ASHTANGA YOGA - the eight limbs

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According to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, there is an eight-fold path leading to liberation, known as the Ashtanga Yoga or Eight Limbs of Yoga. The eight limbs are:

Yamas - Restraints, moral disciplines or moral vows. The five yamas are:

Ahimsa: non-violence

Satya: truthfulness

Asteya: non-stealing

Brahmacharya: continence

Aparigraha: non-greed

Niyamas - usually refers to duties directed towards ourselves.

Asana - the physical practice that many westerners associate with Yoga. 

Pranayama - breath control and to recognise the connection between the breath, the mind, and the emotions. 

Pratyahara - withdrawal of the senses. 

Dharana –concentration. Dharana is a deep focus that allows divinity to unfold within this inner space. 

Dhiyana – meditative absorption. When we become completely absorbed in the focus of our meditation, and this is when we’re really meditating. 

Samadhi –Samadhi is about achieving a sense of oneness — the culmination of practicing Dharana and Dhyana. Together, the three are called Samyaya.

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ASHTANGA VINYASA YOGA

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“Vinyasa” is derived from the Sanskrit term nyasa, which means “to place,” and the prefix vi, “in a special way”—as in the arrangement of notes in a raga, the steps along a path to the top of a mountain, or the linking of one asana to the next. Vinyasa Yoga was originally taught by Patthabi Jois from Mysore, India. It is a dynamic and progressing sequence of Asanas linked together by the thread of the breath. To help the practitioner steadying the mind, specific practices – often referred to as the three anchors of practice – are integrated: Bandha (energetic intersections), Ujjayi Breath and Dristihi (gazing). The effort of this system is to offer a practice inclusive of all eight limbs of yoga - referring to Patanjali´s eight-limbed path.