Yama Asana Pratyahara Dhyana Niyama Samadhi Dharana Pranayama
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the dhyana pranayama the 8 LIMBS asana OF YOGA niyama yama pratyahara samadhi dharana intro - 8 LIMBS - ASHTANGA - 8 LIMBED PATH OF RAJA YOGA • Ashtanga Yoga (The Eight Limbs of Yoga) are practices, or tools, of Raja Yoga • Other branches of yoga focus on other practices, such as chanting in Bhakti Yoga and service in Karma Yoga. • While some sources refer to the limbs as a progressive path, many present them like limbs of a tree—not a sequential progression but rather all interrelated aspects of practice. • The first five limbs are the external aspects and the last three are the internal aspects. pranayama pratyahara asana dharana dhyana niyama 8 LIMBS samadhi yama 200RYT research & readings Purpose: To Remove the Veils To remove the veils that hide the deepest layers of your being, Maharishi Patanjali elaborated the eight [limbs] of yoga—Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi...These are the components of Raja Yoga, the royal path to union. – Deepak Chopra & David Simon Interdependent & Of Similar Value The raja yoga of Patanjali is divided into eight limbs, and these eight limbs are interdependent and of similar value. Yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara form the external aspect, bahiranga, or esoteric yoga. Dharana, dhyana, and samadhi form the internal aspect, antaranga yoga. – Swami Satyananda Saraswati The Limbs Are Not Yoga The [8 Limbs] are not Yoga. They are the limbs of Yoga, the tools of Yoga. They are not even the only tools of Yoga! [Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, etc use other tools.]. So many tools!… Krishna tells Arjuna that “Yoga is evenness of mind” and that “That skill [evenness of mind] in action is Yoga.” This means any action performed with an evenness of mind is Yoga. Yoga is the stilling of the modifications of the mind. [Things you can see such as asana] are not Yoga; they are possible tools of Yoga. They are places where Yoga may be experienced but so is washing the dishes or driving a car. If anything can become a tool of Yoga, then why take the time to practice on a mat at all? Sadhana, devoted practice, is key to Yoga. When was the last time that your mind was even or still while driving or while washing the dishes? Devoting time to intentionally learning to still the mind is required to be able to carry that experience into everyday life so that every moment of life becomes Yoga, Everyday Yoga. – Ramdas 200RYT research & readings The Sutras are Not Moral Imperatives The Yoga Sutra is not presented to control behavior based on moral imperatives. The sutras don’t imply that we are “bad” or “good” based upon our behavior, but rather that if we choose certain behavior, we get certain results. If you steal, for example, not only will you harm others, but you will suffer as well. – Judith Lasater Beneficial Even When Ultimate Goal Not Achieved These limbs impart their own benefits, even if one is not able to achieve the ultimate goal of yoga in this lifetime. – Srivatsa Ramaswami 200RYT the heart of yoga WITH THE SOUND OM WE SAY EVERYTHING ISVARA IS THE SOUND OF OM T.K.V Desikachar In Sanskrit, Om is made of 4 symbols: A, U M & resonance A Process of creation PRANAYAMA U Continuance of creation PRANA YAMA that which is to stretch, infinitely to extend End and dissolution everywhere M Without prana, Someone troubled has there is no life. more prana outside O Prana is the body than inside. transformed into The reason prana various powers. It doesn’t find sufficient The Uplanishads say that A represent the working state, U the enables us to rid room in the body is dream state and M the state of dreamless sleep. The fourth ourselves of what because of the we no longer need. presence of rubbish in state, sounded in the resonance following M, is samadhi. It feeds the mind the body. Pranayama Isvara is the one present in all four steps, the one who never from blocks and reduces rubbish and sleeps, never dreams, always awake, always watchful one leads to greater concentrates more who knows about everything and yet is beyond everything. clarity. prana within the body. ISVARAPRANIDHANA The spirit in which we act is PRANA FLOWS INTO US AS WE more important than the result INHALE. BUT IT IS ALSO THE FORCE BEHIND BREATHING OUT. Santosa modesty and the feeling of being content with what we have ASANA WHEN WE MASTER ASANA, WE ARE ABLE TO HANDLE OPPOSITES. WE BECOME MORE Isvarapranidhana SENSITIVE AND WE LEARN TO ADAPT, BECAUSE when we act by doing our best, we can leave the rest to a higher power WE KNOW OUR BODY BETTER. 