Astanga

Through practice of the limbs of yoga, as impurity is destroyed, the light of knowledge arises, leading to discriminative discernment.

Yama (abstinences), niyama (observances), āsana (posture), prāṇāyāma (breath control), pratyāhāra (sense withdrawal), dhāraṇā (concentration), dhyāna (meditation), and samādhi (absorption) are the eight limbs of Yoga.

Non-violence (ahiṁsā), truthfulness (satya), non-stealing (asteya), continence (brahmacarya), and non-possessiveness (aparigraha) are the yamas.

When these (yamas) are unqualified by class, place, time, or circumstance and are universal, they are called the great vow.

Cleanliness (śauca), contentment (santoṣa), austerity (tapas), self-study (svādhyāya), and devotion to Īśvara (Īśvara praṇidhāna) are the niyamas.

When disturbed by negative thoughts, cultivate their opposites.

Negative thoughts such as violence—whether done, caused, or approved; whether preceded by greed, anger, or delusion; whether mild, moderate, or intense—result in infinite pain and ignorance. Therefore, cultivate their opposites.

When firmly established in non-violence (ahiṁsā), hostility is abandoned in one's presence.

When firmly established in truthfulness (satya), actions bear fruit unfailingly.

When firmly established in non-stealing (asteya), all jewels (wealth) come naturally.

When firmly established in continence (brahmacarya), vigor is gained.

When firmly established in non-possessiveness (aparigraha), knowledge of the how and why of birth arises.

From cleanliness (śauca) arises disgust for one's own body and non-contact with others.

Moreover, purification of the mind, cheerfulness, one-pointedness, control of the senses, and fitness for Self-realization are attained.

From contentment (santoṣa), unsurpassed happiness is gained.

From austerity (tapas), through the destruction of impurities, comes perfection of the body and senses.

From self-study (svādhyāya), communion with the desired deity is achieved.

Perfection in samādhi is attained through devotion to Īśvara.

Posture (āsana) should be steady and comfortable.

(This is achieved) by relaxation of effort and absorption in the infinite.

From that (mastery of āsana), one is not afflicted by the pairs of opposites.

When that (āsana) is accomplished, prāṇāyāma is the cessation of the movements of inhalation and exhalation.

Prāṇāyāma has external, internal, and restrained movements, regulated by place, time, and number, becoming long and subtle.

The fourth (type of prāṇāyāma) transcends the external and internal operations.

From that (prāṇāyāma), the covering of the light is dissolved.

And the mind becomes fit for concentration (dhāraṇā).

Pratyāhāra (sense withdrawal) is, as it were, the imitation by the senses of the mind's own nature by disengaging from their objects.

From that comes supreme mastery over the senses.

Concentration (dhāraṇā) is the binding of the mind to a single location.

Meditation (dhyāna) is the uninterrupted flow of similar mental modifications toward that object.

Samādhi is when that same meditation shines forth as the object alone, as if devoid of its own form.

These three—dhāraṇā, dhyāna, and samādhi—together on one object constitute saṁyama.

From mastery of saṁyama arises the light of wisdom (prajñā).

The application of saṁyama is progressive, practiced in stages.

These three are more internal than the preceding limbs (yama, niyama, āsana, prāṇāyāma, pratyāhāra).

Even these are external compared to seedless samādhi (nirbīja samādhi).