By Elisabeth Vegter
Last month we started our exploration of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, especially the eightfold path of yoga. This beautiful path is sometimes also referred to as: ‘Ashtanga Yoga’. Ashtanga means eight. It consists of: Yama (Ethical Considerations); Niyama (Personal Observances); Asana (Physical Posture); Pranayama (Conscious Breathing); Pratyahara (Sense Withdrawal); Dharana (Concentration); Dhyana (Meditation) and lastly Samadhi (Liberation or Transcendence). Ashtanga Yoga should be not confused with Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga, which is a style of yoga containing a certain fixed sequence of postures. The eight elements of Ashtanga Yoga can be visualised as the branches of a tree, sometimes referred to as the ‘Yoga Tree’. According to Patanjali the ultimate goal of practicing all the limbs of yoga is to dwindle impurities away, so that the light of wisdom can dawn, leading to discriminative discernment. In other words, if we commit ourselves to the path of yoga with patience, dedication and faith, we will eventually lift the veil of our pure nature and find peace and freedom called ‘Samadhi’. That sounds like a challenging path, but there is no need to rush and do it all at once. Just take it step by step.