THE EIGHT LIMBS OF YOGA
LEARNING AND LIVING YOGA PHILOSOPHY
Taught by Stuart Sarbacker, Ph.D., Jessica Mylan, M.A., and Kate Gallagher, M.A.
Tuesdays | October 7, 2025 - November 25, 2025
6:45PM - 8:30PM Marigold [648 SW 2nd Street, Corvallis, OR]
[Sliding Scale] $230 • $280 • $320
REGISTRATION CLOSED
ABOUT THE CLASS
Yoga, as a practice, is about so much more than simply moving in and out of postures (āsanas) and breathing. The intentions of this course are practical and straightforward: to explore the unfolding depths of yoga practice and philosophy, to apply its principles to everyday life, and to practice and reflect together in community. The course covers the eight-limbed system, a coherent framework that has been handed down and elaborated upon for thousands of years and consists of five "outer limbs," which pertain to our physical bodies, senses, and social interactions, and three "inner limbs," which pertain to the mind and the cultivation of the wisdom that leads to freedom. With Stuart Ray Sarbacker and Kevin Kimple's book The Eight Limbs of Yoga: A Handbook for Living Yoga Philosophy as a companion, the course presents the eight-limbed system as something that can be turned to again and again, refined indefinitely, and applied to a life oriented toward depth and spiritual richness.
Each one hour, 45 minute session will consist of lecture, discussion, reflection, and some all-level physical practice.
WEEK BY WEEK CURRICULUM
| WEEK 1 | Introduction: 8 Limbs of Yoga Overview, Background, & Context |
|
WEEK 2 |
Yama [Restraint] |
| WEEK 3 | Niyama [Observance] |
| WEEK 4 | Āsana [Posture], Prāṇāyāma [Breath Control], and Pratyāhāra [Sense Withdrawal] (1) |
| WEEK 5 | Āsana [Posture], Prāṇāyāma [Breath Control], and Pratyāhāra [Sense Withdrawal] (1) |
| WEEK 6 | Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna [Concentration, Meditation], and Samādhi [Contemplation] (2) |
| WEEK 7 | Dhāraṇā, Dhyāna [Concentration, Meditation], and Samādhi [Contemplation] (2) |
| WEEK 8 | Conclusion: Review and Integration |
BOOK ACCESS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
ACCOMMODATIONS
For ability-related accommodations, please email us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 541-737-4785.
CANCELLATION: This program is refundable before September 30, 2025.
About the teacher
STUART RAY SARBACKER
Ph.D.
Stuart Ray Sarbacker is Professor of Comparative Religion and Indian Philosophy in the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion. His work is centered on the relationships between the religious and philosophical traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, especially with respect to the practices of mind-body discipline (yoga). He also works on issues related to method and theory in the study of religion, with a focus on religious experience and its interpretation.
His teaching focuses on topical issues in Indic philosophy and religion, spirituality and ecology, and on emergent technologies, along with broad introductory courses on World Religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. In many of his courses, Sarbacker utilizes innovative contemplative pedagogies that aim to bridge the gaps between academic study, self-reflection, and engagement in civic life.
He is a co-founder and former co-chair of the American Academy of Religion’s Yoga in Theory and Practice unit, and has also served as a co-chair and steering committee member of the American Academy of Religion’s Mysticism unit. He currently serves on the executive editorial board of the Journal of Contemplative Studies.
In addition to his academic credentials, Professor Sarbacker is an active yoga practitioner and teacher, having trained extensively in contemporary yoga and meditation traditions in India and the United States.
About the teacher
Jessica Mylan
M.A.
Jessica (200 RYT) has been practicing yoga and meditation for about 12 years. Her classes invite playfulness and intuitive movement; they also provide an opportunity to deepen a philosophical, meditative, and somatic appreciation of yoga.
She is a graduate of the Applied Ethics masters program at Oregon State University, where she centered her research on contemplative ethical frameworks in support of eco-conscious tourism. She is truly blessed to provide administrative support and care for the Contemplative Studies Initiative and the Marigold center. Alongside these academic and professional pursuits, Jessica enjoys sustainable travel & retreat, discovering sacred nature places and waterfalls, taming houseplants, and connecting with inspiring friends.
About the teacher
Kate Gallagher
M.A., 500 E-RYT
"I met contemplative practices through postural yoga as a sophomore in college. It took some years for me to slow my pace enough to develop an interest in the quieter, more still practices of meditation -- but the importance and value of embodiment work has stayed with me and remains a vital piece of my practice and teaching. My pursuit of yoga teacher trainings across the U.S. in 2009 unexpectedly landed me in the good care of teachers offering philosophical and practical teachings from the Geluk and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism. It is in this style of study and practice, and in the rich lineage of classical Indian yoga, that I have since found a personal, contemplative home - although I maintain a rich appreciation and curiosity for contemplative perspectives/practices from a great many traditions.
I earned a Master's degree at OSU in Applied Religious Ethics, completed and taught several advanced yoga teacher programs, trained in the secular, research-based curriculum of mindful self-compassion (MSC) and in 2018, had the profound privilege to spend a year in a solitary, largely silent meditation retreat. There, I pursued a dedicated trajectory of resting my nervous system, gently stabilizing my attention, and increasing perceptual clarity through shamatha (calm abiding) and vipassana (inquiry/insight) practices. Now, I work as OSU's Contemplative Studies Initiative Director, I teach courses in REL and PSY, and juggle the dynamic balance of dedicated meditator and busy householder."