Yoga

"15. Yoga is destroyed by the following six causes:-- Over-eating, exertion, talkativeness, adhering to rules, i.e., cold bath in the morning, eating at night, or eating fruits only, company of men, and unsteadiness.

16. The following six bring speedy success:-- Courage, daring, perseverance,
discriminative knowledge, faith, aloofness from company.

17. The ten rules of conduct are: ahimsâ (non-injuring), truth, non-stealing, continence,
forgiveness, endurance, compassion, meekness, sparing diet, and cleanliness.

18. The ten niyamas mentioned by those proficient in the knowledge of Yoga are: Tapa,
patience, belief in God, charity, adoration of God, hearing discourses on the principles of religion, shame, intellect, Tapa and Yajna." - Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The Hatha Yoga Pradipika is another one of my favorite books from the Curriculum of the A.'.A.'.

Aleister Crowley has his own book on Yoga called "Eight Lectures on Yoga".

The Eight Limbs of Yoga are:

I. Yama:

1. Ahimsa: Nonviolence

2. Satya: Truthfulness

3. Asteya: Nonstealing

4. Brahmacharya: Nonlust

5. Aparigraha: Noncovetesness

II. Niyama:

1. Saucha: Cleanliness

2. Santosa: Contentment

3. Tapas: Sustained practice

4. Svadhyaya: Self study

5. Isvara pranidhana: Surrender to God

III. Asana:

1. Practice of yoga postures.

IV. Pranayama:

1. Practice of breathing exercises.

V. Pratyahara:

1. Withdrawal of the senses, meaning that the exterior world is not a distraction from the interior world within oneself.

VI. Dharana:

1. Concentration, meaning the ability to focus on something uninterrupted by external or internal distractions.

VII. Dhyana:

1. Meditation. Building upon Dharana, the concentration is no longer focused on a single thing but is all encompassing.

VIII. Samadhi:

1. Bliss. Building upon Dhyana, the transcendence of the self through meditation. The merging of the self with the universe. Sometimes translated as enlightenment.

"Be thou athelete with the eight limbs of Yoga; for without these thou art not disciplined for any fight." - The Heart of the Master by Aleister Crowley