Eight Limbs of Yoga by Master Patanjali

ASHTANGA YOGA:

Ashta = 8

Anga = Limbs

Yoga = Union

(NOT THE SAME ASHTANGA AS POPULARISED BY PATABI JOIS)

EIGHT LIMBS:

1.    Yama – Restrains

2.    Niyama – Observances

3.    Asana – Physical Exercises/Postures

4.    Pranayama – Control of the Vital Force

5.    Pratyahara – Withdrawal of Senses

6.    Dharana – Concentration

7.    Dhyana – Meditation

8.    Samadhi – Integration

BREAKDOWN OF THE EIGHT LIMBS IN DETAIL:

1. Yamas (Restrains – how to conduct yourself in the world)

  

   - Non-violence = Ahimsa

   - Truth = Satya

   - Honesty = Astheya

   - Continence = Brahmacharya

   - Non-possession = Aparigraha

Note* A devotee or student to Yoga must have these 5 principles to be peaceful and     

         ready for Yoga.

        

-NON-VIOLENCE/AHIMSA: Violence comes from conflict, which comes from FEAR of losing our IMAGE. Violence needs a stimulus to respond to for us to go into “fight or flight”.

-TRUTH/SATYA: facts & how not to distort fact. Cannot speak about truth. Truth is silence. Without SEEING the truth one cannot lie. Life loses its base, which is based in reality. When you lie you distort reality and project untruths & become a fragmented person. This then becomes disintegration or a “crack in our plate”. BE COURAGEOUS ENOUGH TO PRESENT THE FACTS AS THEY ARE.

-HONESTY/ASTHEYA: Thoughts + Actions + Words must be aligned. This goes with truth. Not thinking one way and acting another. When you are disharmonized you are dishonest with yourself not anyone else.

-CONTINENCE/BRAHMACHRAYA: Moving with Consciousness. Moving with Brahmacharya. This factor has been turned around and made about sex & made into a taboo, which is incorrect. What it really means is to remain with The Master in consciousness so your mind doesn’t wander. Whatever we do will show up in our practice. (Tantra Yoga is living in your sex with such awareness that even your sex becomes yoga).

-NON-POSSESIVENESS/APARIGRAHA: when we see something as beautiful we have an affinity toward that object. That is why we see something beautiful we want to go closer to it. What we do is become attached. (Santhi: “it is absolutely beautiful to become attached”) The happiness mongering area within you is communicating with the beautiful object & you form a union & an ecstatic celebration take place. This is normal. We then go home & are distracted by the thought or memory of the ecstasy. We become pre-occupied by attaining that ecstasy again. We keep the impression of the initial celebration within us and want to possess & re-create the moment & we can NEVER do that again. THIS IS POSESSION. *Attachment leads us to possess * I don’t want to be disposed mentality and *I don’t want anyone else to posses this beautiful object.

2. Niyamas (Observances – Personal Code)

    - Cleanliness = Suchi or Soucha

    - Contentment = Tripty or Santosha

    - Self Study = Swadhyaya

    - Austerity = Tapas

    - Surrender to God = Iswara

-CLEANLINESS/SUCHI or SOUCHA: keep the body clean/keep the mind clean. When people panic they don’t want to come into contact with water. We negate the basics of life. When we are upset we want to sleep rather than take a shower. When we get tense we should take warm water showers & drink warm water. This supports calms and us  down Water is the greatest purifier both inside & outside. Panic is created at the base of our body pushing upwards. Causing insecurity. Use hot water to drink to calm yourself down. Keep drinking a bit of hot water for 5 – 6 hours & panic will subside with the use of any drugs.

-CONTENTMENT/TRIPTY: satisfaction with what you have in the moment. Live in contentment & trust you will get a chance to have more another day but don’t spend today working for tomorrow. Work today because you love your job & feel contentment & you go to work. Tomorrow you will have more giving yourself the opportunity tomorrow to enjoy more.

-SELF-STUDY/SWADHYAYA:

1. Sravana – observing your mind with your mind. Must observe for Yogic students. 

    Hearing & Listening is important. Speaking & communicating through our filters.  

    When the filters/values line up we feel we have understood.

