Inspirations

The Eight Limbs of Yoga – Ashtanga
Ashtanga is a Sanskrit word meaning Eight limbs (ashta=eight, anga=limb). It was written down by Patanjali around 250 CE in a book commonly referred to as Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (Sanskrit ‘sutra’ = rule or aphorism). The eight limbs are are often taught beginning with Yamas and moving to Samadhi, but in reality, you would practice the eight limbs together.

Yamas

-Ahimsa – no harm or non-violence towards others (and yourself!)

-Satya – truthfulness

-Asteya – non-stealing from others, includes possessions and honors (i.e. put others down to increase yourself)

-Bramhacharya – virtue or self-restraint, literally means chastity or impulse control

-Aparagraha – not coveting what others have

Niyama

-Saucha – purity of self and intentions

-Santosa – contentment with oneself, satisfaction without constant desires

-Tapas – self-discipline, eagerness to practice and improve

-Svadhyaya – self-reflection, study, looking within with honesty

-Isvara pranidhana – surrender to the way things are, accepting what is

Asana Physical postures (asana = seat or pose) meant to strengthen and tone the physical body to prepare it for sitting in meditation for long periods with ease. While the West has focused extensively this one limb it really is only a small part of the whole.

Pranayama Control of the breath or life-force (prana = breath, yama = control), the breath is thought to be the energizing substance of life and improving and controlling it is thought to enliven the individual. It is also used to connect the physical body with the subtle body.

Pratyahara Control of our 5 senses from the stimulus of external things (prati = against or away from, ahara = ‘food’ or things brought into the body), literally, controlling what we absorb into our bodies via our senses. Dharana Concentration or focus on something for an extended period of time (dhiri = to hold, maintain). To be able to focus on one thing and not be distracted builds on pratyahara, think of trying to read a book while listening to a conversation, not easy!

Dhyana Meditative concentration beyond single-focused attention (dharana), opening to silence. Dhyana = ‘training of the mind’ or meditation.

Samadhi A state of ‘super-conscience’ in which the individual transcends the body and the mind to find union with oneness. Sam = together, a = towards, dha = to hold, ‘to acquire wholeness or truth’

Just a note, Yoga is not a religion although many people seamlessly integrate it into their existing faith and practice. It does not promote any deity or god, nor does it deny any of them. Yoga is a practice of life intended to improve the practitioner so that s/he can navigate this life peacefully and gracefully. Yoga simply means ‘union’ or ‘to yoke together’, as in bringing the mind and body together, with intentioned control, so that we can function with intent and attention in our lives. ‘Yoga chitta vritti nirodha’ = Yoga calms the fluctuations of the mind Verse 2, Patanjali Yoga Sutra 
Now, let's look at each limb in more detail.

Yamas
The yamas are the guiding principles on how to interact with your outside world. In your world, there are people, events, situations, emotions, etc. each of these presents to you moments of choice. These choices lead to results, which lead to more choices, then more results, and on and on. Every day you make thousands of choices and experience double that in subsequent results, for each choice there is an opportunity to direct the attendant result. How often do we go through day after day making choice after choice without a thought beyond ‘get it done and move on.’ Bringing awareness to this process is the first step in changing the results of our lives. For example, you are driving, and someone cuts you off, you immediately react and hit the brakes avoiding an accident. Instantly your body responds with a surge of adrenalin heightening your alertness, this is an automatic physiological response, very little of which is under your control. What is under your control is how you choose to react emotionally and intellectually to the situation. Do you make a gesture at the other driver, muttering some colorful words? Do you react with fear and feel scared? Do you get angry and begin a tirade over the next 5 miles about how people in society are becoming so rude and inconsiderate? Do you do one or more of these and then feel guilty or ashamed for having responded that way? None of these are proper or improper responses, each is simply a choice. The yamas are ways to bring awareness to the choices we make, to guide us toward an understanding that each choice matters. How you interpret the yamas is up you, in fact the meaning of each will change depending upon the circumstance you are being presented with at the time. The definitions given below are traditional interpretations and by no means the final word on what they ‘should’ mean. How would you interpret them in your life? How can you bring them into your yoga practice? Yamas Ahimsa – no harm, or non-violence towards others (and yourself!) Satya – truthfulness Asteya – non-stealing from others, includes possessions and honors (i.e. put others down to increase yourself) Bramhacharya – virtue or non-excess, literally means chastity or impulse control Aparigraha – non-possessiveness, non-greed

