The Path of Meditation (Rāja-Yoga / Aṣṭāṅga)

Rāja-yoga, the 'royal path,' is the way of systematic meditative discipline — essentially the eight-limbed yoga of Patañjali. Its method is to progressively calm and master the mind through ethical restraint, posture, breath-control, withdrawal of the senses, concentration, meditation, and absorption. The term 'rāja-yoga' became popular mainly in the modern period as a label for this classical system.