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Raja yoga

Raja yoga

Raja yoga

The word ‘raja’ means ‘king’, thus raja yoga is the kingly or royal yoga. The path of raja yoga usually refers to the system of yoga that is described in the Yoga Sutras of Rishi Patanjali (c. 500 BCE). In this ancient text Patanjali gives eight stages of yoga (ashtanga yoga) which are known collectively as raja yoga.

Raja yoga is a comprehensive yoga system which deals with the refinement of human behaviour and personality through the following systematic stages, each of which is a rung in the ladder to the development of spiritual awareness and awakening:

  1. Yama (self-restraints, social observances)
  2. Niyama (personal, inner disciplines)
  3. Asana (postures)
  4. Pranayama (pranic breathing techniques)
  5. Pratyahara (sensory withdrawal)
  6. Dharana (concentration or one-pointedness)
  7. Dhyana (meditation)
  8. Samadhi (absorption, self-realization)

Further reading: Four Chapters on Freedom

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