And in this immensity my thought is drowned and it is delightful for me to be shipwrecked in this sea.

"This antiforce (= reaction), born from gravity, has its own destiny: the deeper the compression, the greater will be the burst of energy in the opposite direction"

- Scaravelli

Ashtanga: Yoga's 8-limb framework

Ashta means "eight" and anga "limb." This refers to the eight-fold path named in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, a sacred yoga text of over 195 statements, which describes yoga as a holistic spiritual tradition. The eight limbs correspond to the following:

  1. Yama: "The Golden Rule"
    ahimsa (non-violence)
    satya (truthfulness)
    asteya (non-stealing)
    brahmacharya (continence)
    aparigraha (non-covetousness)

  2. Niyama: Restraints
    Saucha (cleanliness)
    Santosha (contentment)
    Tapas (heat, spiritual austerities)
    Svadhyaya (Study of sacred scriptures and one’s self)
    Isvara pranidhana (surrender to the divine)

  3. Asana: Physical postures of yoga

  4. Pranayama: Breath control

  5. Pratyahara: Sense Withdrawal, attention is internally directed

  6. Dharana: Concentration, focusing on a single point or drishti

  7. Dhyana: Meditation or Contemplation (being keenly aware without focus)

  8. Samadhi: Merging with the object of meditation