INTENTION

My intention over the next week is to delve into the essential elements of the Patanjali’s Eight Limbs of Yoga

PRACTICE

Practice daily. Use your daily practice this week to create fluency. Enjoy the Sacred Preparation Water playlist. We are working with the second chakra Svadhisthana. The practice theme for this month is feel. See Virtual Studio and Live Class Video Recordings on the main page of the platform.

mediation

Practice daily for 3-11 minutes. Use your meditation this week to awaken motivation, passion, and grace.

coursework

one and two: Write a definition for the 5 yamas and 5 niyamas in your own words.
three: practice asana (use the Core Asana Reference Guide)
four: practice pranayama (from week 4)

reading

articles: if you are not caught up, continue reading the articles
books: Paths to God* (a one page book report is due at the end of the program)

recommended reading:
Bhagavad Gita to supplement Paths to God
Light on Yoga, The Yogi’s Roadmap, The Secret of the Yoga Sutra, The Secret Power of Yoga - here you will find expanded information on the 8 limbs. Consider reading more than one book on the subject to cross reference and get a broader perspective. This is not required.

journal

Note insights from your practice fo yama, niyama, asana, and pranayama. Free write in response. It is not required, but feel free to share ah-ha moments with the group on Geneva. (Post in the Coursework room)

on geneva

My hope is that we can engage in an on-going conversation about the 8 Limbs this week. Please add your thoughts, ideas, and voice to the conversation. (Post in the Coursework room).

Please note that the above is the same as what is in the workbook.

Expanded contemplation

• Which of the Yamas do you find the easiest to adhere to? Why?

• Which of the Yamas do you find the most difficult to adhere to? Why?

• Consider each Yama. Imagine a personal situation where you might employ a yama - how might you respond?

• Which of the Niyamas do you find the easiest to adhere to? Why?

• Which of the Niyamas do you find the most difficult to adhere to? Why?

• Consider each Niyama. Imagine a personal situation where you might employ a yama - how might you respond?

• What happened during asana practice? Describe in detail and note any insights.

• What happened when you practiced pranayama? Describe in detail and note any insights.

 WATER - Week SIX: Session 4 - Patanjali’s 8 Limbs, an overview

Discussion

• Yamas

  • “Personal observances, observances that relate to the way in which you connect to the world. - Janet Stone

  • 5 aspects, and 5 aspects subtly within the 5 aspects

  • Grounding

  • Intimacy

  • Relationship

• Niyamas

  • Personal restraints

  • Internal relationship

  • Familiar

• Asana

  • Can access and become more intimate with ourselves

  • To take good care of ourselves

  • Vitality

• Pranayama

  • We are given a certain amount of prana, vital life force

  • Animate

  • Our pranic body can get congested

  • Move life force in easeful, fluid ways

  • Gets us out of pranic debt

  • Sustains life force

• Pratyahara

  • Sense withdrawal

  • Distraction

• Dharana

  • Sense of concentration

  • Brings your attention back

  • Brings your full awareness to your life

• Dhyana

  • Less about the item of attention and more about the evenness

  • Meditation

  • Gathering and dissolving

  • Time, freedom, space to be still

  • subject/object becomes a little less

• Samadhi

  • The object dissolves completely 

  • Absorption

  • Full presence

  • Expanded - all that is happening within and out in the world, cosmos, etc.

 WATER - Week SEVEN: Session 1 - Yamas

Discussion
This week, we delve into the ethical principles of Patanjali’s 8-limbed path, the Yamas + the Niyamas. The first limb, Yama, deals with one’s ethical standards and sense of integrity, focusing on our behavior and how we conduct ourselves in life. Yamas are universal practices that relate best to what we know as the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” We take a quick but deep dive into the 5 yamas. 

1. Ahimsa Non-harming, non-violence

• Loving kindness to others

• Not blocking or obstructing the flow of Nature

• Compassion 

• Mercy

• Gentleness
  

2. Satya Truthfulness

• Being genuine and authentic to our inner nature

• Having integrity, honesty

• Being honorable

• Not lying

• Not concealing the truth

• Not down-playing or exagerating

3. Asteya Non-stealing

• Not taking what is not yours - money, goods, credit

• Not robbing people of their own experiences and freedom

• Non-desire for another’s possessions, qualities, or status

4. Brahmacharya Restraint, Ethical conduct

• Relating to another with unconditional love and integrity, without manipulation or selfishness

• Practicing sexual moderation or restraining from sexual misconduct, and avoiding lustful behavior

5. Aparigraha Non-clinging

• Non-grasping 

• Non-receiving

• Non-possessiveness 

• Voluntary simplicity

• Not accumulating things beyond what is necessary

• Non-attachment to possessions

• Greedlessness

• Non-covetousness

WATER - Week SEVEN: Session 2 - Niyamas

Discussion
The second limb, Niyama, has to do with self-discipline and spiritual observances. Regularly attending temple or church services, saying grace before meals, developing your own personal meditations practices, or making a habit of taking contemplative walks alone are all examples of Nyama in practice. 

