We’ve talked about what the eight limbs of yoga are and where they came from (if you missed that episode just scroll a few back) but what is each limb’s practical, energetic, and spiritual significance in modern life? From the ethical and personal observances of Yama and Niyama, respectively, to the physical aspects of Asana, the breath control of Pranayama, and the mental focus of Dharana. And of course how it all culminates in the exploration of Dhyana and Samadhi. The Eight Limbs are here to help you cut through the noise and come back to what really matters, this episode will explain how.
Listen and learn:
🔹How each limb of yoga serves a unique purpose in personal growth
🔹What it means to “live your yoga” through these teachings
🔹The practical ways the 8 limbs help you reclaim your scattered energy
💖 Curious about the Uplifted membership and want to know more? Check it out here => https://www.brettlarkin.com/uplifted/
FREE Practice: Relaxing Meditation: Chandra Bhedana Pranayama to Calm Down
Relevant Blog: The 5 Niyamas of Yoga: The Second Path of Yoga’s Eight Limbs
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🎧 Also Listen to:
#276 – What are Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras – What Every Yogi Should Know
#279 – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Summary – BOOK ONE Explained
#282 – Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Summary – BOOK TWO Explained#364 – Dissecting The 8 Limbs and Their Origins
Transcript:
Brett:
Hello, my friends. We are here today to talk about the Eight Limbs cross-culturally to help us better understand how we can live our yoga—how we can live out what the Eight Limbs are teaching in our lives. If you missed my first episode about the Eight Limbs where we look at the Sanskrit etymology of each word and what they mean, I definitely think that would be a great precursor episode. Although you are absolutely welcome to just jump in.
First, let’s review each of the limbs and explore what each of them is teaching or offering to us on a practical level, an energetic level, and a spiritual level.
So to review, Yama is the first of the Eight Limbs, and it means ethical restraints. We often hear these talked about as the “don’ts.” These are things that often involve how we act with other people. Don’t steal, for example. Don’t be violent.
We have ahimsa—nonviolence—which also extends to yourself. Thinking mean thoughts about yourself would be a violation of ahimsa. It’s not just about not doing violence or not speaking cruelly to others. I often notice that if I slam my car door, it’s like I’m not practicing ahimsa because I was just kind of mean to my car. You can really extend these principles.
Satya is truthfulness. Don’t lie. Asteya—don’t steal, don’t take what’s not yours. This goes beyond physical things. If you’re chronically late, you’re stealing time from other people. So even if you’re not a shoplifter, you could probably work on asteya. Then there’s brahmacharya, this idea of celibacy or moderation. I think of this as “don’t waste your energy.” The yogis wouldn’t want to discharge a lot of prana through the act of sex or pleasure. It’s kind of like “all things in moderation,” although there are lots of interpretations. We could do a whole episode just on brahmacharya—and there actually is a full lecture on it in my Eight Limbs of Yoga course.
Finally, aparigraha—don’t be greedy. Non-coveting. Non-possessiveness.
So there we have the five ethical restraints. Yama, as the first limb, is like a Russian nesting doll. It has five component parts within it. All five principles I just mentioned are part of Yama.
Practically, what is Yama doing for us? It’s encouraging moral behavior, which is good for society and creates harmony in our relationships with others and with ourselves. Energetically, it’s preventing us from leaking energy through negative actions like dishonesty or violence. Anyone who’s been in a text war or a cold war with a friend or significant other knows how draining that is. From an energetic perspective, the Yamas are here to save you energy. A lot of times we hear “don’ts” and we don’t love that, but these are “don’ts” designed to help you stay rich in prana, rich in energy. Spiritually, they’re purifying us. They’re helping us become better people and play nice with others.
Now let’s look at the second limb: Niyama. The Niyamas are inward observances. These are more like the positive things to do, while Yama was more about what not to do.
We want to do saucha, which is purity. We want to cleanse ourselves—take a shower—and also internally cleanse, have clear and positive thoughts. Santosha is contentment. We want to practice gratitude. That’s something we actively cultivate. We want to appreciate the moment we’re in right now.
Tapas is discipline. Svadhyaya is self-study. We want to become students of our conditioning and our unhelpful behaviors. That’s where introspective practices and self-awareness come in. And then there’s Ishvara pranidhana, surrender—devotion, faith, a sense of interconnectedness with something greater.
Again, we have five “flowers on the branch” of Niyama. Practically, these inward observances help keep us clean, cultivate discipline, and promote a positive mindset. Energetically, while Yama helped us avoid prana leaks, Niyama helps us increase prana. So Yama is “avoid what drains you,” and Niyama is “do what nourishes you.” These are things that will actually make you feel better and increase your pranic flow. Spiritually, they strengthen self-awareness and lead us toward self-realization, if that’s how you choose to interpret it.
