Unlike many spiritual traditions yoga seems to be gaining popularity in the West.

What we know as yoga was collated and defined by the Hindu mystic Patanjali around the third century CE. Though the word is now most often used to refer to the set of postures (asanas), these constitute only one of eight sutras (aphorisms) or set of rules he first wrote down. Each sutra describes one of the “limbs” of yoga, which include what to cultivate and avoid, posture, breathing, withdrawal, concentration, meditation and absorption. Ashtanga (having eight limbs or members) yoga then refers to Patanjali’s holistic guidance for achieving unity between mind, body, spirit and the Divine*.

From a growing enjoyment and appreciation I’d like to learn more about the other seven “limbs”. That’ll hopefully come through posting about each of them.

Namaste

* The Ashtanga style of yoga refers to a kind of Vinyassa or flow yoga first taught by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois in 1948. It focuses upon coordinating the breath with continuous movement between asanas and is considered an advanced practice. An Ashtanga yoga class always follows the format of an opening chant followed by an unchanging set of asanas (which can be adapted according to ability).