This term in my practice and in my online classes, I will be consciously informing the Asana of Yoga, with some of the philosophy of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.
The Yoga Sutra (they sometimes add an “S” to make sure Westerners understand it’s a plural!) is one of the ancient texts that has greatly influenced the development of the Yoga. The sage Patanjali was not the inventor of Yoga, but the first person to codify and catalogue the practice. Previously to this Yoga would have been predominantly an oral tradition passed from master to student.
The Yoga Sutra was written in ancient Sanskrit, between 500 BCE and the 3rd Century. Sutra translates as “thread” and Patanjali, it would seem, purposefully has given us the bare bones to which we add our own meat. There are 196 Sutra in this manual, and amazingly only 3 Sutra refer directly to Asana practice!
Whether we are interested in the philosophy of Yoga or not, it is important as practitioners of this evolving tradition, to learn about it’s roots. Over the next 4 week mini term, we will bring our attention to 4 particular Sutra and see what happens when we let this ancient wisdom infuse our modern practice of Yoga.