Moving on to Asana—the physical yoga postures. You could also translate Asana as a comfortable, steady seat. Practically, Asana builds strength, resilience, endurance. It increases muscle and bone density, helps us age better, and prepares us for emergencies by making us stronger. Energetically, Asana balances the chakras and the energy body. It works on the subtle body systems—like the nadis, the energy channels—and helps us feel more alive. Spiritually, Asana prepares us for meditation by reducing aches and pains. When we move, when we flow through postures, we can sit still for longer. Even my kid’s kindergarten teacher knows this—she has the kids dance and wiggle before sitting down to write. Same thing the Vedic sages knew: move first, then focus.
Next, the fourth limb is Pranayama—breath control. We start with the gross, physical body, then work with the more subtle breath. Breath is amazing—it’s the one part of your nervous system you can override. If you notice your breath is short and shallow, you have the power to change it. You can’t tell your body to digest faster or fall asleep instantly, but you can immediately shift your breath.
The cool thing is, if you forget to breathe consciously, your body’s got you. It’ll keep breathing automatically. But when you do control it, breath becomes this secret key to hack into your nervous system and manage stress. That’s what Pranayama offers. It improves lung capacity. I can swim underwater longer than most people because I go to the “air gym” every day in my meditation practice—extending the inhale, the exhale, holding the breath in and out. This helps regulate the nervous system.
Energetically, Pranayama allows us to direct and extend life force energy within the body. If you’re not learning these techniques, it’s like saying you don’t want to be a ninja. There’s sitali—the water breath to cool down. Breath of fire to heat up. Three-part breath to soothe. Uppers, downers, everything in between. Knowing which breath technique to use, and which one works best for you personally, is a total game-changer. That’s the whole topic of my book Yoga Life—with quizzes to match you to your ideal Pranayama techniques.
Next is the fifth limb, Pratyahara—withdrawal of the senses. Once we’ve worked with the breath, we want to reduce sensory overload and distractions. Our world is noisy. Notifications, bright screens, smells from the kitchen. Pratyahara says, let’s reclaim that scattered energy and turn inward. That’s what’s happening energetically—we’re drawing energy back to ourselves. A lot of spiritual spaces, like ashrams, are intentionally simple to reduce stimulation. Spiritually, Pratyahara helps us transcend material desires—food, sex, shopping—and turn inward to prepare for meditation.
We start to still the monkey mind. You may have heard the term vritti, the mental chatter. We can’t just say “mind, stop thinking.” It doesn’t work. That’s why we use breath and movement to help slow the thoughts, so we can tune inward and focus.
That focus is what the sixth limb, Dharana, is all about—concentration. We often use a candle, a mantra, a picture of a saint. Dharana is like giving the mind something to chew on—because otherwise, it’s going to chew up all your thoughts. The mind’s like a puppy chewing your shoes. You give it a toy instead. Same here. We redirect the mind to something neutral, something steady. It could be sacred geometry, a candle, breath prayer, or mantra.
Practically, Dharana is taking your mind to the gym. It enhances focus, memory, cognition. Back in the day, people memorized everything—poetry, scriptures. Now, we can barely remember phone numbers. Dharana trains your mental muscles. Energetically, it’s like when an orchestra stops warming up and starts playing together. The energy becomes cohesive, all tuned toward one point. That’s what happens in you when you practice Dharana.
That leads us to Dhyana—meditative absorption. At first, you’re efforting—focusing, concentrating—but after a while, it becomes effortless. You merge with the object of focus. Time flies. You feel aligned. You detach from your body, your thoughts, your identity. You start identifying less with the moving parts of yourself—your preferences, your quirks—and more with the unchanging stillness beneath. That’s deeply healing.
You’re reminded that you are more than your sensations, your emotions, your thoughts. You are something deeper—the jiva atman, the spark of divinity in you.
And this leads naturally to the eighth limb: Samadhi—absorption, enlightenment, merging. Here, we don’t just feel the stillness in ourselves—we feel the stillness in everyone. It’s the merging of personal energy with universal energy. Practically, this frees us from suffering. Spiritually, it’s bliss. It’s unity with the divine.
If you want to see where this is laid out in the Yoga Sutras, go to Sutra 2.29—that’s where the Eight Limbs are first mentioned. The Yamas and Niyamas are expanded in 2.30 to 2.34. Asana, Pranayama, and Pratyahara each get their own sutra. Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi are covered in 3.1 to 3.3.
And if you want to go deeper, check the show notes for my full Eight Limbs of Yoga course. Each limb has a lecture, a yoga class, and a beautifully designed workbook with journaling prompts. You’ll not only understand each concept, but you’ll feel it in your body.
You can access it all with a free 7-day trial of my Uplifted membership—link is in the show notes.
Thank you so much for being here and listening all the way to the end. It means the world to me. Make sure you get on your mat today—maybe start with the Yamas class, or any class that nourishes you. I’m sending you so much love. Namaste.
