The 8 Limbs of Yoga — Patanjali’s Complete Path, Explained Simply

Quick answer: The eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga) are the step-by-step path described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras: Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. Posture is only the third limb. The first two shape how we live, and the last five train the mind. Who was Patanjali, and what are the Yoga Sutras? Patanjali is the sage credited with compiling the Yoga Sutras, about 196 short aphorisms in four chapters. Scholars place the text somewhere between 200 BCE and 400 CE. Its second verse is the heart of the whole subject: yogas chitta vritti nirodhah. Yoga is the settling of the fluctuations of the mind. Everything else in the text is a method for reaching that stillness. The eight limbs are introduced in the second chapter,...