yoga quilt block 4: eight fold path

This is called a carpenter’s wheel square. Having 8 points it brought to mind the eight limbs of yoga, or ashtangha yoga – which is a lot more than sun salutations. It reminds me that asana, practicing the poses, is only one of the limbs, but one that can be done with the other limbs in mind. Yoga is mostly an off the mat. A bare bones description of the eight limbs as I understand them:

  1. yama -not doing what you shouldn’t and doing what you should – eg. be truthful, don’t steal
  2. niyama -developing healthy practices – e.g. cleanliness, contentment, self-study
  3. asana – poses – to be in the body with both ease and effort
  4. pranayama – breath/energy practice
  5. pratyahara – drawing attention inward 
  6. dharana -concentration and focus
  7. dhyana – meditation
  8. samadhi – awakening, enlightenment, bliss
Here’s my square….

And the back of the square. I like it. 

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