Ashtang Yog as described by Maharishi Patanjali 
Yam, Niyam, Asan, Pranayam, Pratyahar, Dharana, Dhyan and Samadhi. 
By following and practicing these 8 limbs of Ashtang Yog properly, a person becomes entitled to attain God.

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1. ​Yam - These are the five. Ahinsa (non-violence), Satya (truth), Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigrah.

2. Niyam - These are also five. Shauch(purity), Santosh(satisfaction),Tap(austerity), Swadhyay(self-study) and IshwarPranidhan(God's worship).

3. Asan  

4. Pranayam

5. Pratyahar

6. Dharana

7. Dhyan

8. Samadhi

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Here we are presenting each in brief-

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1. Yam

These are five.

Ahinsa (non-violence) - The meaning of non-violence is not only not to kill anyone, but not to harm any living being in any way with your mind, word and deed, not to harm anyone and not to have any hatred or animosity towards anyone is non-violence. The worshiper should not have enmity with anyone, but should love everyone. May there be affection for everyone in his eyes and sweetness in his speech. Those who fill their stomach with their flesh by killing or getting them killed cannot become a Yogi even in all the three periods. Sadhak(Yogi) should be non-violent in every place, at every time and in every circumstance. 'अहिंसा परमो धर्म:'  Non-violence is the ultimate Dharm. The aim of non-violence is to uproot the furious, cruel and brute tendencies hidden in the human being from the root. When even the shadow of violence is not visible in the mind, then it should be understood that non-violence has been accomplished.

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Satya (truth) - Truth is the second Yam. Sadhak should know the truth by mind, word and deed, believe the truth, speak the truth and write only the truth, do not speak false or untrue, nor behave falsely. In order to attain the form of truth i.e. Supreme God, the seeker has to be completely honest. In order to realize the Lord as the truth, the worshiper must live in truth, become the form of truth and have complete and paramount attachment to the truth, not partial. To lay the foundation of spiritual practice, it is necessary to become a Satyavrati(one who speak only truth). Truth is the greatest vow.

The Vedas and scriptures are filled with the glory of truth.
In the Upanishads it is said-

🌷सत्येन लभ्यस्तपसा ह्येष आत्मा। (Mundako 3/1/5)

God is attained only by truth and austerity.

🌷सत्यमेव जयते नानृतम्।(Mundako 3/1/6)

Truth prevails, not untruth.

In Mahabharata it is said-

🌷सत्यं स्वर्गस्य सोपानम्। (Mahabharata Udyog 33/47)

Truth is the stairway to heaven.

Maharishi Manu has said-

🌷नास्ति सत्यात्परो धर्मो नानृतात्पातकं परम्। (Manu Smriti 8/82)

There is no Dharm greater than truth and no sin greater than untruth.

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Asteya - The third Yam among the Yamas is Asteya. Steya means to steal, Asteya means not to steal by mind, word and deed. Sadhak(Yogi) should not steal, behave truthfully. Do not lift anything without the permission of the owner of the object.

The demerit of the Steya(theft) is visible everywhere. Whatever is done in order to possess more than what is necessary for the person is theft from the moral and spiritual point of view. Eating more than necessary is also theft. Not taking a ticket in a bus or train and leaving saying that 'I have a pass or a seasonal ticket' is theft. Running a fake coin or keeping excess money given by the shopkeeper due to ignorance in his own pocket is also theft. Getting work done by giving a bribe is also theft.

Why do humans steal? The real reason for theft is the innumerable desires and uncontrolled senses of man. To avoid theft, the Sadhak has to control his desires, discipline the senses and control the mind.

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Brahmacharya – Brahmacharya is a combination of two words – Brahma and Charya. Brahma means God, Ved, knowledge and semen. Charya means contemplation, study, acquisition and protection. Thus the meaning of celibacy would be - the Sadhak(Yogi) should contemplate on God, behave according to Vedas, study the Vedas, acquire knowledge and preserve the semen.

