Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Yoga today often means postures. But Patanjali's Yoga Sutras mention asana in only a few lines — the text is about the mind. "Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind." What are the eight limbs, and where do postures fit in?
The verse
The text in one line
The Yoga Sutras — 196 short aphorisms (sūtra, "thread") in four chapters — define yoga in their second sutra: "yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ" — "Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind." When the mind is still, the next sutra says, the seer rests in its own true nature.
Eight limbs
In the second chapter Patanjali gives the aṣṭāṅga — eight limbs — of yoga. Postures are the third limb, and Patanjali's instruction about them is just three words long…
The journey continues for members
- The eight limbs (Ashtanga Yoga)
- Where modern postures came from
- Obstacles and their remedy
- For life today
Sources
- Yoga Sutras — Patanjali
- Yoga Bhashya — Vyasa
- Hatha Yoga Pradipika — Svatmarama