Emily McGinnis Yoga

Jump to: 8 Limbs of Yoga | The Yamas | Niyamas

Yoga Sutras: 8 Limbs of Yoga

Most of what we now call "yoga" — the poses, the flows, the movement — is actually just one small piece of a much larger map. That map comes from the Yoga Sutras, a foundational text compiled by the sage Patanjali roughly 2,000 years ago. Rather than describing a workout or a sequence of stretches, the Sutras lay out yoga as a complete path — eight interconnected limbs, each building toward greater steadiness, presence, and inner freedom.

Here's the map, in plain terms:

1. Yama — how we relate to the world around us (see more in the next section below)

2. Niyama — how we relate to ourselves (see more below)

3. Asana — the physical postures

4. Pranayama — the breath

5. Pratyahara — the inward turn / withdrawal of senses

6. Dharana — concentration

7. Dhyana — meditation

8. Samadhi — absorption / enlightenment

Asana Was Never Just the Movement

In the Yoga Sutras, asana isn't described as a sequence of poses at all. It's really just one instruction: sit. Be rooted. Be comfortable. That's it. Out of the eight limbs of yoga, only one of them has anything to do with the physical postures we now think of as "yoga." Just one. I think that's ... Read More

SAT SEP 12, 2026

Ishvara Pranidhana: The Practice of Letting Go

"Surrender to what is. Let go of what was. Have faith in what will be." - Sonia Ricotti This week closes something. Ishvara Pranidhana is the fifth niyama, and with it, we've now moved through the whole arc — the Yamas and the Niyamas both, starting with Satya all the way back at the beginning. I... Read More

SUN SEP 6, 2026

Svadhyaya: The Practice of Self-Study

There's a moment in almost every class when I ask people to notice something — their breath, a sensation in their body, a thought that keeps circling back. It's such a simple instruction. But svadhyaya, the practice underneath it, is anything but simple. Svadhyaya is usually translated as "self-s... Read More

SAT AUG 29, 2026

Tapas — The Fire That Doesn’t Burn You Out

Tapas is the Sanskrit word for heat. Literally, it means “to burn.” It’s the third Niyama in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, and if you’ve ever felt your muscles warm up mid-flow or noticed your breath start to build heat in your chest during a longer hold, you’ve already met tapas in its simplest form ... Read More

SAT AUG 22, 2026

Santosha: I am enough, right where I am.

Santosha is the second of the Niyamas — the internal observances in yoga philosophy that guide how we relate to ourselves. It's usually translated as contentment, but not the kind that depends on things going right. It's a steadier kind: the practice of meeting this moment, this body, this life, ... Read More

SAT AUG 15, 2026

Saucha: Clearing the Dust Bunnies of the Mind

There's a particular kind of clutter that doesn't show up on any to-do list. It's not the pile of mail on the counter or the closet you keep meaning to sort. It's quieter than that — the worry that resurfaces at 2 a.m. for no clear reason. The judgment you didn't ask for but can't quite put down.... Read More

SAT AUG 8, 2026

Aparigraha: Letting Go - You Don't Have to Hold It All Together

There's a concept in yoga called Aparigraha. It's one of the yamas — a set of ethical principles from the Yoga Sutras that guide how we move through the world. Aparigraha is the last of them, and perhaps the most liberating. Translated, it means non-grasping, non-possessiveness — the practice of ... Read More

SAT JUL 18, 2026

Brahmacharya: Where is Your Energy Going?

If you look up brahmacharya, the first thing you'll likely find is celibacy. And that's not wrong. In its most traditional form, brahmacharya was practiced as celibacy by monks and devoted students in ancient India. The idea was that sexual energy, redirected inward, could fuel profound spiritual... Read More

SAT JUL 11, 2026

Ahimsa: Non-harming - The Gentlest Rule You'll Ever Break

Of the five Yamas, Ahimsa is the one everyone thinks they already understand. Non-harming. Simple enough — don't hit, don't yell, don't step on the bug. But the more I sit with it, the more I think Ahimsa was never really about the bug. It's about the voice in your head at 11pm telling you that y... Read More

SAT JUN 27, 2026

Asteya: Non-stealing / Abundance

You're scrolling through Instagram. Someone's life looks easier than yours — their schedule more spacious, their body more open, their path more certain. And before you've even named it, something in your chest tightens. That tightening has a name in yoga philosophy. It's the opposite of Asteya. ... Read More

SAT JUN 20, 2026

The Yamas: How We Move Through the World

Most of us come to yoga through movement. But yoga has always been about more than what happens on the mat.

Around 400 CE, the sage Patanjali compiled the Yoga Sutras — the philosophical backbone of the practice. In his system, physical postures are just one piece of an eight-part path. The first asks how we treat the world around us.

That's the Yamas — five ethical principles, not rules, but invitations.

Ahimsa — non-harming. Moving through the world, and ourselves, with compassion.
Satya — truthfulness. Living in alignment with what's real.
Asteya — non-stealing. Honoring what's enough, without taking what isn't ours.
Brahmacharya — right use of energy. Directing ourselves with intention.
Aparigraha — non-attachment. Holding on a little more loosely.

Niyamas: Turning Inward

If the Yamas asked how we move through the world with others, the Niyamas ask something quieter: how do we relate to ourselves?

They're the second limb of Patanjali's eight-limbed path — five observances centered on care rather than restraint. Where the Yamas draw boundaries outward, the Niyamas turn the lens in.

Saucha — clarity. Clearing what clutters the body and mind.
Santosha — contentment. Meeting this moment as it is.
Tapas — discipline. The inner fire that keeps us showing up.
Svadhyaya — self-study. Getting to know ourselves without flinching.
Ishvara Pranidhana — surrender. Trusting what we can't control.

We'll move through each one here each week, starting with Saucha.

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