I derive all my inspiration based on the teaching of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his teacher Guru Dev. My reflections below are inspired by what I have learned from them.
The Eight limbs of Yoga are actually the different ASPECTS of the State of yoga, or the state of wholeness, which is the complete integration of the grossest levels to the finest levels of creation.
The integrated state of yoga is actually a continuum which includes the full range of activity and silence.
Creation ranges from the manifest level of action right through subtler levels until it reaches the manifest level of pure silence. The eight limbs of Yoga describe the different coordinated aspects of this state.
The eight limbs of yoga work in a total coordinated and integrated manner so that each one influences the other and they WORK together to create and maintain the state of yoga.
Diagram of the eight limbs of yoga corresponding to the finer levels of creation
Activity Yama Outer Action Body Gross
Niyama
Asana
pranayama
Pratyahara Thought Mind
Dharana Feeling
Dhyana
Silence Samadhi Inner Being Soul
Subtle
As you can see above, the eight limbs comprise the full range of the expression of yoga, from the manifest level of activity all the way to the un-manifest level of silence. Life comprises of the full range shown above and one can start at any limbs and this will in turn lead to yoga and also affect all the other limbs.
I will now explain in more detail the eight limbs of yoga below. Normally the best place to begin is with meditation which incorporates the last three limbs mostly and this will then activate all the other limbs in a very dynamic way.
Yama and Niyama are the two outermost limbs which represent the grosser levels of activity, They comprise the level of behavior and action and body. (more detail)
Then the next limbs, asana and pranayama comprise the next finer limbs. Asana comprises the full range of movement, while pranayama comprises breathing.
Pratyahara means withdrawing the senses
Dharana is the when one starts to meditate, by using a suitable object as a vehicle for the inward journey, normally a mantra
Dhyana is the process of meditation, or transcending, where the vehicle used in meditation is experienced on finer and finer levels
Samadhi is the state of transcendence or absorption, where finally the finest level of the vehicle of meditation has been transcended and the there is simply Being. This is Pure awareness, residing in his true nature. Here there is no experienc-er, there is just Being.
These eight limbs are normally practiced in a coordinated way by the yogi as follows:
He starts with Asana, by doing some light stretching of the body. This starts to prepare the nervous system for deeper practices, then he switches to pranayama, doing some light breathing exercises which further prepares the nervous system, this is likened to cultivating the soil of the nervous system to prepare it for meditation and then he starts with meditation, which is dharana and dhyana and also leads to samadhi.
The yogi need not do the eight limbs in such a strict fashion, he might choose to after meditation, rest lying down for a bit, which is part of asana and then go for a walk, also part of asana. He might choose to do asana or pranayama after his meditation also.
These practices are used in a balanced way as they compliment one another. It is also important to know that each of these limbs cannot be left out or isolated completely! For example, when one is doing yoga asanas, one might also be doing pranayama a the same time and also doing pratyahara at the same time and might also be in samadhi with some inner silence and might also be doing dharana by focusing on the asana.
Therefore it is important to also realize that you cannot fully isolate each limb on its own, That is why they are called limbs. Just like you cannot have a table without four legs, yoga exists with all eight limbs.
The eight limbs reveal the levels of the nervous system in the state of Yoga. Yoga is a product of the nervous system not the other way around, All the limbs of Patanjani exist naturally in the nervous system of man and their expression is simply the natural unfoldment of the nervous system in its natural state of functioning. Ideally each man would experience all the limbs in a normally functioning nervous system. In the state of yoga, he would automatically experience yama, niyama asnaa, samadhi and so on every day as a natural result of being alive.
No comments:
Post a Comment