Niyamas
The niyamsas are how you treat yourself and your inner world. Often the focus is placed on navigating the outside world and what needs to be accomplished to have a happy, prosperous life and family. But you are the actor in this play and as such need to be aware of the choices and decisions you make toward yourself. If you are not performing with good intentions and clear mind the outward choices you make (yamas) will be affected negatively. Doing the daily grind and trying to get all the tasks on your to-do list completed is important, but if you are not careful of the inner choices you make the outward manifestations will be compromised. Stress, fatigue, low energy, depression, bursts of anger or sadness, all can result from lack of attention to your inner choices. For example, have you thought of getting up a little early to exercise but when the alarm goes off it is too easy to get that extra 10min of sleep? You want to eat healthier by bringing your lunch to work, but instead find it easier to just buy a less healthy choice from the fast food place. You bought those books on having more peace and joy in your life, but they are now coasters on the coffee table. Your resolution was to stop being judgmental at work, but some people are just so annoying!! The key here is not to judge and punish, but to recognize and correct. The niyamas are the moral and ethical guidelines in how you treat yourself and becoming aware of the effects personal choices make to the rest of your life. The niyamas, like the yamas, are not rules but guidelines open to interpretation. Here are the niyamas with brief explanations. Feel free to add your own interpretations to make them ‘real’ for you. Niyamas Saucha – cleanliness or purity, body, mind, and thoughts as well as soul/spirit Santosa – contentment or acceptance, this is not giving up or giving in to others will, it is nonjudgment and allowing, but still seeking improvement, this includes stop beating yourself up! Tapas – practice or discipline, being committed to doing something for self-improvement with consistency, a burning desire to better yourself Svadhyaya – self-study for improvement, studying something to better your inner self on a regular basis, seeking wisdom Isvarapranidhana – devotion, this can be to a spiritual entity or simply to the fact that the universe is bigger than you and ultimately it is in control, let it be!

Asana
The word asana means “posture” “to sit” to “to stay”. Asana is the physical practice of yoga, what most people think of when talking about practicing yoga in general. But asana is a minor part of the 8-limbs of yoga, important but not really the goal of the practice. It is simply intended to train the body to be able to sit in meditation for extended periods without discomfort. Patanjali describes asana as having 2 important qualities: sthira and sukha. Sthira means “steadiness” and “alertness”, while sukha means “comfort” or “ease”. Each asana or posture we practice should be a balance of sthira and sukha, steadiness and ease. While we may find some asanas difficult to get into and/or hold with either sthira or sukha, the practice is about seeking that balance. Remember the 2nd verse of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Yogas chitta vritti nirodhah “Yoga stills the fluctuations of the mind” Asana is a physical practice, while stilling the mind is a mental practice, how are they connected? We reach across the boundary from physical to mind via the breath, connecting the breath with the motions of the asanas hacks into (to use a computer term) the mind. The ancient yogis found out that control of the breath (pranayama) has strong effects on the body. Breath control along with body movement is sort of a high-speed connection between body-mind. That is why breath directions are given during a yoga class to help facilitate this connection. Ultimately, as has been stated before, meditation is the goal of the 8-limbs of yoga finding that deep, clear bliss that is inside each of us at all times. Asana is working on the body to allow us to explore meditation long enough without physical discomfort so we can find the path to that bliss. It is interesting to note that most of the asanas we associate with a yoga class today are modern, created some 800 years after the Yoga Sutras were written. Many asanas came into being around the time yoga was being introduced to the west around the 19th century. It seems the west was more familiar with a physical exercise practice and took to the asanas of yoga while minimizing the remainder of the other 7-limbs. Many yoga studios today do not emphasis the entirety of the 8-limb practice of yoga mostly because it is not easy to sell, while names like “hot-yoga”, “power-yoga”, “yoga with goats” and “acro-yoga” catch people’s attention. Practicing only the asana portion of yoga is not wrong or bad, there is tremendous benefit to body and mind to doing just this 1 limb of the 8. The 8-limbs of yoga are just like the body a unified system in which improvement in one area benefits the whole.