We take a quick but deep dive into the 5 Nyamas. 

1. Sauca Cleanliness

   • Orderliness

   • Precision

   • Clarity

   • Balance

   • Internal and external purification

2. Santosa Contentment

   • Equanimity

   • Peace

   • Tranquility

   • Acceptance of the way things are

3. Tapas Heat

   • Self-discipline

   • Purification

   • Willpower

   • Austerity

   • Patience

   • Self-harnessing 

4. Svadhyaya Self-study

   • Self–inquiry

   • Mindfulness

   • study of the scriptures

   • Chanting

   • Searching the known for the Unknown

5. Ishvara Pranidhana Devotional offering to God, Surrender

   • Surrender

   • Surrender to God

   • Open-heartedness

   • Love

   • Willingness to serve

WATER - Week SEVEN: Session 3 - Asana

Discussion

• A posture meant for meditation; a method of sitting.

• Per the Yoga Sutra, to master asana, we are to:

  • be steady and comfortable

  • overcome tension and effort

  • be relaxed

  • concentrate

  • not struggle or apply force; without muscular or nervous tension

• Result of mastery: opposites cease to have impact

  • Opposites disturb the mind. 

  • We are to develop resistance to these disturbances through: yama, nyama and asana

WATER - Week SEVEN: Session 4 - Pranayama

Discussion

• The cessation of movement of inhalation and exhalation, breath retention

• Prana means breath, life, life force

• Yama means lengthening or widening through control

• To “tame” prana there must be:

  • steadiness

  • patience

  • no hurry 

  • an intention to practice slowly and with care and sufficient caution

• The aim is to be able to retain breath, to retain prana.

• Four types of pranayama

  • Puraka: inhalation

  • Rechaka: exhalation

  • Kumbhaka: retention

  • Keval Kumbhaka: only retention

    • Antaranga: internal

    • Bahiranga: external

    • Joining incoming and outgoing breath

    • Inner experiences are to be left inside, external experienced are to be left outside

• Per the Yoga Sutra, pranayama influences the nervous system and the brain, not as much to do with the lungs.

• Pranayama brings about:

  • A certain condition in the brain

  • A certain change in the spinal cord

  • A certain change in the physical body

• Pranayama practice is dependent on climate and local diet.

• Time - duration, time - of year; working to prolong

  • Start: 6:8:6 

  • Process becomes subtle

• Per the Yoga Sutra, the practice of pranayama actives the psychic centers, and the covering, the veil (due to sense experiences) of knowledge is removed.

  • This means that when you practice pranayama, something happens in you by which the psychic powers are released.

  • Energy is released when you switch on the light - pranayama creates a similar condition in the brain

• By doing pranayama, a capacity for concentration develops.

• Should have a clear understanding of Prana

Call notes

LEVEL I - WATER - WEEK SEVEN CALL
8 Limbs - Part 1

Call Flow
11-11:15am (15 min) Opening: Expectations, Reminder
11:15am-12pm (45 min) Talk: 4 Chapters on Freedom, 8 Limbs
12-12:45pm (45 min) Forum:
12:45-1pm (15 min) Questions and Closing

Habits
Habit stacking - tack these tasks onto things you already do so you that you don't have a daunting list of “things to do”

Expectations
I expect you to do all the coursework and journaling, and reading, but the timing is up to you. I want to encourage you towards self-motivation. But I can give you more as far as direction on an individual basis - just ask. Take what you want. Figure out what resonates, in your own body. I’m not the expert, I am learning and growing too.