2. Manana – analysis

3. Nididhyasan – putting into practice

-you hear

-you analyze

-you synthesize

-you put into practice

 -AUSTERITY/TAPAS: living with a specific system. An Austere Life. Tapas means “heating up” or “cooking”. When we experience conflict we feel a heat in our belly region & this heats up our system. The body is the temple where your soul is housed. To get out of this look at what is causing you to burn to death. (usually based in DESIRE). Identify conflicting desires to end suffering. Unholy thoughts are any thoughts that give you conflict. Tapas is burning the desires & conflicts that cause you trouble. Look at desire. Stay with desire intensely then the desire subsides & the fire is put out. We tend to see our desire and label it as bad and run away from it in our minds further burying them and giving them more power. Staying with our desires until they subside is a sacrificial burning therefore good for us.

-SURRENDER TO GOD/ISHWARA: God is clear of everything. Knowledge. Free of pleasure & pain. Higher intelligence that created manifestation. God is the Creator, Sustainer & Destroyer. IE: no path forward & no path back, no path side to side & a tiger jumps out – what will you do? Reach! Jump UP for HEAVEN. You surrender to God the tiger comes up and licks you & takes care of you. IE: enemy soldiers surrendering; taken by enemy soldier, put into truck & taken to camp & given to food. *SURRENDERING ALWAYS ALLOWS YOU TO BE TAKEN CARE OF.

Nature is always showering Grace upon us – like sunshine. We have deadened some. We have lost the capacity to experience GRACE. This will allow you to lead life with confidence not with Ego but with Trust & Faith. You will be protected & taken care of.

Yama + Niyama = The 10 Principles of Yoga

3. ASANA/POSTURES: “Sthiram Sugham Asanam” – Patanjali

Long steady comfortable position is Asana.

Asanas are classified by position & its nature:

-standing position

-sitting position

-lying position

-balancing position (prone & supine)

-balancing position

-upside down position

along with…

- cultural – reculture your body to be better suited for surviving & thriving. Blocks occur when pranic flow becomes clogged in a certain part of our body. Cultural Asanas reposition our body so we can re-establish pranic flow.

-relaxing – most animals are relaxed. When they are full they don’t think about food. Animals get great power & energy when they get hungry & see prey for food. Humans get lost & tired when they don’t eat. Basic drives for animals are FOOD & SEX. Same for humans but we don’t accept it because of social conditioning. Asanas are therefore designed on RELAXING positions of animals to aid in relaxing human beings. The idea being that human beings are formed from lower forms of beings. This works with our inner psyche. *MOST ANIMAL NAMED ASANAS ARE CULTURAL ASANAS (Santhi: eventually we should do asanas because it is satisfying not for exercise or a TTC Certificate)

*Asana it not what we are doing but the RESULT of what we are doing!!!

*Asana is ONE aspect of yoga it is NOT yoga. In the west we have developed asanas as exercise & sell it as yoga. It is a posture NOT yoga.

-meditative – IE: Shavasana. To meditate and withdraw

Mind becomes focused and non-attached: The Conscious mind is trained to be one-pointed, while also learning to let go of the other impressions that are flowing through the field of attention (non-attachment or vairagya). 

The veil is opened: As the Conscious mind becomes quiet, the veil between Conscious and Unconscious is gradually opened, allowing more thoughts, feelings, sensations, images or impressions to come forward from the Unconscious to the Conscious. 

Impressions drift away: The mind continues to be focused, as the impressions rising from the Unconscious are allowed to drift away, in a spirit of non-attachment (vairagya). 

Mind is expanded: Eventually the Conscious mind is expanded in such a way that we go beyond all aspects of the mind. 

4. PRANYAMA/CONTROL OF VITAL FORCE:

Breath is the carrier of Prana

Prana is the vehicle of the Mind

Prana Vayu = oxygen (vital air)

Without oxygen you cannot liberate the vital force to animals

Minerals > hydrogen

Plants > carbon dioxide

Aimals > oxygen

- oxidation is an exothermic reaction

- meaning pushing out heat

- heat is called PRANA

- which is converted into bioelectricity

- it is this bioelectricity that is considered VITAL FORCE or PRANA

- oxidation generates carbon dioxide & water

- this bioelectricity performs all the function in the body

- moves by impulses which is why we can MINDFULLY  transport impulses

   where we want them to go (Channelization)

- you can concentrate the ROUTE of the Prana through the MIND

        where you concentrate your mind the energy will go to that place

     - Prana means there is force

- wherever there is movement there is PRANA

- Prana is the cause of ALL movement, which requires MOTIVATION & INSPIRATION

- these two aspects are THE MIND (Manas)

