Crafted by Patanjali, The Yoga Sutras are “thought threads” of ancient wisdom. Over 2,000 years old the Yoga Sutras are considered to be a systematization of a larger collection of vedic scriptures including the Upanishads. They were talking points to a lecture or a much larger dialog to help people get out of their own way and find joy and meaning in life. While they are rarely discussed or used in modern day yoga classes, they are a backbone to Yoga. What makes them particularly poignant is that they speak to you as a mind, not as an individual body. Most books and teachers address behavior and encourage you to do things differently in your life. The Yoga Sutras (as well as A Course in Miracles) do not ask for behavior modification. They do however, as you to challenge the way you think and how you see the world. Aldus Huxley perhaps sums it up best: Change your thoughts and change your world. The Sutras tell you exactly what needs to change for you to get out of your own way! No guessing, just willingness.
Usually about a sentence or two in length, the Sutras are gentle threads of thought that point to the truth. This may sound cliche, but at the bottom of every religion or spiritual belief, there is a common truth. This shared truth is usually distorted because it is often seen as a direct attack against your own unique “truth.” While it will set you free, and bring boundless joy and peace to your life, deep down you are terrified of it because of the perceived loss of individual self…but nothing could be further from the truth! Its ironic how we cling to something fragile and limited when there is something seemingly just out of reach that will bring deep meaning and purpose to everything you do.
While they can be interpreted in many different ways, there is no “beating around the bush” with the Yoga Sutras. When interpreted from a thought-system as uncompromising and clear as A Course in Miracles, the Yoga Sutras become crystal clear. Almost indisputable.
There are 51 Sutras in Book One and about 128 pages in this book. It is very concentrated, clear and easy to read. Read one sutra a week, apply it to your life and watch it change the way you see the world! It worked for us…it will work for you! Go on…look at your resistance for what it is desperately trying to preserve and then say to it, “Thanks for sharing, but I think I’ll give something else a try.”
