So if Yoga is split up into 8 parts, what are they?

OK so here goes. I'm not sure how far this blog will go but if there is one thing I did want to go through using this medium it is Ashtanga Yoga.

Ashtanga Yoga is all of the elements of Yoga practice listed in eight principles. It is seen as a guide to practically applying Yoga to our daily life.

Ashtaanga being two words simply meaning 8 (Ashta) and tanga can be translated as limbs, principles or intertwining facets.

The most important thing to remember regarding the relationship between these 8 principles is that they are an integrated system.

What do we mean by that?

It means that Ashtanga is not a series of points to accomplish/complete then moving on to the next. Instead they interact and function interdependently as a whole.

'Within Yoga Philosophy it is said that by embracing Ashtanga Yoga, intuitive wisdom dawns and reveals our inner radiance.'

I think it's very easy to make things sound an awful lot more complicated than they need to be and a lot of the time if anything sounds too religious or flower-power hippyish it can immediately register as negative to the listener/reader.

I'll end this blog by rephrasing the quote above

Within the Yoga tradition we say that by understanding the 8 limbs and following them as much as we can. Our natural tendency towards enlightenment or knowing ourselves is encouraged therefore revealing our inner light or simply who we really are.

So the next time I will start with the first limb of Ashtanga Yoga.

Have a great day whatever you're up to:)

So what's all this Yoga really about??

Hi there,

Thanks very much for stopping by. I've left this blog untouched pretty much since I set it up last year. It was suggested to me that it would be a good idea to set one up but didn't see the need or any reasoning for one until now.

Unfortunately there is only so much you can cram into a 1 hour class and due to the fact that we practice outdoors for 5-6 months a year our focus is almost entirely on the 3rd Limb of Yoga which is the Asanas (postures......the physicality of yoga) but there are 8 and 2 preceding what we tend to practice primarily if not solely.

I'm going to use this Outdoor Yoga Blog to fill in the blanks so to speak in a fast-life-friendly bitesize version covering what we don't get to go through in class as we only have such a short time together.

The vast majority of people take up Yoga for Flexibility, Fitness, Strengthening, Stress Relief and a myriad of reasons associated with physical issues which is absolutely fine and if one wants to leave it there that's perfectly fine too.

However if you'd like to learn a little bit more about what Yoga is about you can follow this blog and hopefully it'll add to your yoga practice or be the beginnings to:)

Hoping you're having a fantastic day wherever this finds you.

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