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How to Practice Ishvara Pranidhana: Surrender to a Higher Source
The final niyama in yoga’s eight limbed path is ishvara pranidhana, or surrder to a higher source. The yoga niyamas are the second limb of the eight limbed path, and are referred to as mental observances. Both the yamas and niyamas are the foundational teachings in yoga philosophy, and Ishvara Pranidhana is the perfect niyama to summarize the first two limbs of practice. One of my favorite resources regarding this topic is The Yamas and Niyamas, Exploring Yoga’s Ethical Principles by Deborah Adele. Before diving into the topic of surrender, the idea of a higher source is personalized to each practitioner. Traditional texts may refer to this higher source as God, or Brama…
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The 5 Yoga Yamas: Yoga Philosophy and the Eight-Limbed Path
This post contains affiliate links, reash disclaimer for more info. I recently wrote a post about the eight-limbed path and the yoga philosophy. Traditionally the first limb taught to students is the yamas. In today’s day and age, yoga has become more of a mainstream exercise than a truly spiritual practice. This means philosophies such as the yamas and eight-limbed path often get overlooked. While I’m not here to get into the debate of “what is yoga,” I do want to share the philosophies of the practice so we can have a deeper understanding of its purpose in our lives. If you haven’t checked out my post about the eight-limbed path I recommend…
