Yogic Lifestyle: The Eight Limbs of Yoga

October 8th,2007
What is a yogic lifestyle? Is a yogi a vegan wearing Earth shoes who carries an eco-friendly yoga mat and a copy of Yoga Journal in their organic hemp yoga bag? Or is a yogi an ascetic, living on the banks of the Ganges, practicing intensive pranayama and meditation and sleeping on a bed of nails? In the end these are only outward appearances. What counts, I think, is where the person is coming from. What motivates them? How deeply do they consider what they are doing and why?  

We are often so caught up in the mundane day-to-day chores that we forget about the bigger questions. Many of us have lost our sense of wonder and awe in the face of the great mystery which we are part of. We have forgotten who we are, in the deepest sense.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a pivotal yoga text, which is over two thousand years old, reveals a timeless wisdom still relevant for the post-modern yoga practitioner. The Yoga Sutras are pearls of wisdom, written as terse verses, which go deeply into the understanding of the nature of mind and the human condition. It is a guidebook towards self-discovery, transformation and freedom. Fortunately for us, there are many translations and interpretations of the Sutras, without which they would be difficult to understand.

In the Sutras, Patanjali describes the path to spiritual freedom as The Eight Limbed Path.

The Eight Limbs are:
1. Yamas: Ethical Restraints (there are 5 of these)
2. Niyamas: Observances (there are 5 of these too. Together with the 5 Yamas these make up the 10 commandments of Yoga).
3. Asana: The Physical Postures
4. Pranayama : Extension of the Life-force Energy
5. Pratyahara: Focusing inward
6. Dharana: Concentration
7. Dhyana: Meditation
8. Samadhi: Enlightenment

The ancient yogis did not put much emphasis on the physical practice of asanas, or poses. Lotus Pose was the very first yoga pose, and originally the poses were all seated meditation postures. Over time the other poses grew out of the desire to be able to sit comfortably and with good alignment in meditation. Slowly, more and more poses were added. A lot of the poses we practice today, especially some of the more gymnastic ones, are relatively modern, probably becoming part of the repertoire of poses as recently as the early 1900’s.

Traditionally, yogis were expected to have mastered the first two limbs of yoga before even beginning a practice of physical postures. Of course, in the West, although most people are familiar with the physical practice of yoga, few people know much about Yoga’s deeper dimensions. It’s probably a good thing we are not required to go through a moral assessment before attending a yoga class!

The Yamas are:
1. Ahimsa: non-harming
2. Satya: Truth or truthfulness
3. Asteya: Non-stealing
4. Brahmacarya: abstinence, or sexual integrity
5. Aparigraha: freedom from greed and desire

The Niyamas are:
1. Shaucha: Purity or Cleanliness
2. Santosa: Contentment
3. Tapas: Self-discipline or burning spiritual desire
4. Svadyaya: Self-study or contemplation
5. Ishvara Pranidhana: Surrender to the Absolute.

I am going to write more fully about my understanding of each of these tenets of Yoga in upcoming newsletters, in an attempt to shed some light on Yogic Philosophy and how it might be applied to our lives today. So stay posted. Next month’s editorial will be on Ahimsa: non-harming.

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