Pranayama
Pranayama is prana = breath, ayam = control or extension, so pranayama is the practice of breath control. The ancient yogis considered breath the source of life energy and that changing how one breathes enhances this energy. This can be experienced whenever we are angry, stressed, tense, etc. by consciously taking 4 or 5 deep breaths and exhaling slowly, this can slow the heart rate and soothes the autonomic nervous system calming us down. There are many different pranayama practices each meant for a distinct purpose and effect, some basic and others quite complex and difficult. During Hatha yoga practice the synchronization of the breath with movement is a form of pranayama, but originally pranayama was considered a separate practice unto itself. Most yoga practices will include some simple pranayama exercises which are accessible to almost anyone and are safe to do. There are other advanced practices which should only be performed under the guidance of a skilled pranayama practitioner and after many years of appropriate practice to prepare the student to perform them safely (they can be quite dangerous if done improperly!). Some common basic pranayama exercises include Diaphragmatic breath – allowing the belly to rise and fall due to motion of the diaphragm in an unforced manner. This very simple breath calms the autonomic nervous system and provides a deep relaxation of the mind. This is how babies breath naturally but we get older we move to more chest breathing. Very useful before falling asleep at night. Ujjayi breath – udji = to be victorious, so this is victorious breath. Narrowing the throat slightly making an ocean-like sound in the throat with the mouth closed and jaw relaxed. It deepens the breath and strengthens the lungs while providing mental focus. 4-square (AKA: Box) breath – breathe in for a count of 2,3, or 4, hold for the same, exhale for the same, hold out for the same, repeat. Similar to diaphragmatic breathing but consciously counting the breath length and has similar benefits but tends to build a little more energy depending on the count length. Kapalabhahti – skull-shining breath or breath of fire, squeeze the abdomen in in short, quick pumps making the exhale active and the inhale passive (opposite of normal breathing). Builds heat and energy while clearing the energy channels. Nadi shodhana – nadi = channel, shodhana = clearing, AKA: alternate nostril breathing. Using the index and ring fingers of the right hand, close right nostril and inhale through left, close left and exhale through right, inhale through right, close right and exhale through left, this is 1 cycle. This is a very balancing breath that helps to harmonize the left and right brain and brings focus and calming. 

Pratyahara
Pratyahara is prati = against, away from ahara = to eat, ingest, so pratyahara is control of the senses (senses are considered ‘to consume’ things from the world like sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touch). Pratyahara is the limb of yoga that is the turning point between the things of the physical, outside world and our interior world. Our senses are constantly ‘on’, we cannot consciously just turn off any of our ‘consumption’ of the world – both outside and in. This constant input becomes a background for our lives, there but not always rising to our attention. Someone calls your name, a bug bites you, brake lights come on in front of you, the smell of baking cookies reaches your nose – all create a response in the mind and draws attention to it. This is good, this helps us survive life in this world, but it is a major distraction to quieting the mind for meditation (remember, yoga’s ultimate goal is deep meditation). Included in these are the thoughts and judgements we place on ourselves. Don’t be harsh toward yourself, there are plenty of others who are all too willing to do that for you! Pratyahara is the practice of turning away from sensory stimuli, giving space between the outside and inside worlds. This practice doesn’t begin with just ‘shutting down’, it starts by becoming aware of the sense stimuli around you, tuning into this stimuli to recognize that it is present (again, much of the sensory input from the world has become background noise). Next you shift from labeling and categorizing the sensory input (‘oh, I like this song’, ‘is that a bug crawling on me?’, ‘I’m hungry, what should I have for lunch?’) and just allow them to be. This exercise is NOT easy and takes practice, the good news is that we have billions of opportunities everyday to try and try again. Once you begin to not label and categorize the sensory inputs you can start to open a gap between them and your inner world. This is the start of meditation, the place where you begin to give yourself space. This space is where your inner landscape begins to come into focus, and it opens the door to the higher levels of meditation. Where to begin? We have a choice every second of everyday about what sensory inputs we want to ‘consume’. The choice of music you play in the car, the books, magazines, newspapers you read, the movies you watch, the amount and type of TV you watch, the food you eat – all shape the sensory input ‘playlist’. Simple things contribute to an improved sensory playlist, like driving to work in silence once in a while, reading something uplifting and edifying instead of a news article, choosing to watch TV and movies which are not disturbing or scary, eating and drinking pure, healthy foods, taking a walk in the woods and listening to the wind, not going to lunch with that person who ‘is always negative/gossiping/complaining’, etc. Sensory inputs may be constant and all around us, but this doesn’t mean we don’t have a choice sometimes to pick a better sensory playlist. Toning down the high energy stimuli is a step towards being able to create that space between the outside and the inside worlds. Again, you have billions of chances everyday to try, again and again. 

