Eight limbs of yoga – 5. Pratyahara – Introspection
Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the Self.
Bhagavad Gita
Eight limbs of yoga – 4. Pranayama – Breath
Coming from a western tradition, yoga’s fourth limb can be unfamiliar as it turns toward eastern mysticism. So to understand the significance of breathing, especially in Hatha yoga, it helpfs to know something about yoga’s perspective on the cosmos and the human condition.
Eight limbs of yoga – 3. Asana – Posture
With the first two limbs of yoga addressing the moral ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’, the third is concerned with what we in the West usually associate with yoga, namely the bodily postures or asanas.
Eight limbs of yoga – 2. Niyama – Observance
This is the second instalment in a series about the “eight limbs of yoga”, which together constitute a guide or path toward Samadhi, the limbs that is, not the posts ;).
It’s a personal view on an ancient subject, so draws on many sources.
Eight limbs of yoga – 1. Yama – Behaviour
Unlike the second limb of yoga, the Niyamas or yogic “Dos”, the Yamas define the “Don’ts”; the rules aimed at curbing our negative tendencies and keeping us “on the straight and narrow”. Between them they constitute yoga’s ethical foundation which is meant to not only facilitate positive karma, but to also help manage the energy that comes from awakening the Kundalini Shakti within.
The eight limbs of yoga – Ashtanga
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 the eight sutras or set of rules he wrote down.
Yoga and The Religious Society of Friends
Both Quakerism and yoga are similarly quiet, private practices, light on dogma and focused upon realising the divine within.
Yoga
Where to begin with this one? A potted history, overview, philosophy, fitness, weight loss…
Something about boys 