योगश्‍चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः

(yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ)

- Yoga Sutras 1.2

Patanjali's writing defined an Ashtanga or "Eight-Limbed" Yoga in Yoga Sutras 2.29. 

They are:-

1.Yama (The five "abstentions" for Us):

  •  Ahimsa (Non-violence, non-harming other living beings), 
  • Satya (truthfulness, non-falsehood),
  •  Asteya (non-stealing),
  • Brahmacharya (celibacy, fidelity to one's partner),and 
  • Aparigraha (non-avarice, non-possessiveness).

2.Niyama (The five "observances"for others):

  • Śauca (purity, clearness of mind, speech and body),
  • Santosha(contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances),
  • Tapas (persistent meditation, perseverance, austerity),
  • Svādhyāya (study of self, self-reflection, study of Vedas),and 
  • Ishvara-Pranidhana (contemplation of God/Supreme Being/True Self).

3.Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.

4.Pranayama ("Breath exercises"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to "stretch, extend, restrain, stop".

5.Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.

6.Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.

7.Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.

8.Samadhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.In later Hindu scholasticism (12th century onwards), yoga became the name of one of the six orthodoxphilosophical schools (darsanas), which refers to traditions that accept the testimony of Vedas.

For Ashtang yoga or Hatha yoga please contact Pressurepoint, 

  +91 9940248360,+919445178360

Email:- info@pressurepoint.in

www.pressurepoint.in

By Dr.Anand Kumar Singh