Resources

Ashtanga: The Eight Limbs of Yoga

The classical ashtanga yoga of Patanjali (approx. 3000 BCE) sets out the eight limbs of yoga. Collectively the ashtanga are the formal practices which form the yogic path to union (samadhi).

Of the eight limbs, the first four limbs are external practices. The fifth is constitutes the bridge to the remaining three branches which are internal disciplines. Progressing through the eight branches the practitioners’ awareness is increasingly drawn inward,
toward the cultivation of consciousness.

The Yamas and Niyamas are personal practices on which the foundation of the remaining six branches are established.

Yamas and Niyamas

Yamas are universal tenants which apply to all human beings who strive toward non-violence (ahimsa), honesty (satya), non-grasping (aparingraha) or stealing (astaya) and respectful relationships (bramacharya). Yamas control the organs of action: arms, legs, mouth, organs of regeneration. They are the foundation of yoga- the roots.

Niyamas are individual disciplines of the mind. The mind likes to believe its perceptions are Truth. Distortions occur between object and observer when the third aspect, or perception is filtered through experience of mind. Niyamas are the practice of controlling the organs of perception toward purity (saucha), contentment (santosa), ardor or commitment (tapas), self-study (svadhaya), and surrender (Isvara pranidhana). Niyams provide the trunk of yoga from which the branches of asana, and leaves of pranayama grow.

Yamas and Niyamas are yogic disciplines which apply to everyday modern life. In learning to apply the practices of yama and niyama each situation and moment provides an opportunity for practice. It is in awakening to those moments that conscious awareness develops leading one out of the illusory mind-experience (maya) and mind-habits (samskaras) into Moksha, or Freedom. This is the classical definition of Yoga as Union.

Om

Sanskrit is primarily an oral tradition. The sound resonates through each part of the body through which it moves.

Each individual tone creates the whole from the three syllables: A-U-M.

Examples of it’s many interpretations are: speech, mind and breath, and together the living spirit; the three qualities of rajas, tamas, and sattva and the transcendent whole. Each of these gives a sense of the larger meaning.

Because the Sanskrit language was created through meditation, the tone of a word resonates with the same quality as the object which it describes. As you peel back the layers of an onion, each layer it reveals yet another layer inside. Be conscious of the tone while keeping the meaning of the whole in mind. In invoking Om you invoke wholeness, union, and harmony with all living things into the world.