Ashtanga Yoga – The eight limbs defined [ref]B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga, 1979, Schocken [/ref]
Yoga can be traced back to the Indus or Harappa culture (7000BC). It was handed down as an oral tradition until 500BC when it was finally written in the form of the Yoga Sutras by an Indian philosopher named Patanjali. Patanjali codified the path of yoga into eight stages (called Ashtanga). These eight steps are as follows:
1. Yama – how you treat others. It is signified by the following abstentions (abstaining from):
• Injury – Ahimsa or non-violence
• Lying – Satya or truthfulness
• Stealing – Asteya or non-stealing
• Sexual misconduct – bramacharya or sexual misconduct
• Greed – Aparigraha or non-greed
2. Niyama – how you treat yourself; Observances:
• Purity – Saucha
• Contentment – Santosha
• Austerity or simplicity – Tapas
• Study of the sacred texts – svadhyaya
• Acknowledgement of a supreme being – Ishvar-Pranidhana
3. Asana – postures. Asana, has popularized Yoga in the west. Its purpose is to purify the energetic channels in the body and heat is the main tool for this purification. Internal heat is generated by a continuous flow of yoga postures combined with ujayii breathing. The different postures are used to direct this heat into various energy channels (nadis) of the body. Internal locks (bandhas) are specific muscular contractions used to store energy in the body which we normally expend.
4. Pranayama – Life-force or breath control. It is said that the mind follows the breath so he who controls the breath controls the mind. By practicing pranayama, the yogi learns to use the breath to synchronize body with mind, gaining clarity, calmness and focus.
5. Pratyahara – Sense withdrawal; withdrawing the outgoing mind or turning your senses inward. Many people crave external stimuli such as wealth, pleasure, satisfaction, falling in love, etc. Pratyahara is practiced to make the yogi independent of these external stimuli and to reveal a source of true happiness that lies within.
6. Dharana – Concentration. Keeping the mind in the contemplation of the same thought for a short period of time helps to sharpen the senses.
7. Dhyana – Meditation. Removing all objects from the mind and keeping the mind single pointed on emptiness. When you have purified body and mind and learned to control your thoughts and senses you are more and more able to see the empty spaces between all the phenomena arising in your mind. To rest in this emptiness and to remain unidentified with them is true meditation. The outgoing tendencies are controlled and the mind flows continuously as a current in the contemplation of Ishvar-Pranidhana.
8. Samadhi – Contemplation, absorption, bliss, realization and the highest consciousness or truth. Samadhi is said to arise spontaneously after extended periods of meditation. Able to observe the void within oneself, the observer finally turns around and becomes a witness of our true nature.