I’d like to introduce you to one of my most prized texts. Actually, I have multiple translations and commentaries on the same text: I love it so much. 

And I am hoping that I can infect you with the same enthusiasm for this life-enhancing gem of a classical Yoga teaching. 

When I first came across the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, I was taking the Advanced Yoga Teacher Training Course in Bahamas. I did not immediately warm to it, I have to say. It seemed dry when I first glanced at the pages. 

Sutra translates directly from Sanskrit as “thread” and these short verses in the Yoga Sutras, of which there are 194 (some would say 196), meant nothing to me when I first picked up the text. 

However, once I started to be guided through it by someone had some sense of what the sutras meant, then these little verses began to come alive for me. 

Now it is a text I never tire of, and I have since read various commentaries, and studied it numerous times with teachers from various traditions. Each teaching I undergo, each re-opening of it’s pages deepens my appreciation of the meaning and treasure held within each verse. I believe it is a text I will carry with me and revisit to the end of my days. 

There are numerous texts studied on the Yoga path: Bhagavad Gita, Viveka Chudamani, Yoga Vasishtha, all wonderful. Yet, the Yoga Sutras is my go-text this time round in this Yoga life. 

I’d really like to inspire you to turn to it’s pages for guidance too.

I have heard it described as the first and most comprehensive book offering solutions for human psychology. It is linked with the path of Raja Yoga, the “royal path” or path of Yoga of the mind. This text teaches us to understand the nature and workings of the mind, and thereby how to bring the mind to equilibrium and ultimately how to transcend it and realise the full potential of our human consciousness.

One of my teachers, Mukunda Stiles, writes:

“The Yoga Sutras give a detailed description of the subjective experiences associated with each stage of mindfulness, ranging from preliminary requirements for successful practice to the most advanced intricate aspects of communication with your True Self.”

It is said that at some point in our journey as Yoga practitioners, we will want to come to understand the Yoga Sutras.  They are the classical text of Raja Yoga, and Hatha Yoga (in its generic sense,  any practice which involves asana and pranayama), is seen to be a sub-branch of Raja Yoga, preparing the student to receive the teachings and practices of Raja Yoga. 

Scholars debate when the Sutras were actually written. Some say the 2nd or 3rd Century AD, others say 2nd Century BC. The teachings however will far pre-date this. They had been handed down, no doubt from teacher to disciple, in the oral tradition of India for many many years before Patanjali encapsulated them in 194 verses. Actually, it is said that they do not come from the mind of man, but from the source of this Universe, from the Creator. The rishis (sages) of India, received the teachings in their deep meditation. Patanjali has written them down for us in an almost scientific, step-by-step manner in his Yoga Sutras so that we might more readily grasp their meaning, and also know how to begin to put them into practice. 

The Yoga Sutras are considered a “darshan”, literally a world-view, one of the six classical Indian philosophical systems.  Indeed, Raja Yoga, with which the teachings in the Yoga Sutras sit so nicely, has it’s own very clear view on the nature of the Universe, it’s make up and workings. Patanjali describes not only a worldview, but also he gives us step-by-step methods towards the fullest expansion of our awareness so that we might attain realisation of the true nature of our consciousness.

Just as the Hatha Yoga practices were created thousands of years ago and yet are so relevant to us today, so Raja Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are as relevant as ever. And in our fast changing, and ever more challenging modern day world, they offer invaluable guidance for working with the mind and maintaining healthy psychology. More than this, the Sutras guide us towards uncovering the source of the mind through enquiry into the nature of mind and Self. 

Patanjali is revered in India and in the world of Yoga. He was a bhakti (devotee) of the Divine, he was a grammatician, author, mystic and scholar. Just like the Buddha, he sought to relieve the suffering of mankind, and he sought to do it through the wisdom encapsulated in this text. 

There are four “padas” or chapters in the Yoga Sutras. Each one is said to be for a different kind of student, with a different level of development;

The first is Samadhi Pada, the Chapter on Being Absorbed in Spirit, conveys the depths of the teachings and is said to be for the advanced and prepared student. 

The second is Sadhana Pada, the Chapter on Dedicated Practice, teaches us how to attain the goals set out in the first chapter if we are not so advanced yet. It is actually split into two parts, the first part being on Kriya Yoga, the Yoga of purification (of mind), so that the mind is prepared to receive the teachings and understanding set out in Chapter 1 and the second half touches slightly on some practices familiar to us as Hatha Yogis – steady posture, breath, concentration and absorption in spirit or meditation. It contains the famous and practical 8-fold path of Yoga (Ashtanga Yoga). This path is for students at our level of consciousness, whose minds are still full of impurities.

The third is Vibhuti Pada, on Supernatural Abilities and Gifts. This, in my experience, is the hardest to grasp, perhaps because that which is described is so far removed from our own personal experiences and states of consciousness. Patanjali teaches the more advanced student how to maintain a continual stream of mindfulness in this chapter, giving many examples on how to focus the mind on different objects and the effects of such practices. Mystical experiences are described here. 

Chapter four is called Kaivalya Pada. Kaivalya means liberation and is perhaps for the most advanced student.  Here Patanjali clarifies the power of the primal forces of nature, how to transcend the limits of time and space, and how to attain freedom from all limitations and attachments on the final steps to spiritual integration. 

JOIN ME FOR A GENTLE IMMERESION INTO THE WORLD OF PATANJALI AND THE YOGA SUTRAS, STARTING THIS NOVEMBER 2022 VIA LIVESTREAM ON WEDNESDAY AFTERNOONS. WE WILL BEGIN STUDY OF THE TEXT TOGETHER, AND YOU WILL RECEIVE PRACTICAL HOMEWORKS TO ENQUIRE MORE DEEPLY INTO AND EVEN PUT INTO PRACTICE THESE WONDERFUL TEACHINGS. 

Please CONTACT me to join me for a 10 WEEK COURSE ON THE SADHANA PADA, first chapter.

I am offering a sliding scale for this course to support everyone to join. If you are able to pay a little more, please do so to support those who need to pay a little less!

£85.00, or £150.00, or £1