* Patanjali's eight limbs of yoga (book 2:29) brief *

The purpose of this order of the limbs is for us to remember them more easily. The order is not important. Think of it as the circle of life. One may enter and experience everything or anything at all times. This is not a sequential, linear list of things, "do this then this." These things are simultaneous and are better understood when seen as a whole, like the harmony of yoga itself. Yoga is the ending of the whirlwinds of the mind, which is a definition [of the indefinable] meditation. Yoga is meditation.

The eight limbs are:

Sanskrit		Translation into English:
* asana		an exercise (also: pose posture position)
* pranayama		breath control (prana, life-force; and ayama (extension)
* dharana		focus, attention, being-there ("concentration" is often used here but is inappropriately understood in English. Focus is not a cutting off, exclusionary process)
* dhyana		meditation, stillness, mindfulness, quiet mind, choiceless awareness
* samadhi		ecstasy, forgetting the state of meditation which precedes it. a blossoming of pure Awareness. These last two states are easily accessible to the student, and not in the future.
* pratyahara		moderation of the senses.
* yama		discipline concerning one's dealings with society and the world (see below).
* niyama		personal discipline (see below)

The yamas comprise 5 components or disciplines. They are:

1. Consideration for all living things, especially those who are innocent, in difficulty, or worse off than we are.
2. Right communication (truth) through speech, writings, gesture, and actions.
3. Non covetousness or the ability to resist a desire for that which does not belong to us.
4. Moderation in all our actions.
5. Non greediness or the ability to accept only what is appropriate.

The niyamas comprise 5 components or disciplines. They are:

1. Cleanliness (body and surroundings),
2. Contentment (the ability to be comfortable with what we have and do not have;
3. The removal of impurities in our physical and mental systems through the maintenance of sleep, exercise, nutrition, work and relaxation (leisure). It is important to realize yoga is balance. Yoga helps to harmonize and balance these important elements of life. Work is only a part of this whole, not the main act.
4. Study and review of the self. Chief among these is to know the self and one will know the world. All of the great mysteries unfold in the mirror of our own being.
5. Recognition of the Force.

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