The Eight Limbs of Yoga, or Asta-anga (Ashtanga) yoga
Yama | Niyama | Asana | Pranayama | Pratyahara | Dharana | Dhyana | Samadhi
Niyama:
(Sutra II.32) Principles of self-awareness, established observances:
Sauca: Cleanliness, Purity, from suc ‘to be radiant’
Samtosa: Contentment,
Tapas: Spiritual zeal, fervor, burning desire – Iyengar (austerity – Feuerstein)
Svadhyaya: Study of the self; knowledge of self through the scriptures. “Checking oneself to see if the principles of yoga are being followed.” – Iyengar
Ishvara Pranidhana: Concentration/Surrender/Devotion to the Divine. The divine is “the target of concentration.” – Iyengar. Placing oneself in the rythm of the divine. Feeling onself a part of the order of things.
“Yama and Niyama are not only the foundation of yoga, but the reflection of our success or failure at its higher levels.”
- BKS Iyengar
“Principles which run contrary to yama and niyama are to be countered with the knowledge of discrimination.”
II.33 vitarkabadhane pratipaksabhavanam
yogaNexus by Karl Erb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
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