As I noted more than a year ago, the first two of Patanjali’s eight limbs of yoga are real killers (“The First Two Limbs of Yoga,” February 27, 2011). Yama and niyama, that is. Restraints and observances. The first involves non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, preservation and cultivation of sexual energy, and non-covetousness. Non-violence? Ah, a pure dream. Truthfulness? A challenge to a born manipulator like me. The second involves purity, contentment, spiritual intensity, study of spiritual knowledge and self, and active surrender to the divine. Purity? Alcohol and tobacco are still with me after so many years. Contentment? Another brainless dream. Active surrender to the divine? Forget it, and especially the divine, which is entirely beyond my reach! No wonder that so many books about yoga skip the first two limbs almost entirely. They must strike most people as somewhat too easy to talk about at any length. Which is why we are all about the remaining six limbs, and especially about asana, pranayama, and dhyana. That is, postures, breathing techniques, and meditation. Easy-peasy, for true. Restraints and observances thus remain the challenges to behold. I only wonder why Patanjali classified them as the first two limbs of yoga. The killers.