Yoga is offered in almost every gym around the country, as well as in yoga studios or private classes. You may even see people doing yoga at the beach or in the park. But did you know that the outward expression of the practice of yoga – the physical poses which are known as asanas – are only one part of a complex system of knowledge that goes back millennia?
Patanjali and the Yoga Sutra
The sage Patanjali, who is thought to have lived around 1,700 years ago, set out the teachings of yoga in the Yoga Sutra, a treatise in short, pithy statements designed to set us on the path to living with meaning and purpose. The physical asanas are just one step of eight on the path. In the Yoga Sutra, the eightfold path is called ashtanga, which literally means "eight limbs" (ashta=eight, anga=limb). (Note this is not to be confused with "ashtanga yoga" which is a style of yoga.)
The eight limbs are:
- Yamas – conduct towards others or social discipline
- Niyamas – conduct towards oneself or personal discipline
- Asana – the physical postures
- Pranayama – breath control for mental discipline
- Pratyahara – withdrawal of the senses
- Dharana – concentration
- Dyana – meditation
- Samadhi – Self-realisation.
The yamas and niyamas are then broken down into five practices relating to how we behave to others and to ourselves, and are essential to living a good life.
Yamas
The five yamas are:
- Ahimsa – non-violence; kindliness, friendliness, thoughtful consideration of others
- Satya – truthfulness
- Asteya – non-stealing, non-covetousness
- Brahmacharya – moderation in sex
- Aparigraha – non-grasping, only taking what is necessary.
Niyamas
The five niyamas are:
- Sauca – inner and outer cleanliness of the body
- Santosha – contentment
- Tapas – discipline to keep the body fit and healthy
- Svadhyaya – self-examination
- Isvara pranidhana – “to lay all your actions at the feet of God”; to know that we have done our best and to leave the rest to a higher power.
While there are eight steps, it is not necessary to master one step before moving onto the next step – they are “interpenetrating and interdependent. They may appear to be different, but all lead to the same goal” in the words of Geeta Iyengar. And the goal is samadhi – a state of ecstasy.
In the Yoga Sutra (II,28), Patanjali says, “The study of the eight limbs of yoga leads to the purification of the body, the mind and the intellect; the flame of knowledge is kept burning and discrimination is aroused.”
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