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What is Yoga?
The Indian sage Pantanjali (200 BC), systematized the science of self inquiry in Sanskrit. In his treatise, the Yoga Sutras, he describes the eight limbs, which is known by its Sanskrit name, Ashtanga Yoga (eight - ashta, limb - anga). Patanjali's eight limbs are:
1. Yama: codes of restraint, abstinences
2. Niyama: observances, self-training
3. Asana: meditation posture
4. Pranayama: expansion of breath and prana
5. Pratyahara: withdrawal of the senses
6. Dharana: concentration
7. Dhyana: meditation
8. Samadhi: deep absorption
They address the cultivation of awareness in everything from proper ethical conduct to meditation. The third branch of this sy