The Yoga tradition is much older, there are references in the Mahabharata, and the Gita identifies three kinds of yoga, and it is also the subject of the late Upanishad, Yogatattva. The Yoga Sutras codifies the royal or best (raja) yoga practices, presenting these as an eight-limbed system (Ashtanga). The philosophic tradition is related to the Samkhya school. The focus is on the mind; the second sutra defines Yoga – it is the cessation of all mental fluctuations, all wandering thoughts cease and the mind is focused on a single thought (ekagrata). The eight limbs or the Ashtanga Yoga propounded here are.
Yama: restraint, low of social life-non-violence, truthfulness, brahmacharya, non-accumulating/non-coveting.
Niyama: observation, low of personal life-Tapas (Discipline), Svadhyaya (Self Study), Ishvara Pranidhana (Surrender to God/Higher Self) and Contentment/Acceptance.
Asana: posture- Discipline of the body.
Pranayama: breath-control.
Pratyahara: sense-withdrawal.
Dharna: concentration.
Dhyana: meditation.
Samadhi: oneness. Later the Sahaja-Samadhi leads to true universal oneness. In contrast to the focus on the mind in the Yoga Sutras, later traditions of Yoga such as the Hatha yoga focus on more complex asanas or body postures.
