The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, explained simply

Almost every teacher training in the world reads some of this text, and a good number of students leave still unsure what it says. That is partly the text's fault. A sutra is a thread — a line compressed so tightly that it needs commentary to open, which is exactly how it was designed to be taught.

What it is, and what it is not

It is a manual of practice and mind, not a book of postures. Asana gets a handful of lines out of 196, and they describe a seat that is steady and comfortable rather than any particular shape. If you came to yoga through physical practice, that is the first surprise.

The opening lines

The first chapter begins by announcing the subject, then defines it immediately:

• 1.1 — atha yoga anushasanam. "Now, the teaching of yoga." Now matters: it implies a student who is ready.
• 1.2 — yogash chitta vritti nirodhah. "Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind." This is the definition the rest of the text works out.
• 1.3 — tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam. "Then the seer rests in its own nature."
• 1.4 — vritti sarupyam itaratra. "Otherwise, we take the shape of whatever the mind is doing." Which is a fair description of most days.

The four chapters

• Samadhi Pada, on absorption. What yoga is, what the mind does, and how practice and non-attachment work together.
• Sadhana Pada, on practice. The causes of suffering, and the first five of the eight limbs — the most practical chapter and the one most trainings dwell on.
• Vibhuti Pada, on powers. Concentration, meditation and absorption, and the abilities said to arise from them — along with a clear warning not to be distracted by those.
• Kaivalya Pada, on freedom. The philosophical conclusion.

The eight limbs sit here

Ashtanga — eight limbs — is described in the second chapter: yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi. They are not a ladder to be climbed one rung at a time, but they are ordered for a reason. We have written them out in plain English in the eight limbs of yoga.

How to actually read it

1. Get a translation with commentary. The bare lines will not open on their own. Read the commentary as a voice to argue with, not scripture.
2. Read slowly. A handful of sutras at a sitting is plenty. It is not a book you finish.
3. Start with chapter two if chapter one feels abstract. Practice first, metaphysics later.
4. Test it against your practice. The text describes states you can notice on your own mat; that is the point of reading it at all.
5. Read it with someone. A teacher, or even one other student, is worth ten commentaries.

On our 28-day training philosophy runs through the month rather than sitting in a single afternoon, taught in plain language and without asking anyone to believe anything. If you want the wider philosophical background, what Vedanta is is the companion piece.

Raja yoga, the path the Sutras describe, is one of four classical paths. The four paths of yoga sets out the other three.

Common questions

What are the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali?

A collection of 196 short aphorisms in four chapters, compiled by Patanjali, setting out what yoga is, how the mind behaves and how practice leads to stillness. It is a manual of mind and practice rather than a book of postures.

What does "yogash chitta vritti nirodhah" mean?

It is the second sutra and the text’s definition of yoga: the stilling, or restraint, of the movements of the mind. Everything that follows in the text works out how that is approached.

Are the eight limbs in the Yoga Sutras?

Yes. Ashtanga, the eight limbs — yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana and samadhi — is set out in the second chapter, Sadhana Pada.

Which translation of the Yoga Sutras should I read?

Choose any respected translation that includes commentary, and read a few lines at a time rather than straight through. Reading it alongside a teacher or another student is worth more than picking the perfect edition.