Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali

The Sanskrit word Ashtanga is a combination of two words: Ashta, meaning eight, and Anga, meaning limb or part. Ashtanga Yoga therefore means the eight limbed path of Yoga.

When we speak of Ashtanga Yoga in the context of Patanjali, we are referring to the eight limbs described in the Yoga Sutras. It is important to distinguish this classical understanding from the modern use of the term Ashtanga Yoga to describe a particular system of physical practice.

Patanjali did not invent Yoga. The traditions of Yoga existed long before the Yoga Sutras were compiled, with teachings and practices appearing in different forms throughout the Vedic, Upanishadic and Tantric traditions. Patanjali's great contribution was to present a systematic framework for the practice and understanding of Yoga.

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali describes Yoga as a progressive process in which the practitioner develops greater awareness, steadiness and mastery of the mind. The eight limbs provide a practical framework for this journey.

The Eight Limbs of Ashtanga Yoga

Yama

Yama refers to ethical principles that guide our relationship with other people and with the world around us. Patanjali describes five Yamas:

Ahimsa – non violence

Satya – truthfulness

Asteya – non stealing

Brahmacharya – moderation and responsible use of energy

Aparigraha – non possessiveness and freedom from unnecessary accumulation

These principles are not simply rules imposed from outside. They encourage us to examine our behaviour, motivations and relationship with others.

Niyama

Niyama refers to personal observances and disciplines that support inner development. Patanjali describes five Niyamas:

Shaucha – purity or cleanliness

Santosha – contentment

Tapas – disciplined effort or austerity

Svadhyaya – self study and study of the teachings

Ishvara Pranidhana – surrender or dedication to Ishvara

Together, Yama and Niyama provide an ethical and personal foundation for Yoga practice.

Asana

Asana is the third limb of Patanjali's Yoga.

Today, Yoga is often identified almost entirely with physical postures, but Patanjali gives a much more concise definition. In Yoga Sutra 2:46, he says:

Sthira Sukham Asanam

Asana is steady and comfortable.

The purpose of asana is not simply to make the body flexible or strong. A stable body can provide a suitable foundation for pranayama, concentration and meditation. Through the practice of asana, the body gradually becomes more balanced and the practitioner develops greater awareness of the relationship between body and mind.

Pranayama

Pranayama is the fourth limb.

The word is commonly translated as breath control, although the traditional understanding is deeper than simply manipulating the physical breath. Pranayama involves the regulation and refinement of the breath and, through it, an influence upon the vital energy and the mind.

The breath and mind are closely connected. When the breath is disturbed, the mind is often disturbed as well. When the breath becomes calm and steady, it can support a calmer state of mind.

For this reason, pranayama occupies an important place in traditional Yoga practice.

Pratyahara

Pratyahara is the withdrawal or drawing inward of the senses.

Our senses are naturally directed towards the external world. We see, hear, taste, smell and touch, and the mind constantly follows these impressions.

Pratyahara does not mean destroying or suppressing the senses. It means developing the ability to disengage from external sensory stimulation when necessary and to turn the attention inward.

This marks an important transition in the eight limb path. The earlier limbs help prepare the practitioner, while Pratyahara begins the movement from the external field towards the internal experience of the mind.

Dharana

Dharana means concentration.

The mind normally moves from one object to another, following thoughts, memories, sensations and impressions. In Dharana, the practitioner develops the ability to hold the attention on a chosen object.

This may be a physical object, a mantra, the breath, a chakra, an internal point of awareness or another appropriate object of concentration.

The purpose is not to force the mind into silence. It is to develop steadiness of attention.

With practice, the periods of uninterrupted concentration gradually become longer.

Dhyana

Dhyana is meditation.

It is important to understand that Dhyana is not simply another technique for concentrating the mind. Dharana involves holding the mind steadily on an object, whereas in Dhyana the flow of attention becomes more continuous and uninterrupted.

Patanjali later describes Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi together as Samyama.

Meditation is therefore not simply a matter of sitting quietly with closed eyes. It represents a deeper state of inward absorption in which the relationship between the practitioner, the process of meditation and the object of meditation begins to change.

Samadhi

Samadhi is the eighth limb and represents a state of profound absorption.

The word is often translated in many different ways, including absorption, integration or superconscious awareness. It should not be reduced simply to “salvation” or described as the merging of individual consciousness with universal consciousness, because Patanjali's treatment of Samadhi is considerably more precise and complex.

In Samadhi, the ordinary fluctuations of the mind become profoundly quiet and the relationship between awareness and its object undergoes a fundamental transformation.

Patanjali describes different forms and stages of Samadhi, including Samprajnata and Asamprajnata Samadhi, and later discusses the progressive refinement of awareness leading towards Kaivalya.

This is one reason why Samadhi should not be treated as merely a pleasant or blissful experience. It represents a profound stage in the process of Yoga and requires preparation, discipline and sustained practice.

The Eight Limbs as a Complete Path

The eight limbs are sometimes presented as eight completely separate practices, but they are better understood as interconnected aspects of one path.

Yama and Niyama help establish the right foundation. Asana develops steadiness in the body. Pranayama refines the breath and vital energy. Pratyahara turns the senses inward. Dharana develops concentration, Dhyana deepens meditation, and Samadhi represents profound absorption.

The movement is therefore not simply from one exercise to another.

It is a gradual process of refinement.

The practitioner begins by examining how he or she lives, then becomes more aware of the body and breath, learns to manage the senses, develops concentration and gradually explores deeper dimensions of the mind.

This is why classical Yoga cannot be reduced to physical postures.

Ashtanga Yoga in the Traditional Understanding

At SWAN, the eight limb path of Patanjali is studied as part of the wider tradition of Yoga. Hatha Yoga practices such as asana, pranayama and yogic kriyas are understood as important preparations for deeper practices of meditation and awareness, rather than as ends in themselves.

The study of Yoga philosophy helps place these practices within their proper context. The Yoga Sutras, together with other traditional texts and teachings, provide a framework for understanding why we practise and where the practices are intended to lead.

Ultimately, Ashtanga Yoga is not simply a list of eight things to practise.

It is a way of approaching the whole of human life.

The external and internal, the body and breath, behaviour and thought, concentration and meditation are all brought into a single process of self understanding.

The journey begins wherever the practitioner is able to begin. For one person it may begin with asana. For another, with meditation or pranayama. For someone else, it may begin with the simple recognition that the mind needs to be understood.

The eight limbs provide the map.

The practice is the journey.

Copyright 2016 SWAN Yoga Retreat, Assagao, Goa, India