The practice of Ashtānga Yoga
The ancient sage Patanjali was the first to systematize the practice of Ashtānga Yoga.

 The second verse of his famous Yoga Sutras defines Yoga thus:

Yogash Chitta Vritti Nirodhah

"Yoga is the cessation of
thought waves in the mind."

Yoga literally means "union". Through stilling the mind, union with our divine source is achieved.

Practices of Yoga (sadhana)
purify the body and the mind for the purpose of developing concentration.

Perfect concentration leads to a thoughtless mind and superconsciousness (samadhi).

This higher consciousness brings knowledge of reality and peace.

Patanjali described this process as having eight parts or "limbs"; thus the system is called Ashtānga Yoga (ashta = eight, ānga = limbs).

 
Baba Hari Dass