Many people associate the word ‘yoga’ with photos of young, beautiful models contorting themselves into impossible poses on the cover of some magazine or in a Lululemon shop window — but that’s actually a bit of a misnomer. Asana practice, as physical yoga postures are rightly called, is just one of the Eight Limbs of Yoga as outlined in the Yoga Sutras by the ancient sage Patañjali. To learn more about each one, click on the links below.
Articles About the Eight Limbs of Yoga
What Exactly Are the Eight Limbs of Yoga?
Yamas and Niyamas: Ten Attitudes to Live a Fully Yogic Life
Asana: The Steady and Comfortable Seat
Pranayama: The Silken Thread
Pratyahara: Your Very Own Isolation Tank
Dharana: One Place, One Idea, One Object
Dhyana: The River Flows to the Sea
Samadhi: Everything Is Here In This Moment
Passionate About Philosophy?
If you loved these articles, there’s a bunch more ways you can get your philosophy hit!
- Check out our other departments about the philosophy of yoga.
- Take a look at our online courses in conjunction with the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies.
- If you want to go the whole hog, our 200-hour training course does lots of philosophy lectures that you can then top off with the 500-hour philosophy module!
