The 8 Limbs of Yoga
More than "stretching" or sport (+ a pranayama video)
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Pranayama
First, I just want to share with you a video that is an introduction to a couple of pranayama - or breath practice - techniques. Enjoy!
If you are at the start of your yoga journey, I recommend not worrying about breath during your asana practice. You might have a few cues about inhales and exhales or a little bit of practice at the start of a class. But don’t think about it! Eventually, this will come naturally. You’re not doing things wrong if you don’t inhale at the exact right time. In fact, your body is likely to find the breath that’s best for it.
Pranayama as a specific practice clicked with me during a class with yogi-author Mark Whitwell in Bali. I signed up for a vinyasa class and ended up hearing a lot of ideas about love, energy, and strength along with various pranayama practices. Maybe we moved into a couple of asanas before leaving as well. Not only did I feel incredible following the 90 minutes of breathing activities, but I also had an extremely sore core the next day! It was truly a physical workout. This surprised me and made me realize just how far one could go with pranayama and the way it must be impacting the rest of my physical yoga practice.
What’s your experience with breath work? I discuss pranayama as the 4th ‘limb’ of yoga below.
The 8 Limbs of Yoga
We have all had different exposure to yoga - videos, gyms, yoga studios, or maybe you’re a yoga teacher yourself - welcome!
Maybe you’ve encountered the eight limbs before and need a reminder, or maybe you have no idea what I’m talking about. I still remember when I first heard about it during a workshop with Gokulacandra. My mind was blown! (He is an amazing, humble workshop leader…if you ever get the chance.)
Schools of thought
Writing has about a million directions and text types as well as philosophical reasons for doing it, but essentially I would think we have a basic common understanding of what it is: words and other symbols put down to communicate thoughts and ideas in a readable format. Yoga & Writing explores different purposes for writing, different audiences (including yourself), and different text types and genres.
When it comes to yoga, there are also many directions and schools of practice.
Some people may only have experience with yoga asana practice. It’s what a lot of people who haven’t encountered yoga before themselves would think of - the asanas are the physical postures of yoga. But as many of you already know, it’s just one of the ‘8 limbs’ . Don’t worry if you’ve never heard this before. Even if you practice yoga, you might not be aware, but you still might have a wonderful practice.
What are the 8 limbs? Where do they come from?
The 8 Limbs are the steps of yoga practice originally created by the Indian yogi Patanjali nearly 2000 years ago as part of the Yoga Sutras. Ashtanga means 8 Limbs. Ashtanga also refers to a rigorous type of yoga developed in the 1970s. Here when I am guiding you, we will practice mainly Vinyasa yoga, along with some more general Hatha (of which Vinyasa is a form of) and Yin. However, all these types of yoga draw on the 8 limbs and are mainly (though not only) articulations of how we choose to practice the third limb - asana, or physical practice.
These limbs are meant to offer guidance in practicing a meaningful, purposeful, and balanced life. These steps are meant to be reached in order, but this doesn’t mean we abandon the lower steps; instead we keep working on all of them as we progress up the ladder. Ultimately, we are seeking Moksha, which is freedom. This is something I would argue we are also trying to achieve through our writing practice. More on that later!
Today, I’ll give you just a brief overview with links for a couple of good resources at the bottom. The 8 Limbs are something you’ll develop a deeper understanding of over time.
1. Yama
Yama means to contain or control. The 5 Yamas are the principles of ethical behavior.
Ahimsa - means nonviolence and is about respecting one’s body and that of others.
Satya - means truthfulness and is about being honest with both ourselves and others.
Astray - means non stealing and is about freeing oneself of the desire to have something that one has not earned or paid for
Brahmacharya - is about honoring yourself and others in intimate relationships; it is about both restraint and giving love
Aparigraha - is about living with generosity of spirit and action and giving without expecting in return
2. Niyama
The niyamas are personal observances, a means of well-being that brings our attention from relationships with others to the intimacy of our relationship with ourselves. By living through these, we can reach deeper authenticity. The original Upanishads has 15 but the Yoga Sutras focus on 5:
Saucha - cleanliness or the idea of treating your body like a temple
Santosa - contentment in who we are and what we presently have. It is also about purity and humility
Tapas - presence and motivation in our daily practice, an austerity of being and forging our true character
Svadhyana - intentional self-awareness and reflection
Ishvarapranidhana - letting go of our egos and surrendering, for some this means to God or your form of it
3. Asana
Asana refers to the postures in the practice of yoga, or what we might think of as the physical practice. Some yoga classes will only focus on asana practice and it is the most common focus in the ‘western’ practice of yoga. However the word asana also refers to the posture of seated practice, in other words: meditation.
4. Pranayama
Pranayama is breath practice. In the practice of pranayama, we learn how to control the breath and practice various techniques for strength, relaxation, and more. Sometimes, we will also investigate different bandhas, or binds, that relate to our control of the breath for various purposes. Pranayama might coincide with an asana practice or be a completely separate exercise.
5. Pratyahara
Pratyahara practice is about drawing the sense inward, relieving them of their external distractions; clearly the 5th limb is essential for writers!
6. Dharana
Dharana is focused concentration. It is also essential for meditation.
7. Dhyana
Dhyana is becoming one in body, breath, and mind — this limb is when we are really meditating, although the previous steps help us reach a state of meditation.
8. Samadhi
Samadhi is bliss or enlightenment that comes when the state of the knower and known, subject and object, thought and thinker dissolve into one. Rather than an escape, Samadhi is about being fully present and realizing a sense of joy and freedom, or moksha, in our real worlds.
Again, you can see a few links below to help you understand more. All of us, whether yoga beginners or teachers, are working within these 8 limbs and continuously moving toward this world of freedom.
Now, I’ll leave you with a few questions to consider either here or as you continue on your day.
How might a deeper understanding of the 8 Limbs of Yoga impact your writing practice? What areas of the 8 Limbs would you like to focus on in this community?
Do you think the 8 Limbs can also be found in other types of philosophy or wisdom, or even sports practice?
What do the 8 Limbs have to do with writing or your personal writing practice?
References and further reading:
Decolonizing Yoga
Ekhart Yoga explanation
Yoga Journal
Teaching Yoga: Essential Foundations and Techniques, by Mark Stephens (North Atlantic Books, 2010)
Thanks for checking out Yoga Culture, a new community with a podcast, courses, and retreats coming soon.
You write about yoga in such an approachable way, thank you for these explanations! I’m pretty new to the practice and reading your posts makes me want to learn and explore more.
Thank you for this reminder of the 8 limbs! Unfortunately a lot of these practices (including asana!) have fallen by the wayside in my experience of early motherhood but I suppose in other ways I’m drawing on a lot of the principles of yoga in my current everyday with two young children!