The 12 Steps & The 8 Limbs of Yoga

Erin Finck | OCT 21, 2026

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recovery

yoga of recovery

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12 steps and yoga

Yoga & Recovery

The generally accepted story is that the 12 steps came to AA via the Oxford Group of the Theosophical Society, who developed them by systematizing Yogic teachings of India. This post is a comparison of some of those teachings & the 12 Steps. If we take a closer look, we can see a striking similarity between the 12 steps and the teachings.

8 Limbs of Yoga

Pantajali ("The Father of Yoga") outlined 8 limbs of yoga as a path to liberation from suffering. You might notice that what we most often practice here in the west (Asana) is only one of them:

Yamas - Social Ethics
Niyamas - Personal Observances
Asana - Postures/physical movement
Pranayama - Breath control
Pratyahara — Withdrawal of the senses
Dharana — Concentration
Dhyana — Meditation
Samadhi — Absorption

The Yamas & The Niyamas

The Yamas and Niyamas are Yogic teachings that were given to help people understand who they really are. The ultimate purpose of practicing the Yamas and Niyamas is to experience real discipline and freedom in our life. What starts out as a discipline can turn into devotion. It doesn’t matter what you’re devoted to, your practices, your loved ones, or your recovery. What matters is that you are devoted; connected through the heart.

Yamas - Social ethics; how we relate to others.

Ahimsa (nonviolence) - reverence, love, and compassion for all. The opposite of harm is love, compassion. The pinnacle of yoga. The more you live in this, the more connected you feel. You speak from the heart. Start with the deed, not with the thought (which is much harder). The result of this is to experience oneness.
Satya (truthfulness) - Dedicated to truth and integrity (Satya), our thoughts, words, and actions gain the power to manifest. As you practice it, what you say, becomes truth. People trust you because of your personal integrity. You become known for that. Real truth has no words. If you can speak them, it’s conditional. It’s not just a word. It’s an experience of truth.
Asteya (non-stealing) - Abiding in generosity and honesty, material and spiritual prosperity is bestowed. The more you give, the richer you get.
Brahmacharya (abstinence) - Devoted to living a balanced and moderate life, the scope of one’s life force becomes boundless. Brahma (nondual aspect of the divine) Acharya (student, follower, even teacher sometimes). Someone who follows the essence of the divine. Brahmacharya really means to have a balanced life. Control how you act and how you use your senses. Do everything you want in moderation.
Aparigraha (non-accumulation) - Acknowledging abundance, we recognize the blessings in everything and gain insights into the purpose for our worldly existence. Our society doesn’t understand the word “enough”. Taking people as your own. “Blessed are those who plant trees under whose shade they will never sit.”

Niyamas - Personal observances; how we relate to ourselves.

Soucha (internal and external cleanliness) - Through simplicity and continual refinement (Saucha) the body, thoughts, and emotions become clear reflections of the self within.
Santosha (being happy and content) - When at peace and content with oneself and others (Santosha) supreme joy is celebrated. Heart as light as a feather. Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, it’s the realization of what you already have. When you smile for no reason.
Tapas (penance). Living life with zeal and sincerity, the purifying flame is ignited (Tapas), revealing their inner light. Next time something unfavorable happens, sit with it and let the fire transform you. (Everything that happens to you is a spiritual practice, be it good or otherwise).
Swadhyaya (self-study) - Sacred study of the divine through scripture, nature, and introspection (Swadhaya) guides us to the supreme self.
Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to the higher power) - Through whole hearted dedication (Ishwara Pranidhana), we become intoxicated with the divine. Under this is also prayer. Pray through the heart, not through the mind.

Credit for these descriptions belongs to Nischala Joy Devi. Please consider buying and reading her book, The Secret Power of Yoga: A Woman's Guide to the Heart and Spirit of the Yoga Sutras.

A Closer Look at the 12 Steps & The 8 Limbs:

Here we can compare the 12 Steps with the 8 Limbs of Yoga. I have compiled these comparisons of the 12 Steps and the 8 Limbs of yoga myself. Practicing yoga and working the 12 Steps are remarkably similar endeavors.

We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable. - Ishvara Prandihana (surrender to the higher power)
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. - Ishvara Prandihana (surrender to the higher power)
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God. - Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to the higher power)
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. - Svadhyaya (self-study), Satya (dedicated to truth and integrity)
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. - Satya (dedicated to truth and integrity), Saucha (simplicity and continual refinement)
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. - Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to the higher power), Saucha (simplicity and continual refinement)
Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings. - Ishvara Pranidhana (surrender to the higher power), Saucha (simplicity and continual refinement), Svadhyaya (self-study), Satya (dedicated to truth and integrity)
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all. - Ahimsa (reverence, love, and compassion for all), Satya (dedicated to truth and integrity), Saucha (simplicity and continual refinement)
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. - Ahimsa (reverence, love, and compassion for all), Satya (dedicated to truth and integrity), Asteya (abiding in generosity and honesty), Saucha (simplicity and continual refinement), Tapas (transformation)
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. - Svadhyaya (self-study), Satya (dedicated to truth and integrity), Saucha (simplicity and continual refinement), Ahimsa (reverence, love, and compassion for all)
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry that out. - Pratyahara (sense withdrawal) → Dharana (concentration) → Dhyana (meditation); Ishvara Prandidhana (surrender to the higher power)
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs. - All Yamas & Niyamas

*Nikki Meyers, founder of Yoga & the 12 Steps of Recovery, has permission to change the word “Him” to “God.”