2 QUALITIES Aparigraha take only what is necessary, what you earned Sthira alertness Sukha lightness Variation in the form, Tapas the breath, the rhythm, Getting rid of the rubbish in our body the preparation, the sphere of attention. Svadhyaya get close to yourself, study yourself Vinyasa Krama constructing on a gradual and Ahisma intelligent course in every situation we should adopt a considered attitude for our practice. Satya “to speak the truth” DHARANA DHYANA holding the focus of attention a link is established between in one direction the object and self Brahmacarya movement toward the essential PRATYAHARA SAMADHI the senses become our servants, no separation, instead of our masters complete union PRANAYAMA Sauca the breathing exercises of yoga cleanliness ASANA Asteya posture do not take anything that doesn’t belong to you NIYAMA how we relate to ourselves inward YAMA attitude we have towards people and things outside ourselves YOGIC THEORY OF EVOLUTION PRADHANA PURUSA matter perception PRAKRTI the whole material world comes from this seed YOGA Yoga is creation. The practice and teaching must be adapted to the individual. To unite.. MAHAT To come together. the great principal To tie the strands of the mind together. To attain what was previously unattainable. To be one with the divine. Yoga is the ability to direct the mind without distractions of interruptions. AHAMKARA the sense of 1 YOGA HELPS US CHANGE ATTITUDES OUR YAMA & NIYAMA NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND! MANAS the power behind the senses TANTRA YOGA INDRIYAS TANMATRAS HATHA 11 senses, including mental sound, touch, form, YOGA activities, feeling, seeing, taste and smell tasting (passive senses), smelling, speech, manual, RAJA dexterity, locomotion, evacuation, procreation KARMA YOGA KUNDALINI when the king inside BHUTAS YOGA YOGA takes it’s rightful place 5 elements: space, air, yoga of action light, water, earth JNANA BHAKTI KRIYA YOGA YOGA YOGA the search for to serve (a power the whole spectrum of practices known as yoga nirodha real knowledge greater than ourselves) consistent focused attention. mind and object 5 seem to merge into one. LEVELS ekagrata THE MANY PATHS OF YOGA relatively clear mind. corresponds to OF dharana. THE Raga viksipta attachment the mind is moving, but without purpose MIND and direction. Dvesa Abhinivesa rejection fear mudha any inclination to observe, act or react has nearly disappeared. ksipta the lowest drunken monkey. Asmita THE MIND IS A LOYAL SERVANT, ego BUT A TERRIBLE MASTER AVIDYA We notice Avidya by it’s absence than it’s presence > THREE QUALITIES GUNA Incorrect comprehension 1. TAMAS = heaviness, slowness, lethargy Accumulated result of our many unconscious 2. RAJAS = restlessness, wish for action actions and ways of perceiving that we have 3. Sattva = clarity, absence of tamas and rajas been mechanically carrying out for years. Habits in actions and perceptions: SAMSKARA the 8 limbs EXTERNAL ASPECTS The external aspects (bahiranga yoga) are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama and pratyahara. The first five limbs “eliminate the external causes of mental distraction.” (I. K. Taimni) YAMA • Translations: Restraints, Social Behavior, Ethics • Yamas are guidelines for engaging with others. They are ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya and aparigraha. • Yama and niyama are not moral imperatives that describe good and bad behavior. Rather, they describe how certain behavior brings certain results. The practitioner learns to choose thought, word and deed. NIYAMA • Translations: Observances, Personal Behavior • Niyamas are qualities of an “evolutionary personality.” They are saucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya and ish- vara pranidhana. • The final three niyamas together comprise kriya yoga. • Yama and niyama are not moral imperatives that describe good and bad behavior. Rather, they describe how certain behavior brings certain results. The practitioner learns to choose thought, word and deed. ASANA • Translations: Posture, Seat, Position • Asana is an “expression of mind-body integration.” • Asana is not emphasized in the Yoga Sutra; it is discussed in only 3 of the 196 sutras. PRANAYAMA • Described as Conscious Breathing Techniques, Mastering Life Force, Directing Energy • Pranayama refers to breath practices designed to enhance one’ life force energy. • Successful pranayama practice “reduces the obstacles that inhibit clear percept PRATYAHARA • Translations: Sensory Withdrawal, Turning Senses Inward • Pratyahara is the point at which we move from the outer to the inner aspects of yoga. It is where attention is withdrawn from the outer world and turned inward. It is the preparation for concentration and meditation. 200RYT external aspects READINGS External Aspects Eliminate Outside Interference Asana and pranayama eliminate the disturbances arising from the physical body. Pratyahara, by detaching the sense-organs from the mind, cuts off the external world and the impressions which it produces in the mind. The… sadhaka (practioner) is thus in a position to grapple with [the mind] without any interference from the outside. It is only under these conditions that the successful practice of dharana, dhyana and samadhi is possible – I. K. Taimni Foundation of Skillful Living The Yamas & Niyamas are the foundation of skillful living. [They] are like a detailed map, telling you where you are and how to look for the next landmark.