New Year, Now Yoga: Ashtanga or the Eight Limbs of Yoga
An ancient prescription for living a moral and purposeful life
Yoga is more than asana, or the postures we practice on the mat.
Ashtanga yoga or the eight limbs or stages of yoga are defined in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra 2:29, and include yamas (abstinences), niyamas (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (integration).
Patanjali says that by practicing the limbs of Yoga, impurities diminish and there dawns the light of wisdom. Each of the eight limbs is equal to the others, and all the limbs are necessary.
So if you only practice asana, you are leaving behind seven aspects of Yoga.
For the rest of the ‘New Year, Now Yoga’ series, Yoga with a capital ‘Y’ will denote Ashtanga yoga (or the eightfold path), and little ‘y’ yoga will refer to the physical practice.
What is ‘New Year, Now Yoga?’ Check out the introduction:
