Patanjali’s Ashtanga Yoga: Raja-Yoga

The Royal Path is Patanjali’s comprehensive Yoga protocol devised two-thousand years ago in India to target body, mind, and spiritual refinement. Even then, the need to be mindful of oneself as a composite person seemed necessary.

This brief article reviews the primary areas that the formal codifier of the Yoga system outlined. Patanjali is thought to have lived AD 2nd to 4th Century. He systematized what had already been a long tradition of Yoga practices, rooted in the ancient Vedic literature millennia ago. Along the course of his disciplines toward in-depth self-realization, everyday mindful living was a by-product intrinsic to the process. Yoga outlines detailed techniques for the aspirant. The explanations given here imply the traditional understanding among various schools.

Ashtanga Yoga (i.e., Eight Steps of Yoga) are these:

Yama, or moral self-discipline comprising ahimsa (i.e., nonviolence), telling the truth, not stealing, sexual restraint, and non-greed. These guidelines have ethical, moral, and social implications.

Niyama, or personal hygiene and orientations including cleanliness, serenity, self-discipline, study, and spiritual pursuits.

Asanas are physical postures and exercises. Asana involves not only a physical position, flexibility, and stretching but also a platform of biomental stability to expedite the steps of Yoga making meditation (i.e., dhyana) more efficient and profitable. The asanas stabilize and aid in “cleansing” the body of accumulated toxins.

Pranayama is breath regulation and expansion. This fourth step is central. Prana means life force and Yama implies expansion and regulation. Prana was the vital life force pervading and nourishing body, mind, and spirit. Maintaining adequate Prana by healthy foods and correct breathing techniques was essential to optimize well-being.

Pratyahara or withdrawal of the senses from their objects of attraction. This step targeted the mind (i.e., Manas). Just as moderation in food choices was needed, so too was the proper balance of sensory stimulation and input.

Dharana means stabilizing thinking and mental concentration. Before structured meditative exercises, the mind needed preparation toward stabilization from multi-focused attention to single-pointedness. This practice relates to what modern mindfulness teaches: paying attention in the present moment.

Dhyana is uninterrupted single-focused meditation with minimum thought processes. The poised inner silence of meditative absorption is the inflection point progressing to in-depth completeness in Samadhi.

Samadhi is the qualitative turning point of absorbed meditative contemplation with maximal inner silence. This level comprises two incremental phases, the latter being the ultimate: I) samprajnata Samadhi and II) asamprajnata Samadhi. Samadhi was the ideal meditative state, approximated but difficult to attain.

The above eight steps made up the package of Yoga that comprised classical practice. Today, most people use only the postures, breathing, and some meditative techniques, at least in America. Those serious about their practice may be more rigorous.

Mindfulness seems to have emerged a decade ago as the re-invention of core parts of Yoga and Buddhist meditation. Just as the need for tools to self-observe human incompleteness, frailty, pain, and suffering existed millennia ago, these remain alive and are an uppermost concern. Access to these interventions exists in books, the media, technology, and person-to-person encounters. Ayurveda is the traditional medical side of Yoga. In Ayurveda, much psychological and practical wellness and nutritional surprises still exist (Ninivaggi, 2010).

Modern mindfulness perspectives root themselves in these ancient practices. Much is simpler today, at least in the beginning. As one becomes more engaged, more complexity becomes available. Mindfulness focuses on directing the mind to pay attention and engage at the moment at hand. Classical Yoga sought self-development to the point of spiritual refinement. Modern mindfulness tries to ease stress, clear the mind, and orient one’s lifestyle toward an equipoise of mood stability and clear thinking.