Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga include: Yama (restraints – non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, preservation and cultivation of sexual energy, and non-covetousness) Niyama (observances – purity, contentment, spiritual intensity, study of spiritual knowledge and Self, and active surrender to the divine) Asana (postures and physical maneuvers) Pranayama (breathing techniques) Pratyahara (introversion of the senses) Dharana (systematic attention on an object) Dhyana (meditation – systematic dissolving of the object) Samadhi (absorption in pure consciousness)
