The Eight Limbs of Yoga and Their Overlap with Physiotherapy

The yamas and niyamas are principles of living. Ahimsa, or non-harming, can mean pacing down for someone who always pushes through. Truthfulness means challenging unhelpful beliefs about arthritis or disc bulges. Discipline supports adherence, and self-reflection helps people notice how sleep, stress and overactivity affect their pain. Asana means a steady, comfortable position and was first meant to prepare the body for meditation. Pranayama covers breath awareness, slow deep breathing and energizing practices such as kapalabhati. Pratyahara turns attention inward, which helps body perception, emotional awareness and interoception. Dharana is focused attention, and Niamh uses balance poses with breathwork to refocus. Dhyana is meditation and mindfulness, with good evidence for mindfulness-based stress reduction. Samadhi is seeing things as they are, which she links to pain acceptance. She points out that physiotherapists already use much of this: finding values, self-care and self-compassion, checking beliefs, slow breathing, mindful movement and helping people reconnect with activities and community.