Wellbeing Central Episode 5 : The 8 Limbs of Yoga Explained!

In Episode 4, I  explained  the true meaning of yoga and how it can be adopted as a completed wellbeing system.  In this episode , I’ve shared Patanjali’s teachings on the eight limbs of yoga or eight pathways to achieve a deeper connection with ourselves and everything around us. 

I have described the 8 limbs with daily examples and explained how Yoga can be embraced for completed transformation of body, mind and spirit.  I have also shed light on a few incorrect understanding of yoga. 

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Transcript

Hello, my name is Archana Mishra …. and welcome back to Wellbeing central! 

In the last episode, I shared the origin and core ideas of yoga, where I mentioned that Yoga means to connect .. and it’s defined by Sage Patanjali as the “regulation of the mind’s movement”.  An average person’s mind is covered by the veil of ego, desire, aversion, and fear so we find it difficult to make decisions with calm and clear mind. Through the practice of yoga, we can remove the mind’s covering and improve every aspect of our life. For more detail, please have a listen to Episode 4 part 1. 

In this episode, I’ll share Patanjali’s teachings on the eight limbs of yoga or eight pathways to achieve a deeper connection with ourselves and everything around us. These are: 

Yama,  Niyama,  Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi 

Just like we can’t choose to have one limb over the other in our body, we need to embrace all 8 limbs of yoga for complete wellbeing. Remember that Yoga means connectedness, wholeness or being one with the universe, so we can’t just sit on our mat for an hour or so and be able to do that. We need to also practice it in our day to day life when we’re off the mat. So, how could we do that?

Let’s start with the first limb of yoga - yama, which is about our relationship with the world around us, and we can work on it through five moral vows or restraints. It starts with Ahimsa or Non-violence – which means not harming anyone with our thoughts, words, or actions. So, it’s not just physically or verbally harming anyone but also not harbouring any ill thoughts against anyone at any time under any circumstance. We can practice Ahimsa by having consideration towards all living things, especially those who are innocent, in difficulty, or worse off than we are. 

Satya or (truthfulness) is the next yama, which means Right communication through speech, writings, gestures, and actions. 

We are truthful when we think and say what we perceive but the words must be uttered only for the benefit of others and not to hurt them. I can think of many examples where I have hurt people either with untruth or hurtful truth. Understanding the true meaning of Satya has made me think deeply about how I communicate what I think is truth. It is not as straightforward as I earlier thought but definitely worth trying. 

The next yama is Asteya or (non-stealing) – it is our ability to resist a desire for something that doesn’t belong to us, even at a thought level. For example, I may not be stealing money from others but I might envy them for the luxury they can afford with more money. Social media has made it even more challenging to practice Asteya because all we see is other people having more or better things or lifestyle which we secretly wish to also have.

Brahmacharya is the next yama. For the yogis who have renunciate the material world, Brahmacharya means celibacy. But for others like us it means moderation in all our actions, and being faithful to our partners. We can all reflect on how we are or aren’t practising this principle.

And the last yama is Aparigriha or (non-hoarding) or (non-greed) – it is our ability to accept only what is appropriate, and not hoarding things that we don’t need. For example, during Covid time, many of us hoarded things such as essential supplies or even toilet paper without consideration for others who also needed them. 

Now moving on to the five Niyamas which help us build a better relationship with ourselves and thereby help us grow our character.

The first Niayama is Saucha which means cleanliness --- both physical and internal. While  physical cleanliness allows us to keep dirt and other impurities out of our body,  internal sauchas allow us to get rid of old habits that are no longer serving us. For example, I’m working on reducing my people pleasing habits and I can already see how that’s improving my relationship with myself. 

Santosha or contentment is the second niyama which I find quite challenging. Our mind is often preoccupied with thoughts such as “I’d be happy if I had that or if I was somewhere else”. Santosha encourages us to appreciate what we have and where we are right now. Since this is a challenge for me, I am investing more time on cultivating more contentment within and trying to live fully in each moment. 

