ASHTANGA YOGA
“The
science of yoga considers every aspect of human life. Yoga has thought of both
the body as well as mind”.
Yoga is usually interpreted as the
combination of different exercises / aasanas which help us to maintain our
body, whereas verbally yoga implies combination that is the combination of mind
and body.
In the earlier times yoga was
considered to be done or followed by saints, sages or selected group of
religious people, but now its use has been extended to common man.
Many saints have studied yogic
science and proposed different theories as per their studies and observations.
Different rules have been proposed in different types of yoga like Hath yoga,
Patanjali yoga, Ashtanga yoga (eight limbs) and many more. Whatever the rules
maybe but the base remains the same which is that you have to make your mind so
strong that it can control your body in a rightful manner.
Amongst the many available yoga Ashtanga yoga is the one
which can be done by all the people along with their daily routine. Ashtanga
yoga is for healthy and righteous life. To achieve such life we have to follow
the eight fold path. Simply doing the aasanas and meditation will not be of
much help unless you follow all its eight limbs or paths. Along with physical
and mental involvement yoga is to be implemented in your day to day actions
too.
Ashtanga yoga has eight limbs or path or principles and they
are Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Pranayam, Pratyahaar, Dhaarna, Dhyaan and Samadhi.
Ashtanga
yoga અષ્ટાંગ યોગ has
eight limbs or path or principles and they are Yama(યમ), Niyama નિયમ, Aasana આસન, Pranayam પ્રાણાયામ, Pratyahaar પ્રત્યાહાર , Dhaarna ધારણા, Dhyaan ઘ્યાન and Samadhi સમાધિ .
1)
Yama યમ means the principles or moral codes which a person should
follow in his conduct.
·
Ahinsa અહિંસા -
the principle of non violence,
·
Satya સત્ય – the principle of truthfulness,
·
Asteya અસ્તેય -
the principle of not stealing,
·
Brahmcharya બ્રહ્મચર્ય -
the principle of continence
·
Aprigraha અપરિગ્રહ -
the principle on holding or non possessiveness.
2)
Niyama નિયમ the second limb of Ashtanga yoga refers to the personal
disciplines a person must follow. These being
·
Purity શૌચ - purity of body, mind as well as soul.
·
Contentment સંતોષ in every aspect of life.
·
Enduraance તપ of mind and words.
·
Self-study સ્વાધ્યાય which implies to the study of self as
well as holy books.
Along with these entire qualities one
must have dedication towards god ઈશ્વર પરિધાન .
3) Aasanas આસન the third limb or path comprises of different stable and
comfortable postures which if practiced helps one in attaining a mental
equilibrium. This being one of the most integral part of yoga. Saint Patanjali
described it as “સ્થિરઃ સુખઃ આસનઃ ” where સ્થિરઃ means stable or steady, સુખઃ is pleasure or delight and the whole
term literary means the posture where you are delightful as well as stable.
Aasana being so integral that they
only, are considered as yoga which actually is not correct.
Aasanas are only one of the eight folds
or limb of the path which we want to attain through Yoga as a whole.
4)
The
Fourth and another most important part of yoga is pranayam પ્રાણાયામ meaning extension and control of
breath. “Prana” or “Breath” is the bio energy on body, which is responsible for
life or life force. “Ayama” means “control of breath”. One can control the
rhythms of pranic energy wit Pranayama and can achieve healthy body and mind.
5)
Pratyahara પ્રત્યાહાર is a mental
preparation to increase the power of mind (withdrawal of senses). To understand Pratyahara
we have to understand the role of earlier four limbs of yoga.
These first five paths or limbs of yoga
are also called EXTERNAL DISCIPLINES bahiranga બહિરંગ and the remaining three are INTERNAL
DISCIPLINES antaranga અંતરંગ . First five make
our body & mind strong and last three leads to direct control.
6) Dharna ધારણા is the sixth principle in
which we have to concentrate on one thought or object and its field. The
thought is mainly based on the idea “I
am not this body, mind and senses, I do not belong to this perishable universe.
I am an ever free and spiritual being.”
Through the process of dharna
we reach a point or stage where there is total cessation of movement of
thoughts or any activity. This happens only when we achieve perfection in
dharna and leads us to the path of Dhyaan or meditation.
7)
Dhyaan ધ્યાન the
seventh and the last stage of Ashtanga yoga. There is a withdrawal of thoughts
from the eternal object and concentration of mind at one point.
8) On
achieving perfection in all the seven stages we reach a stage of super bliss,
joy and merging individual consciousness into universal consciousness. This
stage is called Samadhi સમાધિ where there is union between jivatma and parmatma,
union of Shiva and Shakti in saharsar chakra (top of forehead). There is
realization of pure consciousness (Brahma) or we can say that realization of
god, the ultimate achievement of human brain.
“Optimum effect of yoga practices is
seen when yoga is incorporated into daily lifestyle and not practiced merely to
get rid of physical or mental ailments.”
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