8 Limbs as the Foundation of Yoga Menu Verywell Fit Nutrition Weight Management Nutrition Facts Nutrition Basics Diets Meal Plans Meal Delivery Services View All News Fitness and Nutrition What to Buy How We Test Products Fitness Gear Nutrition Products Tools Recipe Nutrition Calculator Weight Loss Calorie Goal BMI Calculator Body Fat Percentage Calculator Calories Burned by Activity Daily Calories Burned Pace Calculator About Us Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Search Yoga Beginners 8 Limbs as the Foundation of Yoga By Ann Pizer Ann Pizer Ann Pizer is a writer and registered yoga instructor who teaches vinyasa/flow and prenatal yoga classes. Learn about our editorial process Updated on February 25, 2021 Reviewed Verywell Fit articles are reviewed by nutrition and exercise professionals. Reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Sara Clark Reviewed by Sara Clark Sara Clark is an EYT 500-hour certified Vinyasa yoga and mindfulness teacher, lululemon Global Yoga Ambassador, model, and writer. Learn about our Review Board Print Compassionate Eye Foundation / Katie Huisman / Getty Images The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are thought to have been authored by around the year 250 CE. Although they make little direct mention of yoga asana practices, they are often cited as the philosophical basis for modern postural yoga. The sutras outline eight “limbs” of yoga. (The Sanskrit word for eight limbs is ashtanga.) Each limb relates to an aspect of achieving a healthy and fulfilling life, and each builds upon the one before it, outlining a path for the aspiring yogi to follow. The directives move from basic and even mundane aspects of daily life toward the lofty reaches of enlightenment. You may be surprised to discover that only one of the limbs is concerned with the performance of yoga postures. The advent of the primacy of the physical hatha side of yoga is actually a fairly recent development in yoga's long history. An Overview of Yoga The 8 Limbs of Yoga The eight limbs are as follows: Yama The five yamas are moral directives intended to guide the practitioner's behavior towards others. They are: Ahimsa: Nonviolence towards others. Ahimsa is often cited as an argument for choosing a vegetarian diet.Satya: TruthfulnessAsteya: Not stealing from others. Though this probably had a literal meaning originally, it has been extended to mean not putting others down to build yourself up.Brahmacharya: Chastity. Whether this means celibacy or simply controlling one's sexual impulses is open to interpretation.Aparigraha: Not coveting what others have Niyama While the yamas direct one's behavior towards others, the niyamas describe how to act ethically towards oneself. Together, these two sets of rules were meant to guide one to a righteous lifestyle. Here are the niyamas: Saucha: Cleanliness. Again, probably a practical meaning originally but has a modern interpretation keeping your intentions pure.Santosa: Contentment with oneself.Tapas: Self-discipline. Having the commitment to sustain a practice. Svadhyaya: Self-study. Having the courage to look within yourself for answers.Isvara Pranidhana: Surrender to a higher power. Whether that is a deity or the acceptance that the world is governed by forces outside of our control is up to you. Defining the 8 Limbs of Yoga Yama: moral directives Niyama: directed toward one's behavior Asana: yoga poses Pranayama: breathing exercises Pratyahara: withdrawal of the senses Dharana: ability to focus Dhyana: meditation Samadhi: bliss Asana The practice of yoga postures, although it should be noted that in the time of Patanjali the word asana meant seat. The poses known at the time were probably seated positions intended for meditation. The development of what we would recognize as modern yoga postures happened much later. Do These Yoga Poses Every Day Pranayama The practice of breathing exercises. Choosing to control the breath for specific effects. Pratyahara The withdrawal of the senses, meaning that the exterior world is not a distraction from the interior world within oneself. Dharana Concentration, meaning the ability to focus on something uninterrupted by external or internal distractions. Dharana builds upon pratyahara. Once you can ignore external stimuli, you can begin to direct your concentration elsewhere. Dhyana Meditation. Building upon dharana, you are able to expand your concentration beyond a single thing so that it becomes all-encompassing. Samadhi Bliss. After you have achieved dhyana, the transcendence of the self through meditation can begin. The self-merges with the universe, which is sometimes translated as enlightenment. Sources Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Light on Life, B.K.S. Iyengar, 2005. Yoga: The Iyengar Way, Mira Silva and Shyam Mehta, 1990. Yoga Body: The Origins of Modern Posture Practice, Mark Singleton, 2010 By Ann Pizer Ann Pizer is a writer and registered yoga instructor who teaches vinyasa/flow and prenatal yoga classes. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Review Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit Related Articles What is an Asana in Yoga? What to Expect From a Hatha Yoga Class How to Use Pranayama Breathing Exercises in Your Yoga Practice Do You Know the Meaning of Om? The 8 Best Yoga Retreats of 2022 Karnapidasana Is the Yoga Pose You Need to Shut Out the World How B.K.S. 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