Patanjali

The eight limbs are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi. They appear in the Yoga Sutra as a disciplined path for ethical conduct, posture, breath, concentration, and absorption.

Traditional accounts sometimes connect the Yoga Sutra author with the grammarian Patanjali, but modern scholars often treat the identification as uncertain. The yoga text itself is usually discussed separately from the Mahabhashya on grammar.

Classical Yoga shares many metaphysical ideas with Samkhya, including purusha and prakriti. Patanjali's system differs by making disciplined meditation and liberation practice central.

The text defines yoga around the stilling or restraint of the fluctuations of the mind. That definition appears at the start of the Yoga Sutra and frames later practices of concentration and samadhi.