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This week we continue our journey through the yamas to the foundational principle of Satya or truth / truthfulness.  The verse teaches that when one is firmly established in the practice of truthfulness all they say and do manifests as truth.  This can appear at the surface as an axiom of circular logic - when we have a firm foundation in Truth then all we say and do is Truth.  Deeper study of this principle instead reveals the incredibly powerful action of alignment to Truth in both the spiritual and material planes of awareness.  In the material plane the Truth is that all matter, experiences, emotions, and phenomena are changing, in flux, and temporary.  Yet in the spiritual plane the Truth is that which is unchanged and unchanging, unconditioned by place, time, and context.  One who is firmly established in the principle of Satya can hold this paradox with ease, in flow with both material and spiritual Truth.  Once we align with the practice of Satya our words and actions are inherently Truthful because they are grounded in the wisdom of Truth.  We don’t make or manifest truth, we surrender to Truth and allow it to infuse our body, mind, heart and soul.

This week we begin our exploration of the yamas with the first, most fundamental - the principle of ahimsa - not causing harm or nonviolence.  The verse teaches that when the yogi is firmly established in the practice of nonviolence all violence and enmity ceases in their presence.  This teaching is a profound message resonating through the ages reminding us that violence can never truly cease violence - or as said in the immortal teaching of a modern master, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that.  Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Hi Sutra Squad family - we're repubilshing this episode due to an audio issue, so while slightly out of order hopefully still meaningful! Thanks for listening!

We continue our exploration of suffering and how it can be avoided by reading this next verse closely - that the ultimate cause of that suffering is the confusion of the Seer, the observer, the true Self with that which is seen or experienced. The temporary phenomena of our sensations and possessions can be a very attractive placement of our attention and identity, yet when we loosen the grip and take the big step back away from the immediacy of sensation we can begin to see the bigger Truth.

We continue our deep exploration of the foundational frameworks of living yoga - now with the the niyamas, or the personal practices of the yogi - sauca (cleanliness), santosa (contentment), tapas (heat or austerity), svadhyaya (study of self and of scripture), and isvara pranidhana (surrender to the divine).  To understand these practices more deeply we are called to cultivate pratipaksa bhavanam - the ability to intentionally cultivate discernment so as to act in accordance with the principles and practices of yama and niyama.  

Now we begin our deep exploration of the foundational frameworks of living yoga - the yamas, or the moral observations of yoga - ahimsa (non-harming or nonviolence), satya (truth or truthfulness), asteya (non-stealing), brahmacarya (continence or intentional direction of sexual energy), and aparigraha (non-coveting or non-reaching past our grasp).  These moral observances represent a great universal vow, an “all-in” challenge to commit ourselves to living in alignment with yogic values.

This week brings us to the beating heart of embodied yoga practice - the sūtra that outlines the Ashtanga system, the 8 limbs or steps in the path of Yoga: yama (moral observances) / niyama (personal observances) / ãsana (seat or physical practice) / pranayama (breath control) / pratyahara (sensory withdrawal) / dhãrana (concentration) / dhyãna (sustained concentration or meditation) / samãdhi (bilss, total absorption, yoga!).  We’ll look at these as an integrated practice, and set up our exploration of each of these limbs in the coming weeks.

This week we examine a short, simple, profound statement that the suffering that can be avoided should be avoided.  It is a fundamental tenet that we all face obstacles, the root of our obstacles (as we learned in Sūtra 2.3) is the same as the root of our suffering - avidya - misunderstanding ignorance, or lack of spiritual understanding.  Pain, difficulty, challenges, and obstacles are all real - yet when we bring ourselves fully into the present moment, we can examine our experience in a way that can hopefully help us to avoid the optional suffering of our misunderstanding and attachment.

This week we explore the fundamental obstacles to yoga, as defined in this verse - ignorance or misunderstanding, egoism or “I-am” ness, pleasure, pain or discomfort, and clinging to life.  The sequence of these obstacles is key to their understanding - beginning with the fundamental mis-knowing that gives rise to the rest.  

On this week’s episode we begin our exploration of the second chapter of the Yoga Sūtra, the Sādhana Pāda - the chapter on Practice.  The first verse in this chapter gives us a very practical, yet challenging, prescription for the yoga practice in action or Kriya Yoga.  These three essential elements - tapas, svadhayaya, isvara pranidhana - heat or austerity, study of self, surrender to divine - are the building blocks from which we can truly build a practice of Yoga.

