...Yoga…through deep breath’s…asana's will flow...observe...discover the true Self...  

THE AIM OF YOGA

According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the goal of Yoga practice is to attain Kaivalya (ultimate truth or ultimate freedom) or attain moksha (liberation).
When one becomes free from the five senses, then one start to become free from chains, free from cause and effect (Karma) which tie us to conditional reincarnation. In moksha one exists in peace. Having attained absolute knowledge or Kaivalya.

The word yoga conjures up in the minds of many Westerners images of people performing exercises and adopting unusual, sometimes contortive postures. Such exercises and postures do have a place within the practice of yoga, but it is much more than that. Indeed, the early literature on yoga describes and defines it as a form of mental rather than physical discipline. Yoga is also associated with the Indian subcontinent and the religions of Hinduism and Buddhism. This is aimed at both TT students taking courses in Comparative Religion and Philosophy and practitioners of yoga who seek to go beyond the activity and explore its spiritual dimensions. To practice, it presents yoga in the context of its historical evolution in India and seeks to explain the nature of its associations with various metaphysical doctrines.

ASHTANGA YOGA: 

The Eight Limbs of Raja Yoga

Raja Yoga was the first in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

ASHT means eight and ANGA means limbs in Sanskrit.

This because it  consist out of these following eight principles.

1. Yama: Code of conduct (Quality)
Ahimsa: non violence
Satya: truthfulness
Asteya: non stealing
Brahmacharya: non indulgence (senses)
Aparigraha: non covetousness (collections)

2. Niyama: Observances, commitments to daily practice (Actions)
Shaucha: purification
Santosha: contentment
Tapas: austerity
Swadhyaya: self study
Ishwara pranidhana: surrender of ego and divine

3. Asana: Steady posture (control of the body-perfect comfortable state)
According to the yoga philosophy there are 48 main asanas. The two most important postures are Shirshasana (headstand) and Padmasana (lotus).

4. Pranayama: Expansion of life force (cleansing of nadis = nerves)
Pranayama is made out of two Sanskrit words. Prana = life energy and Ayama = expansion. Breathing is the medium to achieve this goal. The mind and the life force are correlated to the breath. Through regulating the breathing and practicing awareness on the breath, we learn to control prana.

5. Pratyahara: Withdrawal of the senses (control of the senses)
Pratyahara is bringing the awareness to reside deep within, free from the senses and external world. The goal of Pratyahara is not to disrupt the communication from the senses organ to the brain. The awareness is just far removed from the senses. This awareness rest deep within your inner space.

6. Dharana: Concentration (control the mind)
Real Yoga starts with concentration. Concentration merges into Meditation. Meditation ends in Samhadhi. Concentration on Trikuti (space between the eyebrows) with closed eyes is preferred. The mind is easy to be controlled.

7. Dhayana: Meditaton (to find and see the true Self)
Meditation is defined as an unbroken flow of thoughts. Reduce your wants. Cultivate dispersion. Find out what is true and real. Kshipta (wandering), Vikshipta (gathering), Mudha (ignorant), Ekarga (one-pointed) and Nirodha (contrary) are the five states of the mind.

8. Samadhi: Conscious state (the real you-being yourself)
It is sublime, beyond description. Samadhi is between time and space. It is a higher state of being. In the Samadhi there are 13 stages. Maha-Samadhi is the last stage before the soul leaves the physical body.