The eight limbs of yoga

Where the eight limbs come from

The eight limbs are set out in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a collection of just under two hundred short aphorisms attributed to Patanjali and usually dated by scholars to roughly the early centuries of the common era. The limbs are listed in the second of its four chapters and explained over the passages that follow. In Sanskrit the system is called ashtanga, from ashta (eight) and anga (limb). Since the late nineteenth century it has also been widely known as raja yoga.

The Sutras begin by defining yoga as the stilling of the movements of the mind. The eight limbs are the practical method for getting there. You do not need to know them to begin: a first lesson for complete beginners already touches three of them, posture, breath and a moment of stillness.

The eight limbs, one by one

1. Yama: how you treat others

Five restraints: ahimsa (non-harming), satya (truthfulness), asteya (not stealing), brahmacharya (moderation, traditionally celibacy) and aparigraha (not grasping). The Sutras call them a great vow that holds everywhere and at all times.

2. Niyama: how you treat yourself

Five observances: saucha (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapas (discipline), svadhyaya (self-study, including study of texts) and ishvara pranidhana (surrender to the divine). Both lists are explored on the yamas and niyamas page.

3. Asana: posture

In the Sutras, asana is described in only a few lines: the seat should be steady and comfortable. It mainly means a way of sitting for meditation. The many postures of modern yoga come largely from later hatha yoga.

4. Pranayama: breath

Regulating the breath, lengthening and pausing the inhale and the exhale. Common pranayama techniques have a page of their own.

5. Pratyahara: turning the senses inward

Letting attention withdraw from sights and sounds outside, the way a tortoise draws in its limbs, an image often used in explaining it.

6. Dharana: concentration

Holding attention on one place or object, such as the breath or a single point.

7. Dhyana: meditation

When concentration becomes an unbroken flow rather than a repeated effort. If you would like to try sitting quietly yourself, a beginner’s guide to meditation starts with five minutes.

8. Samadhi: absorption

A state in which the sense of a separate observer falls away and only the object of meditation remains. The Sutras describe several levels of it.

The first five limbs are often called the outer limbs, and the last three, practised together, the inner limbs.

How it shows up in a modern practice

A typical studio class is mostly limb three, with a little of limbs four and seven: postures, some breathing, and a few minutes of rest or meditation at the end. The eight limbs are a reminder that posture was one part of a much larger practice. Students who want more than a workout often find their way into the other limbs through breathing, meditation and the ethical questions of the first two.

The eight limbs in a private lesson

A private lesson can move through several limbs in a single lesson without making a point of it: steady postures to make sitting comfortable, a short breathing practice, a moment of turning attention inward, and a few minutes of concentration at the end. For a beginner, each piece stays small and simple, and it can grow over time.

The Sanskrit glossary explains every term above, and you can read about my training at House of Om in Bali.