THE EIGHT LIMBS

OF YOGA
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 ABOUT BODSPHERE

Bodsphere is a leading Health & Wellness Virtual

Platform creating memorable personalised Wellness

experiences for individuals and groups. We integrate

traditional Ayurveda, Yoga and Meditation with

international wellness experiences, fitness and healthy

organic cuisine to restore balance and harmony.

 MEET THE TRAINERS

SAMARTHYA BHATNAGAR
Founder, Bodsphere

With over 17 years of experience in the Health &Fitness

Industry, Samarthya’s teaching goes beyond intelligent

alignment; moving any willing student to an introspective,

holistic experience.

He comes with a bank of certifications from Europe, South

East Asia,etc where has been conducting his workshops on

Yoga, Natural Fitness, Weight Loss Programs, etc.

He is renowned for his depth of study, his ability to present the

complexities of ancient wisdom in a practical, life-affirming

manner, as well as his unique capacity to distill the teachings

with humor and grace.

He views the science and spirituality of Yoga as a path to

explore our inner selves and elevate our consciousness, while

creating a counter-balance to the stresses of modern life.

 PREETIKA BHATNAGAR
Co-Founder, Bodsphere

With over 22 Years of experience in Gymnastics & Yoga,

Preetika is a wellness guide and a lifestyle trainer of present

era, with the expertise in the field of Holistic Health through 

Mindfulness and Ayurveda. She has been an Indian National

Level Gymnast(with over 100 awards &medals) as she trained

under Dr. Kalpana Debnath (Arjuna Awardee), Sports Authority

of India.

Preetika is a devoted Yogini and teacher who imparts her

wonderful passion for life and well-being in her teaching. Her

style pulls from multiple yogic disciplines, and is both intuitive

and steeped in the traditional aspects of yoga. 

Her mission in life is to inspire, elevate and educate as many

people as possible, to encourage all to live to their fullest,

most creative and most joyful potential.

THE EIGHT LIMBS OF YOGA
 INTRODUCTION

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutra, the eightfold path is called

Ashtanga, which literally means "Eight Limbs".

Yoga has always been a path to reach the enlightenment

state where you can enjoy the eternal bliss. The complete

path of attaining enlightenment consists of eight

systematic and practical practices of yoga. 

Ashta = Eight

Anga = Limb

This eight-limbed approach, is not to be mistaken as a

step-by-step approach but a multidimensional approach

in which all eight limbs are practised simultaneously.

 Meaning: Ethical principles that clarify
one’s relationship to the world and

everything in it. The yamas emphasize our

connection to others as an integral part of

yoga—everything is interconnected.

The practice of Yama prepares yogi to

control his behavior towards the

outer world. Yamas help a yogi to make a

firm foundation for higher practices of yoga.

YAMA

There are 5 Yamas:

Ahimsa: Nonviolence
Satya: Truthfulness
Asteya: Non-stealing
Brahmacharya: Continence
Aparigraha: Noncovetousness
 Meaning: Niyama deals with a set of
concepts for self-discipline and spiritual

purification of body & mind. Regular

practice of Niyama makes it easier for a yogi

to go through the journey of yoga and spend

a healthy, purposeful life.

 
NIYAMA

As Yama makes yogi to control over outer

world patterns, Niyama prepares yogi to

control the inner thoughts & actions.

There are 5 Niyamas:

Saucha: Cleanliness
Santosa: Contentment
Tapas: Heat; Spiritual Austerities
Svadhyaya: Study of the sacred scriptures
and of one's self

Isvara Pranidhana: Surrender to God

 Meaning: Asana is widely understood
as the totality of yoga. The

Yoga Sutras define Asana as that which is

steady and comfortable. In the yogic view, the

body is a temple of spirit, the care of which is

an important stage of our spiritual growth.

Through the practice of asanas, we develop

the habit of discipline and the ability to

ASANA

concentrate, both of which are necessary for

meditation.
 Meaning: It means Proper regulation of life
force (Prana) through certain breathing

techniques.

 
PRANAYAMA
Pranayama is the practice

to take control of the Prana – Life-force. It

consists of different techniques of breath which

allow us to move, hold or expand Prana in

different regions of the body. Pranayama uses

breath as a tool to play with Prana, with Prana

awareness moves.

Prana is vast energy lies within & outside the

body. Pranayama gives us control over this

enormous energy by inhaling the

atmosphere’s Prana (Fresh energy) & exhaling

inner Prana out. With the help of Prana, we can

direct awareness into different parts of the

body.
 Meaning: Pratya means to ‘withdraw’, ‘draw in’
or ‘draw back’, and the second

part ahara refers to anything we ‘take in’ by

PRATYAHARA
ourselves, such as the various sights, sounds and

smells our senses take in continuously.

Pratyahara is the practice to make yourself

secure against external forces which drive our

awareness inside out (although we intend to

drive awareness in). This provides a medium for

a practitioner to go deeper in internalized

consciousness.

Pratyahara is the bridge between external

cleansing practices and internal cleansing

practices. One can’t jump directly from asana

to meditation, so Pratyahara is that bridge that

connects the outer body to the internal one.

 Meaning: As each stage prepares us for the
next, the practice of pratyahara creates the

setting for dharana, or concentration. Having

relieved ourselves of outside distractions, we

can now deal with the distractions of the mind

itself.
DHARANA

In the practice of concentration, which

precedes meditation, we learn how to slow

down the thinking process by concentrating on

a single mental object: a specific energetic

center in the body, an image of a deity, or the

silent repetition of a sound. In dharana, we

focus our attention on a single point. Extended

periods of concentration naturally lead to

meditation.
 Meaning: Meditation or contemplation, the
seventh stage of ashtanga, is the uninterrupted

flow of concentration.

Although concentration (dharana) and

meditation (dhyana) may appear to be one and

the same, a fine line of distinction exists

DHYANA

between these two stages. Where dharana

practices one-pointed attention, dhyana is

ultimately a state of being keenly aware without

focus. At this stage, the mind has been quieted,

and in the stillness it produces few or no

thoughts at all. Meditation

is when you are able to find a gap between 2

consecutive thoughts, a gap of

nothingness for an extended period.

 Meaning: It means "the highest state of
consciousness". This is possible to achieve

during meditation

Samadhi is the final step in 8 limbs of yoga to

the way of experiencing the Self-realization. Up

SAMADHI

to this stage, we have established a connection

with the outer & inner world through different

practices. Samadhi is the state where the mind

stops modifying any incoming or present

thought & we start feeling the unmodified

experience. It is the ultimate bliss.

 LET'S CONNECT

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