The second limb of yoga — the niyamas — is closely connected to the first. The first limb (the yamas, or “restraints”) are five principles that describe how yogis should behave. The niyamas are sometimes referred to as fixed observances. Like the yamas, they are about behavior, but the behaviors are more internal. One way […]
As we move through the second section of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, we encounter the eight limbs of yoga. The first of these limbs—the yamas—is a set of disciplines that describe how yogis should behave. If you look closely at the yamas, you may notice they are a lot like some of the Ten Commandments. The […]
There are 196 verses in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras. The verses are divided into four sections, and it’s not until we are close to halfway through these verses that we encounter the eight limbs of yoga. The second second of the Yoga Sutras is about the spiritual discipline. In sutra 2.28, Patanjali tells us to practice yoga! […]
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali makes a few statements about the seer and the seen that are confusing at first glance. The seer is us and the seen is our perception of reality. Sutra 2.21 tells us, The seen exists only for the seer. Patanjali seems to be suggesting that the only reason there are things […]
Before we can transcend suffering and reach enlightenment, we need to understand why we suffer. In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali explains this in verses that describe the nature of the material universe. Specifically, he reveals the three aspects of human nature—called the three gunas—that govern our experience. By giving us this yogic look at nature, […]
If you read Yoga Sutra 2.15 out of context, you’d think the great sage Patanjali was teaching yogis to give up hope. Life is suffering, he seems to be saying here. The verse reads: All is misery to the wise because of the pains of change, anxiety, and purificatory acts. Patanjali is saying if you’re […]
How to bring the energy from the mat to your daily life… By mahabis We all know that yoga is an exercise for both the mind and body. Yogis worldwide get to experience the many benefits like increased flexibility and energy, improved balance and circulatory health as well as stress relief and inner peace. […]
In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali teaches us that yoga can liberate us. It gives us tools for overcoming attachment, aversion, and egoism. If we don’t practice yoga, that is, if we don’t find a means of liberation, we will continue to suffer. For classical yogis, continued suffering means an endless cycle of birth, suffering, death, […]
Egoism is a problem. You don’t have to be a yogi to know this. The small self—which egoism inflates—always competes for attention, recognition, and accomplishment. Why is this a problem? If you’re focusing on human life, it’s not. If you’re focusing on spiritual growth and enlightenment, egoism is a great obstacle. Reverend Jaganath Carrera describes […]
In Yoga Sutra 2.5, Patanjali gives yogis a clear idea of ignorance as an obstacle to enlightenment. If we remain in the dark about the truth, he says, we will suffer. Ignorance is taking the non-eternal for the eternal, the impure for the pure, evil for good and non-self as self. ~Sutra 2.5 As this […]