- because there is mind movement never stops

Pooraka = Inhalation/filling (active process)

Rechaka = Exhaling/emptying: gap>exhale>gap (less active due to release)

Kumbhaka = Retaining/holding the breath (the gap)

Inhale with belly OUT

Exhale with belly IN

     Three ways of breathing:

1.    long inhale & short exhale (for reconstruction & in need of energy conservation)

2.    short inhale & long exhale (this is a SIGH, done when tense)

3.    equal inhale & exhale (balanced)

     *Madhyama = Breathing

1.    Rhythmic Breathing/Sectional Breathing (3 types)

- Uttama Adya = throat/clavicular breathing

- Madhyam = chest/intercostal breathing

- Adhama = abdominal or diaphragmatic breathing

(FOR CORRECTING THE MECHANICS OF BREATHING)

     

2.    Nadi Sodhana Kriya (Purification of Subtle Perception Path)

- process exercise NOT PRANAYAMA

- for cleansing

- alternate nostril breathing 1:2 ratio

3.    Kapalabhati (Breath of Fire) – PRANIC EXERCISE NOT PRANAYAMA

- for stimulating brain cells

- forced exhale

- passive inhale

- X for those with Blood Pressure issues

    

4.    Suryabhedana Pranayama

- activates Solar (right) side

- inhale right  by closing left nostril

- exhale left by closing right nostril

    

5.    Chandra Bhedhana Pranayama

- activates Lunar (left) side

- inhale left by closing right nostril

- exhale right by closing left nostril

- Inspiring & expiring should be slow & deep

     

6.    Bastrika Pranayama – bellowing breathing

- inhale & exhale with equal force

    

7.    Brahmari Pranayama – bumble bee sound

- pushed up toward the brain to activate higher centre

    

8.    Seethal – cooling effect

- curl tongue

- inhale through mouth

- exhale through nostrils

9.    Seethari (Ujaayi) – Hissing Sound

    

10.Anuloma Viloma Pranayama – Inhale 1, Retain 4, Exhale 2

- Alternate nostrils for balance

5.    PRATYAHARA/WITHDRAWAL OF SENSES:

      

         ALL THESE LEAD TO THE MIND (MANAS)

IE: RECOGNITION – projecting stored information to recognize someone. Ins spiritual practice this can be a problem because there isn’t a need to know.

*We see the world as we are, not as it is. Senses don’t give KNOWLEDGE but rather PERCEPTION. If the world is a question of personal perspective then why do we place so much importance on it?

Cutting off the mind means to stop the projection of what you are looking at & just seeing what is in front of you – PURE PERCEPTION.

Our goal is to realize. Yoga is stopping the activities of the mind. Get into a state of Concentration. Being still stops flow of prana then senses withdraw automatically.

6.CONCENTRATION/DHARANA: ( SUBJECT + PROCESS + OBJECT)

- KSHIPTA = goes on shifting point to point & thought to thought

- VIKSHIPTA = distracted mind

- MOODA = infatuated or obsessed mind

- EKAGARA* = concentrating mind (entertaining a particular thought for a long     period of time without distraction ).                          

- NIRUDHA = meditative mind. Can withdraw & stay in itself without distractions or idea. This mind leads a person to Samadhi (Integration)

NOTE: first three are very fast moving and not ideal for Yogis

There is strain in concentration all the time. Requires a strong Focus State. Has tension in it because natural tendency of the mind is to jump from one point to another (like a drunk monkey – never still always moving searching for happiness). After long term practice the tension disappears. Persistency.

7.DHYANA/MEDITATION: (SUBJECT+OBJCECT+PROCESS)

meditation is effortless existence. Continuous flow of the mind to the point of attention for a continuously long period of time without effort or tension. Has 3 aspects: SUBJECT + OBJECT + PROCESS (meditation is the process). The 3 aspects are called TRIPUTI (tri=three + puti+aspects). Beginning of meditation is the awareness that you’re meditating. Reaching meditation means you are now part of the process & at one with the object.

8.SAMADHI/INTEGRATION: (HIGHEST STATE OF YOGA) becoming ONE with  something. You are a part of the object OR the object is one with you.

Swami Santhi: The point of yoga is Love & Compassion. God is Love. The expression of Love is Compassion.