Ashtangayoga: The 8 Exercises from the Yoga Sutra of Patañjali

The Yogasutra of Patañjali addresses the issue of suffering as the driving force of all human action and thought and shows a path to liberation.

The path is divided into 8 steps. In this follow-up volume to his successful Yogasutra commentary, R. Sriram goes into more detail on this eight-step path of practice. He explains in a contemporary way and with clear examples how these developmental steps can look like for people today and how we can find support from these source texts of yoga for any kind of problem or challenge.

The eight limbs of the path of practice are: the rules of interpersonal behaviour (yama), personal discipline (niyama), postures (asana), regulation of the breath (pranayama), awareness of the senses (pratyahara), ability to concentrate (dharana), silent reflection (dhyanam) and perfect realisation (samadhi). Each stage is about disciplining, but it always means a discipline that helps us to become free.