When you think of the concept of bodily perfection in yoga, what comes to mind? If you’re like many Westerners, you’re thinking of toned abdominal muscles, flexibility, and maybe even a cool designer wardrobe that shows off that yoga body. According to the Yoga Sutras, yogis can achieve bodily perfection in yoga. But for a […]
A yogi’s ability to achieve union with the source of consciousness goes hand-in-hand with developing nirodha. Nirodha, as we learned in the previous post, is both the practice of withdrawing the senses and the state of being in union with the divine. There are three verses in the third section of the Yoga Sutras that […]
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali offer remarkable tools for understanding the practice of yoga and its benefits. The work is divided into four sections. The first section is an overview of the obstacles to enlightenment. Next comes an explanation of yoga and its eight limbs. Then, Patanjali gives us a look at yogic powers. If […]
Pratyahara — withdrawal of the senses — is the fifth limb of yoga. It is a practice that helps us begin to go within. Pratyahara prepares the yogi for meditation. But why is it important to disconnect from sensory experience? And how can we do it most effectively? In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali defines pratyahara […]
Daily life can be a roller coaster. When things are going well, it’s easy to think positively. But obviously, things don’t always go well. We all have challenges and times when things don’t go our way. Dealing with negative thoughts can be difficult, but fortunately for yogis, our practice teaches us how to do it. […]
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 […]
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 the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali warns us there will be roadblocks on the path to enlightenment. He then gives us a way to gauge whether these roadblocks are present on our own path. Patanjali alerts us to the symptoms of mental distraction in sutra 1.31. In a translation by Reverend Jaganath Carrera, the verse reads: […]