Dharana
Dharana comes from the Sanskrit ‘dhri-‘ to hold, carry, or maintain, so dharana means holding attention, concentration on one object. This refers to the concept of bringing the awareness to one thing at the exclusion of all else and holding it there for an extended period. You may have experienced this to some extent while doing some activity which totally absorbs you to the point of losing track of time, people around you, being hungry, etc. This ‘being in the zone’ where you have absorbed your mind, your attention so completely brings out higher levels of creativity, energy, skill, etc. When speaking of dharana from the perspective of meditation (remember, the eight-limbs are all about meditation) this one-pointedness of mind is the beginner level of meditation. Why beginner? Because even though you are totally focused on one thing the awareness of doing this is still present, and this focus still tends to drift away from the object of attention. For example, let’s say you are holding a rose in front of you, there is the awareness of the flower, its feel, scent, perhaps the sharpness of the thorns. Now close your eyes and imagine the same rose with its characteristics in your mind. Hold your attention on that image, the touch, scent, etc. Pretty soon you may become aware that you are thinking about the rose bushes in your garden from last summer or the bouquet you received for Valentine’s Day or how you like the pretty pink ones more than the red ones. The mind has drifted away from the object, it may be on a similar topic, but it is not the original intention of focus. This is the practice of dharana, focus, drift, return, focus, drift, return, over and over again. Until we are able to hold our attention on one thing for an extended period without drifting, we will continue to be a victim of ‘monkey-mind’. This is the standard default setting for almost everyone, that state where our thoughts jump from place to place, topic to topic without control like a hyper-active monkey (if you prefer the dog from the movie ‘Up’ constantly being distracted by ‘squirrels!!’). This perpetually distracted mind is preventative to moving to the higher experience of meditation. So how do we go from ‘monkey-mind’ to ‘monk-mind’? In a word: practice. There is nothing special about calming the mind, no secret formula, it just takes practice. This can take the form of a formal meditation practice but can also be practiced while at the office, playing with your kids, talking with your friend, or reading a book. Whenever you are doing any of these things can you bring your total attention to just that task for 1min? How about 2 or 5? It’s not easy but it can be done. We live in a world that expects us to multi-task, but our minds truly can’t think about more than one thing at a time. Studies have shown that ‘multi-tasking’ in really just the mind switching back and forth between topics rapidly, you really CAN’T think of two things at the exact same time. So, stop, focus on one thing just for a few minutes. If you are concern about forgetting the other tasks write them down (or, if they are that easy to forget maybe they are that important to begin with!). Practice, practice, and practice some more.

