On the Eight Limbs of Yoga
While many texts and teachers refer to the hierarchy of the Eight Limbs, the vast number of western students formally begin with the Third limb with the practice of asana.
The first five limbs are often called the outer limbs of
practice, while the remaining three more subtle aspects are called the inner limbs.
The linear concept of progression through these practices is only one way of
conceptualizing them. Because each limb has as its ultimate goal the realization of “final ultimate truth,” one could start from any place and
cultivate practice from that point. It may be useful to consider the eight limbs a circular progression rather than a tree with higher and lower branches.
Furthermore, it is conceivable from the non-dualistic yogic vantage point of
seeing the underlying unity in all the limbs, to focus practice on only one limb.

1. Yamas Ethical Codes of Restraint, Discipline
The first of the limbs, the yamas, are the bedrock principles that help to foster the skillful means to make our lives function smoothly in the context of a community-setting. This limb includes five important moral obligations. These injunctions are aimed at destroying negative human characteristics. They are meant to bring our instinctual life under control.

a. Ahimsa harmlessness, non-injustice, non-cruelty, non-harming
Most of the world’s religions emphasize this idea. Violence seems to be an
integral part of human nature. It does not always take the form of physical assault, but sometimes as fear, hostility, and disapproval.1

b. Satya truthfulness, being in integrity
Satya is translated as real, genuine, or honest, and this is usually taken to mean one should tell the truth. It is mentioned frequently in yogic literature. 2

c. Asteya nonstealing
Asteya is closely related to ahimsa, since stealing violates the person from whom things are taken. 3

d. Brahmacharya sense control, chastity, celibacy, conscious use of energy
Generally speaking, sexual stimulation is thought to interrupt the impulse towards enlightenment by indulging the desire for sensory experience and by draining energy. 4

e. Aparigraha charity greedlessness
Greedlessness, or aparigraha, is defined as the nonacceptance of gifts. We are encouraged to cultivate voluntary simplicity, since possessions lead to attachment and fear of loss.

2. Niyamas Observances, Restraint
The foundational principles that support self-maintenance and observation.
This limb includes five important moral practices:

a. Shauca purity, cleanliness
Shauca focuses on inner or mental purity brought about by meditation and concentration. The goal is to “mirror the light of the transcendtal Self with out distortion”. 6

b. Samtosha contentment
Samtosha means not coveting more than what is at hand. It is the
voluntary sacrifice of what is transient anyway. Sages around the world speak of this virtue, as it equalizes pleasure and sorrow.

c. Tapas asceticism, austerity
Tapas includes such practices as fasting, prolonged immobilized standing or sitting, the bearing of hunger, thirst, cold, and heat, and formal silence. These practices raise energy that is then used to achieve higher
awareness. Tapas is not self-torture, however.

d. Svadhyaya self-study, self-inquiry
Svadhyaya is not so much intellectual learning, but rather “the meditative pondering of truths revealed by seers and sages who have traversed those remote regions where the mind cannot follow and only the heart receives and is changed”. 7 It is one’s own exploration of the hidden meanings of the scriptures.

e. Ishvara-pranidhana devotion to god
The final part of niyama is devotion to god, or Ishvara-prnidhana. The god referred to here is free of illusion, forever aware of truth.