It is necessary for the mind to be completely free from the desires and subjects to move in Brahma. Sex is the most powerful of all the lusts and desires, so the meaning of Brahmacharya is mainly to preserve the semen. The seeker should be Jitendriya(one who has controlled the senses).

In the Upanishads it is said-

🌷नायमात्मा बलहीनेन लभ्य:।  (Mundko 3/2/4)

A person inferior to Brahmacharya cannot attain God.

Brahmacharya is necessary for a Sadhak in the same way as electricity for an electric vehicle. Without this, a Sadhak cannot progress on the path of Yog. It is only by the power of Brahmacharya that one can overcome the fickle senses and the crooked mind.

Regarding the glory of Brahmacharya in the Vedas it has been said-

🌷ब्रह्मचर्येण तपसा देवा मृत्युमपाघ्नत। (Atharvaved 11/5/19)

Through Brahmacharya and austerity, scholar people defeat even death. 

Apart from the genitals, other senses should also be controlled. The eyes should be prevented from running towards the words, the nostrils from running towards the smell, the tongue from the taste, the skin from being engrossed in touch pleasure.

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Aparigrah - Aparigrah means not to store more things than necessary. Sadhak should collect only as many things as are necessary for a simple life. Think seriously before buying any item. Buy only if it doesn't work without them. Today human beings are suffering due to excessive accumulation of substances.

Not accepting and discarding the subjects by Seeing the defects of acquisition, protection, decay(destruction), accompany, violence etc. in  them is Aparigrah. That is, to give up harmful, unnecessary things and pride etc. harmful unnecessary inauspicious thoughts is Aparigrah.

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Together these five Yamas are the first part of  Upasana-Yog.

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2. Niyam

These are also five-

Shauch(purity) -  Shauch means purity. Sadhak should be pure from inside and outside. One should purify internally by giving up attachment and aversion and purify externally with water etc. The condition of the body has a great effect on the mind, so the body should be purified by bathing. The dress should also be pure, the place of residence should also be clean. One don't like a place where things are dirty, messy and untidy. Internal-purification should also be taken care of. The mind of those who eat eggs, meat and fish, drink alcohol, cigarette, bidi, charas, ganja, opium also gets polluted.

The purification of the intellect, the clearness of the mind, the ability to concentrate, control over senses and the ability for self-realization are attained by Shauch.

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Santosh(satisfaction) - Satisfaction does not mean sitting idly by keeping your hand on your hand. Santosh means - always making effort by leaving laziness. Do not be happy in profit and not dissatisfied in loss by making effort with righteousness. Santosh is the key to attaining happiness and peace.

Maharishi Vyas writes-

🌷यच्च कामसुखं लोके यच्च दिव्यं महत्सुखम्। तृष्णाक्षयसुखस्यैते नार्हत: षोडशीं कलाम्।। (Mahabharat Shanti 176/46)The Pleasure derived from the enjoyment of lustful things in this world or the great pleasure of heaven is not even equal to the sixteenth part of happiness arising from Trishnakshaya(destruction of materialistic desires).

Yes, keep one thing in mind. Satisfaction should be done only in worldly things, not in spiritual practice. There should be infinite dissatisfaction in meditation. Sadhak should never be satisfied with his devotion and love for God.

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Tap(austerity) - There are many misconceptions spread in relation to austerity as well. One understands that standing on one leg or keeping one or both hands up is called austerity. Some understand that standing in cold water in winter is austerity. One understands that the 'Panchagni tap' in summer is austerity. According to someone, to bury oneself in the earth is austerity. To lie on nails is austerity in someone's opinion. In fact, all this is not austerity. The real meaning of austerity is - 'द्वन्द्वसहनं तप:', that is, the name of being equal in loss-gain, life-death, happiness-sadness, hunger-thirst, joy-sorrow is austerity. It is austerity to continue doing religious works even after suffering.

The verb-meaning of tap(austerity) is 'तप दाहे' meaning 'be on fire- set fire to'. Always keep in mind the two qualities of fire. It purifies substances and is pungent. Austerity is also a fierce process which burns the feces of man and exposes him with the light of self-consciousness. The fruit of austerity is the attainment of strength. The austerity by which there is no increase of glory, uptake and luster in the body is not austerity. Without austerity, there can be no progress in Yog.

