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The practice of Yoga begins from keeping some social values. These values help you to be non-guilty and calmer. It will give you the clarity and awareness to practice Yoga. Yama are mainly 5 in number;
LIMBS OF YOGA
YAMA/ SOCIAL VALUES
Ahimsa: Do not harm/ hurt others
Satya: Be honest; do not lie
Asteya: Do not steal
Brahmacharya: Practice healthy sex
Aparigraha: Being non-greedy and non-hoarding
NIYAMA/ SELF-DISCIPLINE
Yoga is a way of living, and practicing Niyama will support you to practice Yoga daily and with focus and dedication. Niyama are also mainly 5 in number.
Soucha: Be physically clean
Santosha: Be happy without any reason
Tapa: Be enthusiastic
Svadhyaya: Keep learning
Isvara Pranidhana: Practice Awareness
ASANA/ BODY POSTURES
This is the most popular element of Yoga lately. The purpose of Asana is to make the body firm and strong, so that one can focus on higher purposes of life. There are thousands of asanas, that focuses on stretching, stimulating and/ or strengthening different parts of the body. Most of the time Asanas are referred as Yoga.
Asanas are a great form of physical exercise. They are very popular for maintaining shape and supporting in stiffness, aches and pains. Comparing from many other form of exercises, Asanas (popularly known as yoga) provides a good opportunity to tailor your exercise according to your individual needs.
PRANAYAMA/ BREATHING EXERCISE
Prana means breath and ayama means controlling. Pranayama means breathing exercise and is a stepping stone for meditation. In this contemporary world, Pranayama is a great tool to make you calm and present. As Pranayam is an active process, you can practice them even when you are feeling stressed and racing; leaving you calm and centred at the end of it. Each pranayama has three phases
Puraka (breathing in)
Kumbhaka (holding breath), can be after breathing in or breathing out
Rechaka (breathing out)
PRATYAHARA (SENSORY WITHDRAWAL)
Pratyahara is the first step of meditation. ‘Prati’ means ‘against’ and ‘ahara’ means something ‘that we take in”. Prtayahara is the practice of sensory withdrawal. Prtayahara is commonly practiced during Savasana or corpse pose. When someone is able to practice sensory withdrawal, that’s when they can progress to next limb of Yoga, dharana.
Annamaya kosa: The layer of physical body
Pranamaya Kosa: The layer of energy
Manomaya kosa: the layer of mind
Vijnanamaya kosa: The layer of awareness
Ananadamaya kosa: The layer of bliss, feeling complete and content Yoga is the practice of advancing to higher sheets of being. During Pratyahara, the focus is on Manomaya kosa.
DHARANA (CONCENTRATION)
Dharana is the practice of focusing on a single object. It is the state of concentration. Dharana is attained by focusing your thoughts on a single object. You can practice Dharana by mantra (chanting), focusing on breath, on an every day object or even your body. Once you master dharana, you would be able to progress to next limb of Yoga, dhyana.
DHYANA (MEDITATION)
Dhyana means stillness of mind. It is the practice of concentrating on one object so that you and the object become one. It is the form of deep meditation that you gain the knowledge about it.
Samadhi (ENLIGHTENMENT)
It is the eighth limb of yoga and third part of Yogic meditation, where individual awareness dissolves and becomes part of the universal wisdom. At this stage the yogi (one who practices Yoga) becomes completely immersed in it and can’t separate themselves from that.Pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi together are known as inner Yoga (Antharanga Yoga). Dharana, dhyana and samadhi together are known as samyama that results in full detachment of worldly bindings and results in ‘Jnana’ (awareness). The whole eight limbs together are known as Raja Yoga.
