1. Yama is the first element of yoga. It keeps people away from world by troubles. According to Patanjali, there are five code of conduct of yama. These are:
1. Satya : One must speak the truth. One should never cheat others.
2. Ahimsa : One must refrain from causing harm, violence, jealousy, hatered, anger, oppression etc.
3. Asatya : One must not steal others money or idea. To Steal from human is to steal from God himself.
4. Brahmacharya : One must avoid reading sexual Literature, one must keep ones mind at peace, avoid eating spicy food.
5. Aparigraha : One should not collect wealth and other items more than required.
2. Niyama : This is related with body and sense. It helps in cleansing of body. There are five Niyamas:
1. Saucha : Everyday body should be cleaned externally as well as internally.
2. Santosh : One should remain content is controlling diseases.
3. Tapa : It trains a person to face difficulties so that one can move towards the ultimate goal.
4. Swadhyana : One must read religions scriptures and vedas with devotion.
5. Iswara Pranidhana : It means devoting everything to the God Almighty. We should thank God for the intelligence power, body etc.
3. Asana : It has third position. To keep the body in correct posture is called asana. It enhances agility and flexibility. it makes the bones and muscles strong. It protects us from various diseases. It increases life expectancy. One can work more by consuming less energy.
4. Pranayama : It makes the heart and lungs strong. It reduces the rate of breathing. It keeps away the respiratory diseases.
5. Pratyahara : This is the process of control over inner self. It helps the person to detach from external things and teaches to control over senses.
6. Dharana : One has to concentrate on the mind during dharna. One must concentrate on the central point of forehead, naval or peaceful light at some distance. It leads to samadhi.
7. Dhayana : A sense of radical self-awareness is called dhayana. It is attached to life each and every moment one must concentrate on God without a wavering mind.
8. Samadhi : Union of Jivatma with Paramatma is called Samadhi.
Samadhi state is attained with disappearance. of self-awareness. To control the impulses of mind is Samadhi. In this state, one experiences the divine happiness.
