Stairway To Heaven; The Eight Limbs of Yoga

The great sage Pattanjali referred to the eight limbs of Yoga as Ashtanga.

All eight limbs of Yoga develop simultaneously. Therefore, as we progress, our interest in a wider and more diverse approach to Yoga grows. We are inspired to look deeper at ourselves, know ourselves better and become less caught up in the illusions that distract us.
To transcend illusions is to learn to love the whole: to see order in chaos, pleasure in the pain and pain in pleasure. In so doing we are free to be ourselves in the fullest possible way.

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are;

• Yama: the attitude toward things outside ourselves.

• Niyama: the attitude toward ourselves.

• Asana: the practice of developing poise and health in body and mind and the ability to handle opposites.

• Pranayama: use of breath to increase the prana in the body. Breath and mind control.

• Pratyahara: the ability to withdraw from the nourishment of the senses. The ability to see order in chaos.

• Dharana: to hold concentration and focus in one direction and at one object.

• Dhyana: to concentrate on an object with such intensity as to become one with it.

• Samadhi: to experience all that is on the outside, on the inside. To experience love for the object. This is total presence: no space and time exist and we truly experience love and gratitude for what it is.