Philosophy & the Eight Limbs

The Yoga Sutras in brief

Yoga philosophy has many sources, including the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and tantric and hatha texts. For modern practitioners, the most influential is the Yoga Sutras attributed to Patanjali, a collection of 195 or 196 short aphorisms in four chapters, probably compiled in the early centuries of the common era (see History of Yoga for the dating debate).

The four chapters (padas) are:

• Samadhi Pada, on absorption: what yoga is and the states of deep concentration.
• Sadhana Pada, on practice: the causes of suffering and the first five limbs.
• Vibhuti Pada, on accomplishments: the last three limbs and the extraordinary powers said to arise from them.
• Kaivalya Pada, on liberation: the nature of mind and the final freedom of awareness.

The Sutras draw on Samkhya, a philosophy that divides reality into pure consciousness (purusha) and everything else, including matter, body and mind (prakriti). In this view, the mind is not the true self. It is a sophisticated instrument that awareness mistakenly identifies with. Much of yoga is about ending that confusion. Because the aphorisms are so brief, nearly every line has been read in several ways. The explanations below follow widely shared interpretations.

Sutra 1.2: the definition of yoga

The second sutra is the most quoted line in yoga philosophy: yogas chitta vritti nirodhah. Word by word:

• Yoga: yoga.
• Chitta: the mind, or mind-field; the whole of our mental life, including thinking, memory and sense of self.
• Vritti: literally a whirl or turning; the movements, modifications or fluctuations of the mind.
• Nirodhah: stilling, restraint, cessation.

So yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. The next sutra (1.3) says what happens then: the seer abides in its own nature. When the surface of a lake is still, you can see to the bottom. When it is choppy, you see only the waves.

Patanjali lists five kinds of vritti (1.5–1.11): correct knowledge, error, conceptual imagination (thinking about things that have no real object), sleep and memory. The list is striking because it includes accurate knowledge and pleasant states. Yoga does not only quiet unpleasant thoughts. It aims beneath all mental activity, to the awareness that witnesses it. For most practitioners, a realistic and valuable goal is smaller: fewer reactive thoughts, more space between a thought and a response.

Practice and non-attachment

Having defined yoga, Patanjali gives its two foundations (1.12): the movements of the mind are stilled through abhyasa and vairagya.

Abhyasa is practice, the repeated effort to return to steadiness. Sutra 1.14 says practice becomes firmly grounded when it is kept up for a long time, without interruption, and with care or earnestness. This is a sober description. It suggests that results come from consistency more than intensity, and that practice done grudgingly or carelessly does not take root.

Vairagya is non-attachment, literally the absence of coloring or passion. Sutra 1.15 describes it as the mastery that comes when you no longer crave objects, whether seen or only heard about. Non-attachment does not mean coldness or indifference. It means that pleasant and unpleasant experiences stop pulling you around.

The two work as a pair. Practice without non-attachment turns into striving, where you force poses, chase experiences in meditation and judge yourself. Non-attachment without practice turns into passivity. Many teachers compare them to the two wings of a bird. On the mat, abhyasa is showing up regularly; vairagya is letting go of how the pose looks or whether today's session was "good."

The kleshas: roots of suffering

The second chapter begins by naming the causes of suffering. Patanjali calls them kleshas, afflictions or poisons (2.3). There are five:

1. Avidya, ignorance or misperception. Specifically, mistaking the impermanent for the permanent, the impure for the pure, pain for pleasure and the non-self for the self (2.5). Patanjali calls avidya the field in which the other four grow (2.4).
2. Asmita, "I-am-ness": identifying awareness with the body, mind and personal story. In everyday terms, ego and the constant defense of self-image.
3. Raga, attachment: clinging to what has brought pleasure.
4. Dvesha, aversion: pushing away what has brought pain.
5. Abhinivesha, clinging to life, or fear of death. Patanjali notes it affects even the wise (2.9).

The kleshas can be dormant, weak, interrupted or fully active (2.4). Practice aims to weaken them, and meditation to remove their active forms (2.11). One of the most practical lines in the text comes a little later: the suffering that has not yet come can be avoided (2.16). You cannot change the past, but you can notice the patterns that set up future suffering and interrupt them.

The eight limbs

Patanjali's practical path has eight parts, the ashtanga or "eight limbs" (2.29). The word is also used for Pattabhi Jois's style of posture practice, which borrowed the name. The limbs are often presented as a ladder, but they are better understood as parts of one body that develop together. You do not have to perfect ethics before sitting to meditate.

1. Yama: ethical restraints

   Five guidelines for how we relate to others. Patanjali calls them a "great vow" when practiced universally, regardless of place, time or circumstance (2.31). Each is described below.

2. Niyama: personal observances

   Five disciplines for how we relate to ourselves, also described below.

3. Asana: posture

   The seat, or posture, should be steady and comfortable (sthira sukham asanam, 2.46). It is mastered by relaxing effort and letting the mind rest on the boundless (2.47), after which one is less disturbed by opposites such as heat and cold (2.48). In Patanjali, asana mainly meant a stable seat for meditation. Modern practice expands it into the full range of poses in our Pose Library. The principle still applies to every pose: find the balance of effort and ease.

4. Pranayama: breath regulation

   Once posture is steady, the breath is regulated by lengthening and pausing inhalation and exhalation (2.49–2.50). Prana means life force or vital energy, and ayama means extension. Practical techniques are covered on the Breathwork page.

5. Pratyahara: sense withdrawal

   The senses stop chasing their objects and follow the mind inward (2.54). It is like a tortoise drawing in its limbs, an image the Bhagavad Gita uses. In practice it can be as simple as closing the eyes and letting sounds come and go without following them.