Four chapters of the Yoga Sutras
Samadhi Pada - on Enlightenment - the why, what, the process of subtilization
Sadhana Pada - on Practice - actions that lead to the present, the now - expanding consciousness, responding in the world instead of reacting reflectively; on-going and evolving. Results - hot to channell experience and wisdom of samadhi back into life, grow and blossom into energy and understanding that flows to us as a result of our sadhana (practice).
Vibhuti Pada - on Powers/Manifestation - the “ash”, the remnants of when you do your practice the energy moves to you, you know what to do. Its is both the fruits and process
Kaivalyam Pada - on Liberation - who we become and how we experience the world as a result of weaving the experience of samadhi back into our lives - Who are we then?

We practice asana to mitigate the effects of the past on the body.
We practice pranayama to mitigate the effects of the present on the body.
We practice meditation to mitigate the effects of the future on the body.

Sadhana Pada: Sutra 29 - 55

8 Limbs

Yamas: ahimsa (nonviolence), satya (truth), brahmacharya (not lusting), aparigraha (non-possessiveness), asteya (non-stealing)
Niyamas: sauca, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, ishvarapranidhana
Asana
Pranayama
Pratyahara - sense withdraw
Dhaharana - single pointed focus/concentration
Dyana - meditation
Samadhi - bliss

“1/2. The first two parts the yamas and the niyamas are contemplative tools for living a healthy and peaceful life. They enable us to build a world free from violence, dishonesty, greed, addiction, and possessiveness. While living in this unique world we are not a threat to others and others are not a threat to us potentially helps us explore all the obstacles known and unknown that may prevent us from creating this ideal world and delineates a clear path for removing them.

The remaining six parts of the eight limb path focus on the techniques for mastering our body, mind and senses like steps in a letter each part serves as a foundation for the next.

3. Asana the third part enables us to master our body and reclaim its natural strength, stamina and flexibility when practiced with focus and precision. Asana restores our innate beauty, charm, vigor and self-healing power. It forms the ground for the fourth step ..

4. Pranayama
Pranayama enables us to access the immense pool of prana, the life force that links and sustains the body and mind. Awakened by the practice of pranayama the life force empowers the body and mind to enhance their mutually supportive relationship. The mind becomes acutely aware of the body's needs and comes forward to meet them. The body senses the mind's intent and responds spontaneously.

The remaining four parts of yoga unfold from here the entire sequence - collecting the scattered forces of the mind, pratyahara, bringing them to their home base dharana turning the mind inward to discover its main powers and privileges dhyana and finally bringing all of our mental powers to bear on discovering and uniting ourselves with pure being samadhi - is the natural process of spiritual unfoldment, provided we practice the first four steps of yoga perfectly and precisely.” (intro Sadhana Pada)

The 8 limbs are all interdependent.

YAMAS

Sutra 2:30 The five self-restraints yamas
Ahimasatyaasteyabramacharyaaparigrahayamah
Non-violence, truth, honesty, sensual abstinence and non-possessiveness are the five self-restraints

Yamas: pertain to the outerworld and your behavior in relationship to the outer world. We practice all 5 restraints together

Ahimsa

Himsa - strike, cut down

“Non-animosity toward all living things, all the time, in every respect.”
All 8 limbs are rooted in ahimsa.

“Do not allow yourself to indulge in animosity.” -Elena Brower

A spirit of tolerance.
To practice Love is constant work.
Remedies for animosity, cruelty, jealousy, self-righteousness

Animosity - friendliness, kindness. Cultivate unconditional love and enjoyment for those who are happy, peaceful, content and successful.
Cruelty - compassion. Cultivate joy, supportiveness for those who are suffering, including yourself
Jealousy - happiness, honor. Cultivate happiness for those who are successful, virtuous, spiritually noble - they worked hard to get that.
Self-righteousness - non-judgement, equanimity. Cultivate equanimity for those who are troubled or projecting in a hurtful or negative way, that you judge immoral.

Sutra 1:33 (this is the first sutra about others)
Transparency of mind comes by embracing an attitude of friendliness, compassion, happiness and non-judgement toward those who are happy, miserable, virtuous and non-virtuous. 

Clarification of mind, the process, results from the cultivation of friendliness. 

Equanimity, equilibrium of mind can be maintained through:
-Unconditional love and enjoyment towards those who are contented, peaceful, happy
-Compassion toward those (including self) who encounter challenging situations that cause suffering.
-A sense of joy and supportiveness for those who experience honorable success.
-Equanimity when confronted by those who you judge as immoral. 