As stated-

🌷नातपस्विनो योग: सिध्यति।

That is, Yog cannot be accomplished by one who is not an ascetic.

In the Upanishads it is said-

🌷तपसा चीयते ब्रह्म। (Mundako 1/1/8)

That is, the attainment of Brahma is possible only through austerity.

It is said in Ved-

🌷अतप्ततनूर्न तदामो अश्नुते। (Rugved. 9/83/1)

That is, one who has not heated himself in the furnace of penance, such a weak person cannot find that Lord.

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Swadhyay(self-study) - The fourth part of the Niyam is Swadhyay. Swadhyay means study-teaching of the Vedas and reading and teaching the true scriptures written by maharishis and sages. Ved is the divine knowledge of God. This is the epitome of human duties, is an inexhaustible storehouse of knowledge and science. To know his duties, one must study Vedas. There is a lecture of Vedas in the texts of Rishi-Muni, so they should also be read. 
Reading of salvation-legislative texts is Swadhyay. Reading newspapers, novels, stories and obscene books is not Swadhyay. Sadhak should always do Swadhyay of good books.
In the Upanishads it is said-

🌷स्वाध्यायान्मा प्रमद:।  (Taittiriyapanishad  shiksha11)

That is, in Swadhyay, one should never negligence in the study of Vedas.

Swadhyaya means accompany of good men. Sadhak should always be in the company of gentlemen. A person elevates through Satsang(accompany of good person). After getting the Satsang of Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati, the atheist, drunkard and non-vegetarian Munshi Ram became the supreme believer Swami Shraddhanand. Mehta Amichand also changed. The lives of many like Pandit Lekhram Aryamusafir, Pandit Guru Dutt ji Vidyarthi etc. were changed.

Another meaning of Swadhyay is daily chanting of the Supreme Name of God 'Om' meaningfully.
It is said in Veda-

🌷ओ३म् क्रतो स्मर। (Yajurved 40/15)

Hey hardworking soul! You remember Om..
And
🌷ओ३म् प्रतिष्ठ।  (Yajurved 2/13)

You become eminent in Om or put Om / the Supreme God named Om in the temple of your heart.

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Ishwar Pranidhan(God's worship) - The place of Ishwarpranidhan in the Niyamas is supreme. Ishwarpranidhan has two meanings - One, without any desire, aspiration and demand, surrender yourself, all your works, all your thoughts to the Lord. To those who ask God, God gives only what they ask for, but to those who do not ask, God gives everything. And in the end God gives himself too, gets his realization done. The second meaning is - keeping the love of God in the heart, doing special devotion or worship of God, becoming an eligible of God's grace, mercy and happiness. Egoism is destroyed by worship of God and humility comes into the life.

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Together these five Niyamas are called the second part of Upasana-Yog.

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Why the need for Yam-Niyam?

Why is it very necessary and essential qualification to follow Yamas-Niyamas for Yog Siddhi or Samadhi! That is because there is a supreme system working in the world and this whole world works by living within its rules or say that law. Every soul wants happiness for itself and does not want sorrow. A violent person also does not want violence towards himself. Even the thief does not like stealing towards himself, the liar also does not want anyone to lie to him. The one who spreads the dirt also likes to live in purity. If two options/places are placed in front of him, he will choose the best one. How the soul wants the behavior towards himself, is it desirable for him to behave contrary to others!

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🌷आत्मना प्रतिकूलानि परेषां न समाचरेत्।

Dharm is not to behave with others in a manner which seems unfavourable to oneself(soul). Defining the gods and demons in the world, Swami Maharishi Dayanand ji says that those who are learned are all gods and demons are not creatures of different deformed body and shape, but the one who is a sinful human being is a demon.

Sin and virtue are related to our good and bad deeds. Good or bad deeds done through mind, speech and body give us happiness or sorrow. Yam-Niyamas are related to our pure conduct, so that we can be saved from sinful deeds and do not have to be a part of God's punishment to suffer the fruits of sin. There is a law of Yam to avoid violence and the Niyamas(defecation, contentment etc.) are necessary and helpful in the stability and accomplishment of the Yamas (non-violence, truth etc.).

