One of the most comprehensive ancient texts on the philosophy and practice of yoga is Yoga sutras – a collection of 196 guiding texts or aphorisms, written about 1,700 – 2,200 years ago. It is believed that it was compiled by Patanjali – referred to as father of the classical yoga. The Yoga Sutras are best known for the eight “limbs” or steps of yoga leading to liberation. The first two limbs refer to disciplines or practices concerning our interaction with the external world and to internal duties. The third limb concerns the physical aspect of yoga – practicing of physical postures or asanas. Its aim is to prepare our body to spiritual practices such as meditation by releasing physical tension and training both strength and flexibility. The fourth limb is Pranayama, which can be translated as both breath control as well as freedom of breath. Through breathing practices, we can tap into our life energy (Prana). Breath plays a very important role in yoga and is one of its key practices. It helps us to connect higher power and our inner core and to tap into spirituality (In Latin, spiritus means breath, it’s the origin of the word “spirit”).

 The fifth and the sixth limbs are withdrawal of the senses (abstraction) and concentration of the mind, and the seventh is meditation. The last limb is “samadhi” – a state of inner peace, which allows us to experience happiness and contentment and to connect with our true Self.