Yoga is about more than just stretching, posing, and balancing. It is rooted in eight “limbs” which encompass the entirety of the practice. These eight limbs are Yama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dhyana, and samadhi. Yama refers to one’s ethical and moral standards. It refers to the basic rules and principles which we personally choose to live by.
Specifically, the five Yamas are nonviolence, truthfulness, nonstealing, continence, and covetousness. Niyama refers to self-discipline and the order with which we surround ourselves. The five Niyama are cleanliness, contentment, spiritual austerities, studying sacred scripture, and surrendering to a higher being. Asanas are the physical components of yoga – the poses, the body, etc.
It is what we typically think of when we think of “yoga” from an exercise perspective. Pranayama refers to breathing, and specifically, controlling one’s breathing. Pratyahara refers to internalizing our practice, meditating, and drawing inward away from the world. Dharana refers to concentration, which is closely associated with the other limbs of pranayama, asana, and pratyahara.
Dhyana takes the principles of pratyahara such as meditation and concentration and puts them into the context of an uninterrupted flow of relaxing energy. Finally, samadhi refers to joy, ecstasy, and total aliveness that comes with being properly aligned, fully engaged but completely meditative and at peace, which one can achieve over time through repeated yoga practice.