Taking yoga beyond your mat!

Below is some helpful information, and  an explanation on the eight limbs of yoga. As you may or may not know your yoga practice is much more than the physical postures (asana). Once you've been on the mat for a while, your practice will start to take on an additional purpose as the principles of yoga become your thoughts, words and actions.
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The "Eight Limbs of Yoga" listed below can serve as a guide for living a meaningful and purposeful life.
 
1. YAMAS are ethical considerations to help guide interactions with others

• Ahimsa: practice nonviolence in thought, word and deed; practice self-love
• Satya: tell the truth; opt for silence if your words may harm others
• Asteya: do not steal, even in non-material ways, such as withholding information or time
• Brahmacharya: use your energy wisely and with intention; avoid excess or overindulgence
• Aparigraha: you are enough and you have everything you need already 

2. NIYAMAS  are practices that inform self-discipline and worldview. 

• ​Saucha: “Leave a place cleaner than you found it” (cleanliness)
• Santosha: “Don’t worry, be happy” (contentment)
• Tapas: “When the going gets tough, the tough gets going” (willpower and self-discipline)
• Svadhyaya: “Learn from your mistakes” (study of self and sacred scriptures)
• Ishvara Pranidhana: “Have faith” (surrender to the divine)

     
3. ASANA refers to the physical postures practiced in yoga.

• Derived from the root word as in Sanskrit, which means seat, asana is designed to prepare the body and mind for seated meditation. The term asana refers to the ancient yogic tradition of taking a seat close to your teacher. Beyond the physical, asana refers to an outlook that life is full of opportunities to learn, even through obstacles: find the teacher in all things.

4. PRANAYAMA refers to breathing.

• It is the only bodily function that you perform consciously and unconsciously; it can be voluntary or involuntary. However, breathing patterns, such as a tendency to hold your breath, are indicators of mind and body health. Pranayama is the practice of consciously controlling the breath, of taking your breath back into your own lungs. In Sanskrit, prana is our vital life force, so pranayama is the cultivation and mindful use of life force. Pranayama leads to improved concentration, health, focus, clarity, creativity, purpose and compassion.

5. PRATYAHARA is the practice of withdrawing from external stimuli to enhance internal       awareness.

• Mindfully return to quiet through meditation and removal of distractions. Set aside 5-10 minutes each day to sit or lay quietly with your eyes closed. As your practice grows, your heightened sense of awareness leads to an ability to see things are they are, not as you are. Draw inward, not to silence your senses, but to quiet them enough to see beyond yourself.

6. DHARANA is the practice of intense concentration.

• Usually focusing on one object, such as the flame of a candle or a picture of a deity. This practice trains the mind in stillness and focus. 
• Start with just a few minutes each day and expand your practice as it serves you. If other thoughts or distractions flicker through your experience, recognize them then let them go.

7. DHYANA is the state of being keenly aware, yet without focus.

• It is awareness without judgment or attachment; it is peaceful, meditative and precedes complete bliss.
• It is otherwise known to artists and athletes as the flow state. Consider moments in your life where you were so engrossed in the present that you lost track of time or desire (even for food).
• The practice of yoga offers a return to this state.

8. SAMADHI is a state of ecstasy.

• It is transcendence, connectivity with the divine, a coupling with the universe, and a mind-body integration of the concept that “all things are one.

                                       https://www.gaia.com/lp/content/the-8-limbs-of-yoga-explained