The next three sauchas are Tapas or physical self-discipline, Svadhyay or self-reflection, and ishwarapranidhana or surrendering to higher force and also action without attachment to results. I have explained these three in detail in the previous episode, so please refer to part 1 of episode 4 to understand these better. 

Interestingly, the five yamas and five niyamas loosely correspond to the 10 commandments in the Bible and are also similar to the 10 virtues of Buddhism. 

After working on both yamas and niyamas, we can practice the third limb of yoga which is asana or postures which is probably the most visible aspect of yoga. We should start simply from where we are and slowly aim to achieve steadiness and comfort while holding the postures. We must not go beyond our current capacity or feel pain while doing asanas because then we are not really practicing yoga. Asanas should not be practiced just mechanically like other physical exercises but we should be fully engaging ourselves through conscious breathing while doing them. Only then it is considered a part of yoga practice. Over time, if done under the guidance of a qualified teacher, we gain physical strength to move our body with more flexibility and ease.

After asana we can practice Pranayama, the fourth limb which helps us refine our mind. Prana means ‘vital life force’…. and it uses our breath as a vehicle to move within us.  In its most basic form, pranayama is done by taking long and deep inhale, holding our breath, followed by taking long and deep exhale, and holding our breath. When we gain the ability to understand and regulate our breath, we can energise or relax our body and mind at will and have a healthy happy life. Pranayama is a very powerful tool at our disposal, and Researchers worldwide continue to support remarkable benefits of conscious breathing. Again, just like asana, we should start pranayama practice only as per our current capacity and slowly progress into more advanced form under the guidance of a qualified teacher. 

When we hold our breath during pranayama we experience a quiet mind as our senses are withdrawn inside, this is called pratyahara, the fifth limb. The practice of pratyahara changes our state of mind.  We then become so absorbed in what we’re focussing on, that the things outside of ourselves including sound and sensations no longer bother us. So, we don’t really lose touch with our senses but we are not affected by them and hence, we are fully absorbed in what we are working on. For example, Dancers, painters, or singers may experience the state of pratyahara when they are fully immersed in their performance. 

Closely linked to pratyahara is dharana or focussed concentration, and it’s the sixth limb. Candle gazing, visualisation, and focusing on the breath are all practices of dharana. This is the stage many of us get to when we think we’re ‘meditating’.  In reality, it takes much longer to get to that point. At this stage, we are simply more able to concentrate on any object of choice and hold that concentration for a very long time. This prepares us for the practice of meditation. 

Having learnt the ability for focussed concentration, we can move to the seventh limb which is dhyana or ‘meditative absorption’. The actual practice of meditation is not something we can actively ‘do’, rather it happens spontaneously after practicing all the previous steps. In fact, if we are really meditating, we won’t even have the awareness of that happening. 

After we have organized our outer and inner worlds, we can reach the final and eight limb which is Samadhi or enlightenment or bliss. At this stage, we do not necessarily  abandon anything or leave the material world as commonly thought about. In fact, it is about realising the very life that lies in front of us. Now we have gained the ability to see things ‘as they are’ because our mind has become free from ego, attachment, aversion, and fear. When that happens, we truly achieve the ultimate goal of yoga….. and feel connected with the rest of the universe. 

You can see now that even though yoga originated as a spiritual practice for transcending the material world, it also helps us better live our lives in the here and now. Yoga is not just about gaining more physical flexibility and relaxing our mind but it’s a complete wellbeing system that can transform us into better beings.

In the two episodes on yoga, I have shared how and why it can be adopted for living a more meaningful life especially now when we are facing confusion and crises on many fronts. I hope that more of us adopt yoga as a practice for improving every aspect of our lives and live with meaning and purpose. 

Before closing this episode, I invite you to reflect on these questions:

-       Are you really practicing yoga?

-       How many of the 8 limbs you have focussed on so far?

-       How has your understanding of yoga changed after listening to this and the previous episode?

Think about these questions, and discuss with your family and friends.  If you have any suggestions for me, then please contact me through my website, Wellbeing central.org. 

Thank you so much for listening! Stay tuned for the next one, where I’ll share some new insights about wellbeing. Until then, let’s get one stop closer to wellbeing central!!