 counts
Kumbhaka (hold/retain) for 4 counts
Recaka (exhale) with control for 4 counts
Kumbhaka (hold/retain) for 4 count
Use the image above to see how the box breathing exercise works. Repeat these steps 3-5 times daily. Take note of what came up for you and notice your quality of breath and if anything has changed or shifted for you.
The fifth limb is Pratyahara (withdrawal), which is defined as control of senses. We must be able to focus, concentrate, and be in the present moment to avoid any outside distractions. By tuning in our awareness, Pratyāhāra can help remove any stimuli or distractions that could interfere with our personal growth. We are able to set intentions internally and be so focused that our mind is not easily distracted by sight, sound, or stimuli.
The sixth limb is Dharana (concentration) to focus your concentration on a single point (such as mantra or intention) and be able to concentrate fully on the mantra or intention. We cannot fully understand Dhāraṇā without achieving Pratyāhāra. Both are very essential to the eight limbs of yoga. We cannot be fully focused with deep concentration without first being able to slow down and withdraw all external stimulation (Pratyāhāra). Once we are able to withdraw from our senses, we then can focus on achieving full concentration (Dharana). So far, we have talked about powers of concentration (postures, breath control, and withdrawal from senses.
The seventh limb, Dhyana (meditation) follows after Dharana (concentration). Dhyana is fully achieved when we are able to silence our minds and are absorbed in deep concentration. Although this seems impossible to attain, it is achievable when your attention is focused and you have reached the moment of stillness.
Lastly, the eighth and final limb of yoga is Samadhi (bliss/enlightenment). Samadhi can be achieved when we have become fully aware of the present moment and are at peace with ourselves. We know we have reached Samādhi when there is complete universal love, compassion, and unity and when we are able to detach ourselves from ego, suffering, and distractions.
According to Patañjali, the goal of The Eight Limbs of Yoga is to see clearly, equally, and without mind-stuff and suffering. We cannot achieve one yoga limb without the other as they all work cohesively and complement each other. Once we have reached all eight of the yoga limbs, we must continue to work to maintain self-awareness, peace, enlightenment, and bliss within. This cannot be bought, as it can only be experienced through the devoted practitioner.
We hope this has helped you understand the 8-limbs of yoga and deepen your own yoga and self-study practices!