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yoga

After workout glow, did yoga practice today. Finished with this lovely meditation ✨ Did you do your workout?

Saturday

Wanted to go for a jog, but it was raining so yoga it is

Day 3 - Ashtanga yoga

Yoga time 🤍🧘🏽‍♀️☺️

Chilling out in style and safety … 😻

Partner Yoga

Yoga 🧘🏼‍♀️

Yoga time

Balms

I just had run for 5km and yin yoga after. Super tired but fun! I’ll have power yoga tomorrow

Very tired

Life lessons

Would you wake up at 5AM gather your soul and start the day with exercise? Be it yoga, jog, walk, cycle or anything at all? Or you prefer to do it after work?

Morning yoga

How I always want to start my mornings…

Ashtanga yoga

Відкрили сезон йоги на морі 🤍🧘🏽‍♀️🌊

Opened the yoga season by the sea 🤍🧘🏽‍♀️🌊

DISCLAIMER: This short read is only for those who want to take, or are already taking yoga practice seriously.

What Are the Eight Limbs of Yoga?

Around 400 CE, Maharishi Patanjali, a sage and scientist from India, wrote 196 aphorisms on yoga, popularly known as The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The word sutra means "to thread or weave," just as the English word suture means "to stitch together." These sutras are remarkably clear, accurate, and full of timeless wisdom that aims to prevent, overcome, and transcend human misery and suffering—even in modern times.

The Yoga Sutras are divided into four sections, or padas. The practice of the eightfold path of yoga comes from the second section, called the Sadhana Pada. In this chapter, Sage Patanjali refers to this eightfold path as Ashtanga Yoga in Sutra 2.29. He presented this path to help us transcend human suffering and attain self-realization and liberation. Simply put, this way of living promotes the harmonious integration of body, mind, and spirit, leading to complete health and well-being.

The following is my personal observation and brief explanation based on my own experiences regarding some of the common issues and mistakes we make when first approaching yoga, as well as those already practicing.

First, we need to define two words. The first is meditation, which is the act of giving your full attention to one thing only. The second is contemplation, which is the act of thinking deeply, quietly analyzing, and reflecting at length on many different thoughts and concepts without any particular order. I believe many people confuse meditation with introspection and contemplation.

I'm sure some of you have tried meditating before and noticed how difficult it is to maintain complete focus on one particular thought, feeling, or concept. The reasons why we struggle to focus our minds are probably not what you think. It will all make sense shortly and may even disappoint you—or, hopefully, help you realize certain things about yourself and your present or past situation.

There are eight limbs (or pillars) of yoga, and each one is essential for progressing to the next. If you skip one pillar, you are setting yourself up for failure. Why would you want to move to the fifth grade if you skipped the fourth? You have free will, and of course you can try, but you are likely to fail even the simplest test.

For the sake of keeping this presentation brief, I will only bring your attention to the first six limbs. The last two are way out of my comprehension to be honest.

1. YAMAS

Social ethics: kindness, truthfulness, non-stealing (both material and spiritual), moderation, and generosity.

2. NIYAMAS

Personal practices: purity, contentment, austerity, self-study ("Know thyself"), and surrender.

3. ASANAS

Postures that cultivate stillness and a sense of infinity.

4. PRANAYAMA

Breath control, mindful breathing, and the oxygenation of the body's cells.

5. PRATYAHARA

Turning inward through the conscious withdrawal of attention from external stimuli.

6. DHARANA

Focused concentration by disciplining the mind to observe thought processes objectively and gradually quieting mental activity.

Asanas, Pranayama, Pratyahara, and Dharana are what most people attempt to practice without first observing or mastering the first two pillars, even though those are essential. The results are often the ones not desired.

Notice how there are individuals on social media and also people running yoga studios and calling themselves teachers of yoga, Kundalini activation, Akashic Records, or even tantra, often taking these traditions completely out of context. You have to wonder whether those individuals teaching masterclasses even have a solid understanding of the eight limbs of yoga. Through simple critical observation, you can often see that they ignore the foundational steps and jump directly into advanced practices.

Many highly disciplined and experienced yoga practitioners believe that skipping the foundational steps is a recipe for disaster. Doing so can contribute to physical health issues, but more importantly mental and emotional imbalances and energetic blockages. These experiences may be mistaken for the so-called "dark night of the soul," when in reality they may simply be the result of neglecting the two foundational disciplines of yoga(yamas and niyamas).

Now you must be completely honest with yourself. Otherwise, you won't be able to correct your course if the yoga path is your chosen route toward self-realization.

Read through the first two pillars again. How many of the principles of social ethics and personal practice have you truly mastered? Were you even aware that these disciplines existed?

I'm 36 years old. I have spent half my life studying, learning, and trying to become better at yoga. Guess which pillar I'm still trying to master after more than 15 years?...YAMAS.