Sutra 2:35 Fruits of ahimsa - all hostility is abandoned
In the company of a yogi established in non-violence, animosity vanishes.
(Yogi’s Roadmap) For the one aligned with ahimsa, they stimulate friendliness in others and all hostilities are abandoned in the presence of such a being.
(Secret Power) Embracing reverence for all, we experience oneness.

Fruit of ahimsa - the elimination of animosity 
Both himsa and ahimsa are extremely subtle.

Satya

There is no a, in this yama
In this practice we are not concerned with another’s truth telling, we are only concerned with how we are with ourselves. We are only concerned with ourselves, that we feel that we are trustworthy. Can you trust yourself? This is a fierce and demanding practice. But remember, in this practice, we are not concerned with how others are living and what they are doing. 
Bring compassion in, when you practice satya. 
Truth, like Nature, (like God) has no agenda. The body doesn’t lie. Ask yourself why?
We can only see part of it.
Fruits of satya: shortening of time between having an intention and having that intention come to fruition. Whatever is spoken comes true.
Restraint of speech.
Truth grounded in personal experience and in the experience of a long line of masters.
Discovering our pure being, our pure self.

Asteya

Enoughness. List what you are grateful for - gratitude turns what you have into enough, “more” fills a void, what is the void?
Fruits of asteya;  also means honesty. Sutra 2:27 On being firmly established in honesty, all gems present themselves. A power of cognition is developed - intuitive awareness. When the mirror is clean, you can see your face clearly in it. You can see clearly. You are not projecting. 

Brahmacharya

Acting out. After the act, we feel the effects of not practicing brahmacharya. The practice is to pause, consider the consequences. Traditionally, celibacy because babies. Now with consent and birth control you can be more promiscuous but there are other consequences. (share accident story - person on cell phone).

Aparigraha 

Non-possessiveness. Giving up the tendency to accumulate objects of utility and enjoyment, only keeping the objects that are essential for living. This is a temporary course of sadhana - if continued beyond reasonable limits, it gives rise to obsession. 
What are you grasping onto? Why?

The gifts of the yamas:
-When one is grounded in non-violence, all conflict and hostility ceases in the presence of that person.
-Make a difficult person, or emotion, or situation, your personal deity - embracing reverence and love for all we experience is ahimsa.
The one aligned with ahimsa stimulates friendliness in others and all hostility disappears.

Bhavani Silvia Maki says to  “vigilantly watch over our thoughts and constantly align ourselves with love - this is the gold. 

Love is the force that underlines the Universe. The ultimate, the greatest thing is to love and be love.

When you live in love, all is well, you are worthy, there is enough.

Love is a discipline and the acknowledgment of abundance.

“By restraining ourselves from lying, stealing, abusing our senses, minimizing and our mental and worldly possessions, we are automatically embracing the principle of ahimsa.” - Padit RajmaniTigunait

Which is why we are to practice all five together.

Sutra 31 The great disciplines
How do we master the 8 limbs - practice the opposite “to arrest afflicting thoughts, cultivate thoughts opposed to them.”

“As long as we have anger, greed, or confusion about the motivation behind our actions, we will have a negative mind.” 

Suppression will not do. Ponder over the opposite. 

When practiced universally without exception due to birth, place, time and circumstances they become great disciples. 

It’s said that place, time, birth, etc. cause hindrances when practicing the yamas; that it is difficult to practice them without exception, but it is still recommended that you practice them without exception. Basically, no modifications, no excuses.

Unobstructed mind, clear mind, mind free of afflictions, kleshas.
5 kleshas:
-our unwillingness to examine the validity of what we believe to be true (avidya, ignorance)
-unwavering faith in our distorted self-identity (asmita)
-attachment to what appears to be us and ours (raga)
-aversion to what poses a threat to what we are and what we own (dvesha)
-fear of losing ourselves and our familiar world (abhinivesha, fear of death)

NIYAMAS

Sutra 2:32 the five observances - niyamas
Saucasantoshatapahsvadhyayaishvarapranidhaniniyamh
“Purity, contentment, austerity, self-study, trustful surrender to Ishvara are the observances.

Niyama: pertain to the internal world
Perfection and precision in the practice of yoga comes from tapas, svadhyaya and, ishvarapranidhana. Tapas means austerity. Svadhyaya, self study, Ishvarapranidahna, the trustful surrender to a higher reality. The three together constitute the kriya yoga - the force that brings the practice of yoga to life. Tapas, svadhyaya and ishvarapranidhana constitute the heart and soul of yoga because these three components enable us to shake off our inertia and empower us to put the lofty principles of yoga into action. Patanjali calls his system kriya yoga, yoga in action. Yoga sadhana leads to self mastery only in conjunction with these three factors, without them yoga is merely a skill. 

