Yoga Sutras Of Patanjali The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is a collection of 195 Sanskrit sutras (aphorisms) on the theory and practice of yoga. The Yoga Sutra was compiled sometime between 500 BCE and 400 CE by the sage Patanjali in India who synthesized and organized knowledge about yoga from much older traditions. The Yoga Sūtra...
Ashtanga (eight limbs of yoga) Ashtanga yoga (aṣṭāṅgayoga, “the eight limbs of yoga”) is Patanjali’s classification of classical yoga, as set out in his Yoga Sutras. He defined the eight limbs as yama (abstinences), niyama (observances), asana (postures), pranayama (breathing), pratyahara (withdrawal), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (absorption). The eight limbs form...
What Is Asana? An asanais a body posture, originally a sitting pose for meditation, and later in hatha yoga and modern yoga, adding reclining, standing, inverted, twisting, and balancing poses to the meditation seats. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define “asana” as “[a position that] is steady and comfortable”. Patanjali mentions the ability to sit...