It seems easy at first, but once you truly embark on the journey of inner work, you quickly discover how challenging it really is.

Back in 2011, I did what everyone around me was doing. I went straight into posture, meditation, Pranayama without properly preparing myself. Believe it or not, I became sick—mentally, emotionally, and physically. My body fell into an unhealthy imbalance on many biological and emotional levels.

Long story short, I met some compassionate individuals who helped me recover through herbal remedies (Ayurveda) and reintegration techniques. They helped me restore balance to both my body and mind.

Now, concerning meditation as the act of focusing on one thing: today we face air pollution, light pollution, food pollution, noise pollution, electromagnetic pollution, and many other forms of environmental distraction that most people rarely consider. These factors make it much harder for people like you and me to properly practice yoga. We are constantly bombarded by external signals and noise. Meditation in modern society is therefore difficult—but certainly not impossible. There are exceptions, but they are very rare.

So the next time you hear someone say things like, "I know how to meditate," or "I teach masterclasses on yoga and Kundalini energy," take those claims with a grain of salt. There is a good chance they skipped important foundational steps and may unintentionally encourage others to do the same.

In the past—and even in the not-so-distant past—many people left busy cities and retreated to monasteries, mountain caves, deserts, and other isolated places where environmental distractions were minimal. I strongly believe those individuals had a better opportunity to practice yoga deeply and correctly.

Now do you understand why I said you might be disappointed?

More than 15 years... and I'm still working on the first pillar.

This brief presentation is the result of my commitment to the teachings of Maharishi Patanjali, along with the supplementary disciplines associated with Mahavatar Babaji that were introduced to me by someone I dated during that period of my life.

These are not simply my personal theories or imaginative ideas. They reflect principles that many serious practitioners recognize, even though they are often overlooked or ignored by those beginning the path of inner work.

I would also like to clarify that the eightfold path of yoga is not the only path toward self-realization. There are many valid paths. However, because yoga has become such a popular tool for spiritual development, I decided to write this post.

Thank you for reading this far. I truly appreciate your interest.

There is absolutely no obligation to comment or share your personal experiences. However, if you choose to do so, you are more than welcome to share your thoughts.

DON'T BE A SKIPPER 🧘🏾

Back to basics

⚡️⚡️⚡️

Christmas Yoga  😉

Yoga time 🧘🏽‍♀️🤍☺️

Morning sesh 🧘🏻‍♀️

Daily

Muchos preguntaan que si mis publicaciones son IA no mamen 😂wey no lo son, que si yo soy IA? De cual te fumaste? 🤭.... Ehhhh bueno.... ia? Creo que se trata más de buenos ángulos y una cámara, estudio fotografía en mis tiempos libres así que es buena ventaja 😉 no somos personas feas, solo necesitamos tener una buena actitud y una cámara de maravilla y todo saldrá bien, cariño si no eres fotogénic@ esta bien solo ten buen autoestima y cámara en manos y sabrás que tú belleza no se mide se entiende 🤗❤️

ACLARACIONES

Many ask if my posts are AI, come on 😂 dude, they’re not. Am I AI? Which one did you smoke? 🤭.... Ehhhh well.... AI? I think it’s more about good angles and a camera, I study photography in my free time so that’s a good advantage 😉 we’re not ugly people, we just need to have a good attitude and a wonderful camera and everything will turn out fine, darling if you’re not photogenic that’s okay just have good self-esteem and a camera in hand and you’ll know that your beauty isn’t measured, it’s understood 🤗❤️

CLARIFICATIONS

Using cats can be very useful to improve your yoga experience😉🐈

deayumson

A little more awareness in everyday moments
🧘‍♀️🤗

Yogis

Yoga 🧘 makes you feel good everyday.

Stretch

I can't do it all the time with discipline, but it feels very good to stretch my body.

Straighten up!

I’ll probably be working, but if you live near Davie, FL. This is open to all.

Yoga at the farm.

I need a new yoga mat but there's too much choice! I need a recommendation! I'll be using it primarily at home on carpeted floor. 🙏🤷‍♂️ please help!

New yoga mat

I’ve got a terrible knot in my back, looking for someone to help me with my yoga and possibly give me a back massage

A Boo community for meeting other Yoga enthusiasts.

Yoga Community

Saturday

Day 3 - Ashtanga yoga

Yoga time 🤍🧘🏽‍♀️☺️

Chilling out in style and safety … 😻

Partner Yoga (edited)

Yoga 🧘🏼‍♀️

Good morning my loves....

When your working on your yoga and a little Dude decides to join in 😂 🧘‍♀️

Project Goals

Currently being judged

Yoga recovery day 🙌

Beautiful view, lost in thought