Among them Yam is called Universal Mahavrat(great vow). Which should never be violated. Rules are relaxed in case of emergency. There is no sin for violation of Niyamas in the case of travel, disease, hunger, family, social, national duty etc. If someone has fever, then there is no sin in not taking a bath. Similarly, if the king is busy in auspicious work for the subjects, then there is no sin of not doing the Sandhya. But that is the exception not the rule. If there is time and compatibility, then the Niyamas must also be followed.

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3. Asan

This is the third part of Yog. According to Maharishi Patanjali, the meaning of Asan is-

🌷स्थिरसुखमासनम्।  (Yogadarshan Sadhan 46)

The body does not move, there is no sorrow and there is no agitation in the mind, in such a state, sitting comfortably for a long time is called Asan.

Sadhak should sit in such a posture in which stable happiness is attained without suffering. Worship becomes easy when the posture is firm. By sitting still in a posture, the speed of breathing becomes moderate and the mind also starts to be in harmony. Asan can be perfected only by continuous practice.

There are many different types of Asanas. Asanas are used in two ways. The Asanas which are used to make the body healthy and strong are exercise related Asanas. The Asanas which are used for Dharana, Dhyan, Samadhi are Yogasanas. Not all Asanas are called Yogasan. It is not necessary that meditation can be done only by sitting in the Asan for 3 or 4 hours. Meditation can be done for as long as one can sit. There are four main Asanas for Yogsadhana – Siddhasan, Padmasan, Swastikasan and Sukhasan.

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4. Pranayam

There is a close relationship between the pran(life-force) and the mind. Wherever the pran goes, there the mind also goes. If pran is under control, the mind is controlled by itself without effort.

What is Pranayam?
Maharishi Patanjali writes-

🌷तस्मिन् सति श्वासप्रश्वासयोर्गतिविच्छेद: प्राणायाम:। (Yogadarshan Sadhan 49)
When the Asan is accomplished, stopping the movement of breath is called Pranayam.

Exhaling the breath and stopping it outside as much as possible is Bahya Pranayam. Abhyantar Pranayam is to hold the breath inside as much as possible. Click here to know the correct method of doing Pranayam.

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5. Pratyahar

When the senses are not related to their subjects, being according to the mind is called Pratyahar. When the eyes stop seeing the visual even when the eyes are open, the ears stop hearing the words, the nostrils do not feel the smell, the tongue does not taste the flavor and the skin does not feel the touch, the name of that state is Pratyahar.
In broad words, disconnecting the mind from external objects to concentrate on one goal is called Pratyahar. The mind can be focused on the meditation/goal only when it is removed from external objects. Pratyahar is the great key that opens the doors of Dharana, Dhyan and Samadhi.

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6. Dharana

Dharana means to concentrate the mind, to concentrate the mind on any one subject.
Maharishi Patanjali writes-

🌷देशबन्धश्चित्तस्य धारणा।  (Yogdarshan Vibhuti 1)

Dharana is the name of binding the mind to a particular place, either inside or outside the body. 

There are two places of Dharana. Intrinsic and extrinsic. To fix the mind at any internal place like the navel, heart, brow, nostrils etc. is a intrinsic Dharana. To know the nature of a tree, if you place your mind in any part of the tree, then it is a Dharana in the external place. The Dharana is used in two ways. One to praise, pray and worship God and the other to know the nature of any substance. When God is worshipped, it is done by stabilizing the mind in the heart region.

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7. Dhyan

Dhyan is the name of maturity of Dharana.

🌷तत्र प्रत्ययैकतानता ध्यानम्। (Yogdarshan Vibhuti 2)

Remaining the same consistency of knowledge in Dharana is Dhyan. At the place where the mind is concentrated, the knowledge of that concentration should remain same like pouring oil and at that time no other type of knowledge or thought can enter the mind, this state is called Dhyan(meditation).