Dhyana
Dhyana is Sanskrit for ‘meditation’, from dhi = the mind, and yana = going, or going away from the mind. While meditation is sometimes thought of ‘emptying the mind’ or not thinking about anything, totally blank this is in practice impossible. The nature of the mind is to think and as discussed in Dharana the mind is very good at this, jumping from thought to thought endlessly. Meditation or Dhyana is best practiced by focusing on something, this gives the mind something to do and brings it into service and not making it a thing to wrestle with fruitlessly. As we learned in Dharana, holding the concentration on something is the start of meditation, so what is the difference in Dhyana? Dhyana is focusing on the object or thought to the point of feeling like you are part of it, merging into it which begins to exclude other thoughts, a higher level of focus. Judith Lasater in Yoga Journal writes: “One way to understand the distinction between concentration [Dharana] and meditation [Dhyana] is by using rain as an analogy. When rain starts, the moisture of clouds and fog (everyday awareness) coalesces into concentrated moisture and becomes distinct raindrops. These raindrops represent dharana—intermittent moments of focused attention. When the rain falls to earth and creates a river, the merging of the individual raindrops into one stream is like dhyana or meditation. The separate raindrops merge into one continuous flow, just as individual moments of dharana merge into the uninterrupted focus of meditation. In English, we often use the word "meditate" to mean "to think," but in yoga, meditation is not thinking instead, it is a deep sense of unity with an object or activity.” - https://www.yogajournal.com/yoga-101/seeking-samadhi There is no magic to doing this, it is simple practice, practice, practice. Keep in mind that all that came before this seventh limb is still necessary and to jump straight to Dhyana or Samadhi to ‘get to the good stuff’ will frustrate you no end. When a world-class gymnast is learning to do those intense double backflips with a twist and land on their feet, or an ice skater is learning to jump in the air, spin 3 times and land with grace, or an opera singer is training her voice to sing an aria each of them must start from the beginning, learn the basics, and then practice, practice, practice. It is often referred to as the’10,000 hours’, it takes about 10,000 hours of learning, working and practice to become a master at a skill, the same principle applies here. There are no short-cuts, no secret lessons which can jump past the work, you just need to do it. Absorbing our minds in meditation is similar to the elite athlete who gets ‘into the zone’ and forgets everything around them and their amazing ability just becomes automatic, like it is just ‘happening’. The same with Dhyana, the effort will become less and less, and the concentration deeper and deeper. What you choose to use as a point of concentration is not that important, use a candle, flower, picture, a thought of someone, a deity, an icon, the wall, etc. Use the techniques of Pratyahara to draw in the senses and Dharana to strengthen the attention, then slip into Dhyana and become fully absorbed. You will be distracted but just start over again, in this moment, and then this moment, and on and on…

Samadhi
Samadhi comes from the Sanskrit sam = ‘perfect, complete’, a = ‘towards’, and dhi = ‘consciousness’ the state of moving towards complete union with consciousness. To clarify the word ‘consciousness’ a bit, in this context it refers to the higher consciousness, the ‘oneness’ or universal consciousness. It is not referring to our day-to-day intellectual conscious awareness, as would be described in psychology or neuroscience (i.e. ego). Our everyday conscious state (ego) is made up of parts. We observe objects in our world using our senses and then process that information in our minds. Behind all of this is awareness or silent witness, that part of each of us that is universal. Samadhi is moving beyond the observed, observer, and mind and merging into the witness. So far in the other seven limbs of Patajali’s yoga we have explored the processes and practices which are intended to help us be aware, restrain, hone, and direct how our minds consume the world around us, learning how to make choices in what we present to our senses, our bodies (outside and inside), and our minds. Withdrawing from the sensory inputs and calming the mind is the majority of the yoga practice. Remember from the introduction ‘Yoga chitta vritti nirodha’ = Yoga calms the fluctuations of the mind Verse 2, Patanjali Yoga Sutra But I thought that’s what Dhyana was all about! The difference lies in the depth of the mediation, Dhyana is a focused meditation where the meditator is deeply focused on one object and that object only, the mind is active here. Samadhi is dropping all of this and slipping into the bliss of awareness, a place of no thought, no turmoil, no mind. So how do we achieve this penultimate goal? Practicing the eight limbs of yoga is one method to achieve it, but there are a dozen or more other paths that will also get you there. The most important thing is to find the path that works best for you and follow it. Each is just a different path up the mountain, we all arrive at the same destination, the same vista. Each time we practice our form of meditation we become more and more conditioned to the process, the feelings, and the joy. Like an acorn becoming a huge oak tree year by year, ring by ring and leaf by leaf we will grow in our practice until eventually samadhi becomes spontaneous. Just like how we can’t rush an acorn into a full-grown tree, we can’t rush, or force, our progress along our path. To do so would cause us to miss opportunities, side journeys, connections, and experiences that will be vital to us further down the path. Let go of the goal, let go of the expectations, and let go of the doubt that this is too difficult or may not happen.

The truth is we are already what we seek, we have just talked ourselves into believing we are not. Namaste