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Patanjali is sometimes referred to as “the father of modern yoga”. Patanjali was a sage in India who is believed to have authored a number of Sanskrit works, the most prominent of which is the Yoga Sutras, a classical yoga text dating to 200 BCE – 200 CE. These texts include what is referred to as the 8 Limbs of Yoga.
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The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali refers to 8 limbs of yoga, each of which offers guidance on how to live a meaningful and purposeful life. Learn about each one and how to incorporate them into your practice.
1. YAMAS – Restraints, moral disciplines
2. NIYAMAS – Positive duties or observances
3. ASANA – Physical practice of poses.
4. PRANAYAMA – Breathing Techniques
5. PRATYAHARA – Sensory withdrawal
6. DHARANA – Focused Concentration
7. DHYANA – Meditative Absorption
8. SAMADHI – Bliss or Enlightenment
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First limb of the 8 Limbs of Yoga: Restraints, moral disciplines
Ahimsa (non-violence),
Satya (truthfulness),
Asteya (non-stealing),
Brahmacharya (right use of energy), and
Aparigraha (non-greed or non-hoarding)
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Second limb of the 8 Limbs of Yoga: Positive duties or observances
saucha (cleanliness),
santosha (contentment),
tapas (discipline or burning desire or conversely, burning of desire),
svadhyaya (self-study or self-reflection, and study of spiritual texts), and
isvarapranidaha (surrender to a higher power).
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Asanas are the physical poses that we practice in modern day yoga classes. Contrary to what you might think, these poses do not originate from ancient texts, although some of them may have been practiced but not recorded. Most modern day yoga asanas were developed and popularized over the past 200 years. Here is an interesting article about the origins of Asana practice.
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The history of yoga is long, rich, and varied, going back perhaps 10,000 years with origins thought to be in northern India, passed down at first through oral tradition and later through ancient Hindu texts, called the Vedas. As outlined by yogabasics.com, “The beginnings of Yoga were developed by the Indus-Sarasvati civilization in Northern India over 5,000 years ago. The word yoga was first mentioned in the oldest sacred texts, the Rig Veda. The Vedas were a collection of texts containing songs, mantras and rituals to be used by Brahmans, the Vedic priests. Yoga was slowly refined and developed by the Brahmans and Rishis (mystic seers) who documented their practices and beliefs in the upanishads, a huge work containing over 200 scriptures. The most renowned of the Yogic scriptures is the Bhagavad-Gîtâ, composed around 500 B.C.E.”
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Sanskrit is an ancient Indic language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written; it is also the language of Yoga and Ayurveda.
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As summarized by Echart Yoga, “Translated as the ‘Science of Life’, (Ayur = Life, and Veda = Knowledge). Ayurveda is one of the most ancient health systems and is closely linked to yoga. As the name implies, this system explores the science behind life itself, what it’s made of, how it works, and the multitude of physical and energetic tools that can be applied in order to realise it more fully. “