While meditating, one should not remember anything other than the thing which is being meditated upon. It is to be noted here that not thinking of anything is not meditation. During the meditation period the Sadhak should know the substance and the name of that substance both on which meditation is done. Just like knowing God's name is Om while meditating on God. Repeated chanting of Om with its meaning and not focusing the mind on other subjects is meditation. Click here to know the correct method of meditation, rules etc.

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8. Samadhi

Maharishi Patanjali ji says-

🌷तदेवार्थमात्रनिर्भासं स्वरूपशून्यमिव समाधि:। ( Yogdarshan Vibhuti 3)

In meditation, when only the knowledge of object/goal remains and the meditator(worshiper) becomes zero from his own form, the name of that state is Samadhi.

The concentrated state of mind in which the knowledge of Dhyata (meditator), Dhyan(process) and Dhyey(goal) all three is experienced to the soul, is called meditation and only the sense/experience of the goal(object in which concentration and Samadhi is to be done) remains is called Samadhi. And this is the state of the soul or God realization of a capable wise man while he is alive.

The state in which a Yogi, through the practice of the said Samadhi, has a हस्तामलकवत्(like the fruit of the gooseberry placed on the palm) realization of all the goals and objectives, is called Sampragyat Samadhi. Its name is Sabeej Samadhi. And the state of God realization is called Asampragyat Samadhi. This is also called Nirbeej Samadhi. This is a restrained state of mind.

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Most of the human beings hear/read the word "Samadhi" somewhere in life, there is no doubt about it. But even the modern, highly educated person who is turned away from spirituality and from the Vedas understands the meaning of samadhi is to bury someone under the soil in a pit or after reading the stories of a sages/Mahatma taking water Samadhi, earth Samadhi, fire Samadhi etc., considers it to be Samadhi. A person is completely ignorant about Samadhi, because he acquires many knowledge while living in the world, but has zero knowledge about what is the purpose of life, reality, ultimate culmination/destination. You must have also heard that the Samadhi of such and such person remains there. Here is the Samadhi(tomb) of this man. Here people come to light lamps, offer flowers, pay homage.

In fact, due to the lack of propagation of the knowledge of Vedas, there has been such a plight of man today that he tells the man buried in the grave has attained Samadhi. He considers the man buried in the pit to be Samadhist(one who got Samadhi). Man has never expressed curiosity to know what is called Samadhi? What is this? How do you get it? What happens with this? Due to never having any philosophical thinking about this in life, humans start considering superstition and hypocrisy as the best achievement of life. Is it so easy to attain God that just because of death, the name of burying him in the ground is given as Samadhi and salvation can be attained.

Why would anyone do this Dharm, Darshan, spirituality, pure knowledge, pure deeds/conduct and pure worship for vain, when the name of keeping a deceased in a pit in the ground and puting four bricks on top, will become Samadhi! This is a perversion, an evil and a conduct against the Vedas. From this nothing will be gained except ignorance and sin. 

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Without practicing these eight limbs of Yog, no Sadhak(seeker) can be successful in spiritual practice. Therefore, every worshiper, seeker, devotee should practice them.

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Is it possible to attain God/God's grace only by devotion(worship) to God?

The grace of God cannot be obtained by the path of devotion or worship alone. As long as the conduct is not done with the knowledge of Vedas, worship will also become a ritual. How is it possible that human beings do not follow the Yamas-Niyamas? Behave against the command of God and become dear to God. One cannot be dear to the king by violating the constitution of the king. Parents do not like their son who disobeys their orders, though parents can also behave with attachment, anger and injustice. So should the just God, who is the form of Satchidanand, become happy just by chanting name by someone and bless him? By completely ignoring the conduct/behavior, give him salvation. The reality is that the one who behaves well according to the orders of God, gets his grace without asking. That is why the lines of a writer that "a sincere atheist is better than a hypocritical devotee" sounds perfect. And if one is a sincere believer, then he automatically becomes close to God.

Therefore, to become eligible of God's grace, not only devotion, but pure knowledge, pure action and pure worship is very necessary.