Sutra 2:1 Yoga is action is composed of authenticity, self-study, and trustful surrender to Ishvara.
(Yogi’s Roadap) Sacrifice, self-study, and surrender comprise yoga is action (kriya yoga)
(Secret Power) Kriya yoga or yoga in action embraces: tapas - igniting the purifying flame, svadhyaya - sacred study fo the Divine through scripture, nature, and introspection, ishvara pranidhana - wholehearted dedication to te Divine Light in all.

Santosha

Contentment, relaxing in, not doing - the more we chase, force, the more elusive contentment is, from lack to abundance. Giving thanks, practicing and expressing gratitude.
Sutra 2:42 Unexcelled happiness come from the practice of contentment

Saucha

Clarifying, clean things up, space, mind, relationships, in all endeavors.
Fruits of shaucha: you develop a kind of indifference or non-attachment to your body, and others
Also refers to mental clarity. Sutra 2:41 By the practice of mental purity one acquires fitness for cheerfulness, one-pointedness, sense of control and vision of self. When mental clarity is practiced, one because fit to practice cheerfulness, concentration and sense control, and is able to see oneself clearly.

Tapas

The yogic approach to practicing tapas is completely different from what we commonly think of as austerity. Tapas is a precise, regimented set of disciplines that awakens the inherent power of our body and mind and uses that power to overcome our inertia, sloth, and carelessness.  
Constancy, keeping the fire going .. keep the ember alive.
The effort we use in training, focusing, purifying, the senses, mind, emotion.
Sacrifice - fully aware of what we are getting into (physical).
Subjecting the body to hardships so that it becomes fit for meditation.

Svadhyaya

Similarly svadhyaya, self-study entails more than simply reflecting on the current condition of our mind. It is an extremely refined practice that connects us to our own inner brilliance, the shining being within. Once connected to the center brilliance, we are free from all fears and doubts and are thus in power to do our practice wholeheartedly.  
The awareness that is cultivated through the study of the unconscious patterning that obscures our true nature as Pure Consciousness. Also the teachings that lead us to a direct experience of that true nature.
Nourishes our psychology, emotional nature, introspections (nature).
What is your most persistent pattern? Close your eyes and observe your own self. 

Ishvara pranidhana

Ishvara pranidhana is more than merely believing in God. Trust in, surrender to, a high reality is a well-defined practice that leads to experiencing the presence of higher realities in every breath we take. It is a practice that engenders a constant awareness of our creator, guide, and provider. This awareness removes the slightest possibility of self isolation and self alienation. It frees us from the subtlest pain of all loneliness.
Trustful surrender to a dedicated Ishvara (god). Your personal deity.
What are you giving your lifeforce to?
Wholehearted dedication to the Divine Light in all, surrender

Practice
Study
Surrender

I practice
I observe myself
I surrender

“I can change the world, but only through my own state.” - Elena Brower

When even one of these eight limbs of yoga, Asana for example, is practiced in the light of tapas, svadhyaya and ishvarapranidhana,  it will open the door to infinite possibilities. When all eight of them are practiced methodically in this light, the promise of yoga is fulfilled. We are the highest expression of our creator's joy and we are destined to experience that joy, that is the subject of the Sadhana Pada. To say it is simply - it is joy.

So the yamas are ahimsa, satya, asteya, aparigraha.
The niyamas are sauca, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya and ishvara pranidhana. 

Then we have asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi.
The Sadhana Pada only goes to pratyahara. It is not until the next book/chapter the Kaivalya Pada that we start to dive into dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. It is said that those three are not possible without pratyahara.

(Yama)
2:33 Violence / ahimsa
2:36 Satya
2:37 Asteya
2:38 Brahmacharya
2:49 Aparigrahaha

(Niyama)
2:40 Sauca 2:41 sattva
2:42 Santosha
2:43 Tapas (the cornerstone of self-transformation)
2:44 Svadhyaya
2:45 Ishvarapranidhana

2:46 Asana
2:47 Pranayama
2:48 Asana
2:49-2:53 Pranayama
2:54 Pratyahara

Dharana, dhyana and samadhi are not possible without pratyahara - they are in the next chapter, the Vibhuti Pada