6. Dharana: concentration

   Binding the mind to one place or object (3.1), such as the breath, a point in the body, a sound or an image. The mind wanders and you bring it back, over and over.

7. Dhyana: meditation

   An unbroken flow of attention toward the object (3.2). Where concentration requires repeated returns, meditation is sustained. See Meditation for approaches to begin with.

8. Samadhi: absorption

   The object alone shines forth, as if the mind were empty of its own form (3.3). The sense of a separate meditator falls away. Patanjali describes several levels of samadhi. The last three limbs practiced together on one object are called samyama (3.4).

The first five limbs are sometimes called the outer limbs and the last three the inner limbs (3.7). Posture, the part most people associate with yoga, is only one of eight.

The five yamas

The yamas (2.30) are restraints, things to refrain from. Patanjali also describes what flows from each when it is firmly established (2.35–2.39). Read these results as traditional descriptions of an ideal, not as promises.

Ahimsa: non-harming

Ahimsa means not causing harm through action, speech or thought. Traditional commentators treat it as the root of all the other yamas. It includes obvious violence but also cruelty, contempt and harsh self-criticism. On the mat, ahimsa means not forcing your body into a pose it is not ready for. Off the mat, it can shape diet, speech and how you treat people who annoy you. The Sutras say that in the presence of someone established in non-harming, hostility falls away (2.35).

Satya: truthfulness

Satya is truthfulness in word and thought. Commentators add that it should be tempered by ahimsa. Truth told to wound is not considered satya. In practice, satya includes honesty with yourself: admitting when you are tired or when your motives for doing something are mixed.

Asteya: non-stealing

Asteya means not taking what is not freely given. Beyond material theft, it covers taking credit for others' work, wasting others' time or taking more than your share. It is closely tied to a sense of sufficiency: when you feel you have enough, the urge to take diminishes.

Brahmacharya: right use of energy

Brahmacharya literally means conduct in line with brahman, the ultimate reality. Traditionally, and in the Sutras' context, it meant sexual continence or celibacy, especially for students and renunciants. Many modern householder practitioners interpret it as moderation and the wise use of energy, including sexual energy, avoiding excess in any form. It is worth being clear that this is a modern adaptation of an older, stricter ideal.

Aparigraha: non-grasping

Aparigraha means non-possessiveness or non-hoarding: not accumulating more than you need and not clinging to what you have. It applies to things, but also to relationships, opinions and achievements, including progress in yoga poses.

The five niyamas

The niyamas (2.32) are observances, qualities to cultivate. The last three together form what Patanjali calls kriya yoga, the yoga of action (2.1), a compact practice in its own right.

Shaucha: cleanliness

Shaucha means purity or cleanliness of body, surroundings and mind. Hatha yoga elaborated physical cleansing practices. In daily life it can mean a tidy practice space, simple food and noticing what you feed your mind through media and company.

Santosha: contentment

Santosha is contentment, an acceptance of what is present without constant wanting. Patanjali says it leads to unsurpassed happiness (2.42). Contentment is not complacency. You can work to change things while not resenting how they are now.

Tapas: disciplined effort

Tapas literally means heat. It refers to the discipline, austerity and willingness to endure discomfort that make growth possible. In modern life, tapas might mean practicing when you would rather not, or sitting with a difficult feeling instead of reaching for your phone. It works best balanced with ahimsa, so that discipline does not become self-punishment.

Svadhyaya: self-study

Svadhyaya traditionally meant study of sacred texts and recitation of mantras. It also means study of the self: observing your reactions, habits and motivations. Keeping a practice journal, reading a translation of the Sutras slowly, or reflecting on why you respond as you do all count.

Ishvara pranidhana: surrender

Ishvara pranidhana means dedication or surrender to Ishvara. Patanjali describes Ishvara as a special self untouched by affliction and karma (1.24), and the Sutras name it as one route to samadhi (1.23). Theists understand this as devotion to God. Others interpret it as surrender to something larger than personal ego, such as life, nature or the practice itself, or as offering your efforts without clinging to results. The Sutras leave room for these readings.

The gunas, briefly

Samkhya philosophy, which underlies the Sutras, holds that all of nature is made of three qualities, the gunas. They also feature prominently in the Bhagavad Gita (especially chapter 14).

All three are always present in shifting proportions. A practical use of the idea is to notice which quality dominates on a given day and adjust. When you feel sluggish, a more active practice may help. When you feel wired, slower poses and longer exhalations may serve better. The gunas are a traditional framework for observation, not a scientific model.

Using the philosophy without dogma

You can practice yoga for years without reading a line of the Sutras. But the philosophy gives the physical practice direction, and much of it is usable by anyone, whatever their beliefs. A few principles help keep it practical.

A good way to begin is to bring the philosophy into your posture practice, where it is concrete. Ahimsa asks whether you are forcing. Satya asks whether you are being honest about how the pose feels. Santosha asks whether you can be content with today's range. Sutra 2.46 asks whether the pose is both steady and comfortable. Over time, those same questions start to appear at work, at home and in conversation. That spread is what the tradition intends.

Continue reading

Breath & MindMeditationPractical ways into concentration and meditation, the sixth and seventh limbs. Breath & MindBreathworkSimple pranayama techniques with a built-in breath pacer. LearnHistory of YogaWhere the Sutras fit among the Upanishads, the Gita and hatha texts. ReferenceSanskrit GlossaryEvery term on this page with pronunciation and plain definitions.

Sources & further reading

• Patanjali, Yoga Sutras. Sutra numbers on this page follow the standard numbering; some editions differ by one or two in places.
• Edwin F. Bryant, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (2009).
• T.K.V. Desikachar, The Heart of Yoga (1995), which includes a translation of the Sutras.
• B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (1993).
• Bhagavad Gita, chapters 2, 6 and 14.