The eight limbs, explained
Patañjali was an Indian sage best known for the Yoga Sūtras, a collection of short teachings about Yoga and the mind. His work brought together practices from earlier traditions into an influential guide to Yoga.
The eight limbs are eight connected parts of that guide: how we treat others, our personal habits, posture, breathing, turning inward, concentration, meditation and deep absorption. Together, they offer a way to quieten the mind, understand ourselves more clearly and work towards spiritual freedom. Physical postures are just one part of this wider practice.
- 01Yama · ethical restraint
- Five commitments concerned with how we live and relate: non-harming, truthfulness, non-stealing, responsible use of desire and energy, and non-grasping.
- 02Niyama · personal observance
- Five disciplines: cleanliness, contentment, sustained effort, self-study and devotion or surrender to Īśvara. They give everyday habits a place in spiritual practice.
- 03Āsana · a steady seat
- In the Sūtras, posture is described through steadiness and ease. The extensive repertoire of modern Yoga poses developed through other stages of Yoga’s history.
- 04Prāṇāyāma · regulation of breath
- Working deliberately with the breath’s movement and pauses. It follows a settled posture and supports the capacity for concentration.
- 05Pratyāhāra · gathering the senses
- Turning your attention inward, so sights, sounds and other distractions have less pull. You can still hear what is around you without your mind following every sound.
- 06Dhāraṇā · concentration
- Placing attention on a chosen focus, such as a mantra or the breath, and bringing it back when it wanders.
- 07Dhyāna · meditation
- A more continuous flow of attention towards that focus. The repeated act of returning gives way to greater continuity.
- 08Samādhi · absorption
- A state of deep meditation in which you become completely absorbed in your focus. Attention is so steady that distractions and the usual mental chatter fall away.
The five yamas: how practice meets the world
Ahiṃsā is non-harming; satya is truthfulness; asteya is non-stealing; brahmacarya traditionally spoke of disciplined sexual conduct, often discussed more broadly today as wise use of energy; aparigraha is non-grasping or non-possessiveness.
These ideas are deeper than they seem. Truthfulness might mean admitting a mistake. Non-stealing includes respecting another person’s time and work. Non-grasping asks what happens when having more becomes an endless requirement. On the mat, non-harming can mean declining a posture you are not ready for.
The five niyamas: the habits that support practice
Śauca concerns purity or cleanliness; santoṣa, contentment; tapas, disciplined effort; svādhyāya, study of oneself and sacred teaching; and Īśvara-praṇidhāna, devotion or surrender to Īśvara.
Contentment does not require abandoning ambition. Discipline does not require punishing the body. Their relationship matters: practise consistently, examine what drives you, and loosen the demand that every session must deliver a particular result. The spiritual dimension of surrender remains part of the original teaching, even when modern classes interpret it differently.
From concentration to meditation
Dhāraṇā means concentration: choosing something to focus on, such as your breath or a silently repeated mantra, and returning to it whenever your mind wanders. Dhyāna is meditation: as your attention settles, you stay with that focus for longer without needing to keep bringing yourself back.
You do not have to force your mind to go blank. Each time you notice a distraction and gently return, you are practising. The other limbs help prepare you for this through your everyday actions and habits, posture and breathing.
One important path within a much wider tradition
The eight limbs are influential, but they do not describe every form of Yoga. Devotional, Tantric, Hatha and other traditions have their own texts and emphases. They should not be confused with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, the flowing style of physical Yoga you might see on a class timetable.
Learning a posture is one part of Yoga. How you treat other people and practise focusing your mind matter just as much.