The Yoga Limbs

Many people are unaware that there are 8 Limbs of Yoga including:

3rd: Asanas or poses of yoga classes
4th: Pranayama or breathing
7th: Meditation
8th: Samadhi –  Yoga’s true purpose

Samadhi is a state of oneness – of unity. Meditation is the gateway to that higher spiritual experience, for knowing who you truly are. Yoga poses make meditation and Samadhi easier to experience.

Samadhi may take a lifetime to experience. But the rewards along the way are rich:

• A quieter mind.
• A more open heart.
• Realizing there is a greater I than your limited, everyday self.

Surprisingly, our modern yoga poses are descendants of the original asanas of ancient meditators who were seeking Samadhi. Patanjali¹ tells us that in the beginning, the only asana was “a steady, comfortable seated pose” used for meditation. Meditators would sit still for hours. As they began to reach higher states, the inner energies released in their bodies (called prana and shakti) would cause them to spontaneously take different bodily positions. They realized that these positions helped the energies to naturally move through them, greatly aiding their meditation. These became the first yoga poses from which our yoga poses descended.

The first limb of Yoga, The 5 Yamas are universal social practices. The second limb of Yoga, the 5 Niyamas, evolve from individual practices necessary to build up the yogis own character. Mastery of Yoga would be unrealizable without the observance of the ethical principles of the Yamas and Niyamas.

The Niyamas consist of:

1. Saucha- cleanliness of body and mind

2. Santosha- contentment

3. Tapasya- self discipline to let go of anything in the way of spiritual advancement, training the senses

4. Svadyaya- study which leads to the knowledge of the Self and Self awareness, self study

5. Ishvara Pranidhana- surrender of the limited self to the supreme Self. Making the supreme Self the target of concentration more than the ups and downs of life.

Empower the upward moving energy through the nervous system and the spine with the alignment principles of Inner and Outer Spiral of the Legs applied in poses and with suggestions on how to apply them in everyday movements.  These opposite actions also bring grounding to the legs and expansion of spirit as well as protection for the low back and knees and alignment that will prevent or help Sciatica.

The Ongoing Experienced Yoga, Beginning, Yin Yoga and Slow & Glow Yoga Classes this week will enter the central plumb line of the body via Yoga Sutra 3.7 as the theme to bring clarity and focus. Using hip openers, forward bends, and standing and seated poses with perhaps an inversion and a Sundial Pose you will find yourself in the central channel of your body called the Sushumna Nadi. From that inner space of awareness you can more truthfully and effectively dial into your Life!

Yoga Sutra 3.7 is translated as: The last 3 Limbs of Yoga, Dharana (focus on an auspicious thing, person or ideal), Meditation (concentration on that focus), and Samadhi (blissful absorption) are more direct aids to Self Realization than the first 5 Limbs of Yoga which are more exterior. Those first 5 Limbs of Yoga are: Yamas-outer restraints, Niyamas-inner observances, Asana-strengthening of the body through yoga poses in order to sit for meditation and hold the powerful spiritual energy, Pranayama-strengthening of the nervous system through breathing practices, Pratyahara- the practice of turning the attention on the outer material world inward.

Samadhi, the 8th Limb of Yoga, into your asana and meditation practices. At it’s highest level Samadhi intoxicates us with the divine vision of the omnipresence of God.

There is an expression, “The difference between an ordeal and an adventure is perspective.” Often in life things feel like they are big, they’re heavy, there’s a lot going on and if you just flip your perspective somehow it seems a lot more accessible, like you can handle it, you can overcome it, and hopefully have fun while your doing it.

When one is in the state of Samadhi, absorbed in ones True state of innate joy, everything is experienced as an adventure rather than an ordeal. Samadhi is the greatest adventure!

“By mastering asanas and mudras, bring body, senses and mind under your control.
Through control of your mind and prana, all chakras are purified.
When these open, perfection in yoga is not far away.

When the sahasrara (crown chakra) stands revealed,
currents of nectar flow ceaselessly.
You attain the inner Witness, the Self.
You drown in an ocean of bliss,
your own true nature.” (Samadhi)

Don’t be a “yoga sheep” following the herded masses of so called yoga practitioners who stay stuck in the 3rd Limb of Yoga, Asana or yoga poses. Don’t forget the subtle perception of the Eighth Limb of Yoga- Self Realization and the practices to invoke that!  That is the big bottom of the yoga iceberg and most of real yoga. The other 7 Limbs of Yoga are practices to prepare us for this pinnacle of human life experience, Self-Realization.