This week we look at one of the suggested points of focused attention that can bring clarity & peace of mind - the effulgent inner light within each & every one of us.  The Yoga Sūtra reference “light” throughout the text, and in this case it refers to the light within that we can perceive when we cultivate stillness and our attention to inner, subtle experience.  The light within each of us is described here as beyond sorrow, and reminds us that we are part of something much much bigger than our individual experience.

This week we come home to exploring the “Locks & Keys”, the attributes that we cultivate to preserve the innate or natural serenity of the yogi’s mind in the face of the worldly winds of material life.  These attributes are also known as the brahmaviharas in Buddhist lineages, the divine abodes or sublime attitudes of the Buddha. We will discuss how we can seek to expand our capacity for each these attitudes - maitri (friendliness or loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudito (sympathetic joy), upekshanam (equinimity) as a path toward finding our true self & serenity of mind. 

This week we explore the nature and meaning of OM, the sacred sound of sound.  OM is spoken, chanted, or recited in many contexts - yoga ãsana classes, meditation practices, and rituals across Eastern lineages spanning Hinduism or Sonatan Dharma, Buddhism, Jainism, and even in forms across Abrahamic lineages (ShalOM, Amen, Amin).  OM is the sound of creation, the evolution of consciousness, and our shared uniting eternal lineage.  OM is beyond space and time, and connects profoundly to our highest selves and our fundamental interconnectedness.

This week we explore the only “shortcut” offered in the Yoga Sūtra - that by offering full surrender to the divine of our understanding we may accelerate or even reach enlightenment, bliss, and samādhi.  We will spend a moment to discern the difference between “religion” and “spirituality”, and how yoga itself is not a religion (while certainly having roots in religious tradition) and instead explore yoga as a spiritual practice of devotion.  We will explore the qualities of divine presence, the personal journey to this awareness and understanding, and look for paths to deepen this practice of surrender in our lifelong journey toward Truth.

This week we explore the other side of the “formula” by which we achieve yoga & look at the second component - vairagya - detachment.  We explore what it means to discover the nature of our physical desires in an effort to transcend them, and deepen that transcendence to the point at which we can perceive divine spiritual energy & presence.  The journey within to examine the seeds of our worldly desires is an immortal practice of self-study, and while challenging at times, is crucial to our journey toward Truth and Freedom.

This week we go deeper into the essential formula by which we achieve yoga & look at the first component - abhyāsa - practice.  We explore what it means to be firmly established in a practice, and how we sustain our practices over extended periods, and throughout the duration of our lives.  Examining our actions as practices - which are intentional, which have become mindlessly habitual - is a critical step in developing the self-awareness needed for deep and sustained loving practice of yoga.

This week we look at the core of our practice to achieve the state of yoga - practice & detachment.  We are called to cultivate a deep, lifelong, uninterrupted practice while also letting go of our attachments to outcomes & achievement.  Navigating this razor edge paradox is a balancing act that calls us to stay in constant presence & curiosity…

This week we complete the powerful trilogy of the opening of the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali with sutra 1.3 that describes the outcome & end result of yoga.  We will explore the idea of the seer or the observer as the “true self”, and how we can allow that true self to shine forth when we achieve yoga.

We continue our journey exploring the opening triptych of the Yoga Sutra with 1.2, the essential definition of yoga as presented by Master Patañjali.  We will explore the first definition & meaning of yoga as defined in the text, and as lived by us today in the modern world.

We begin again! The time is now, it is always now, and now is where we meet Yoga - at the beginning with the purity and auspicious, ephemeral and eternal exploration of NOW.  This week we explore the first words of the first verse of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra in 1.1.

As we end the "greatest hits" series we come to the final verses of the text that describe the full transcendence of the soul.  This week we will explore the perspective of endings and beginnings, and the nature of the transcendent state of pure awareness.

As we get close to the end of the text & resolution of the Yoga Sutra, Master Patañjali offers this simple and powerful reminder as to how our preferences, habits, and past behaviors create latent impressions that can serve as obstacles to our achievement of liberation.

Our “greatest hits” continues with an essential teaching on the fundamentally subjective nature of perception. Sutra 4.15 is a reminder that even the ancients were aware that each of us sees the world through the unique lens of our history, experience, karmic heritage, and individual perspectives. 

As we continue our “greatest hits” of the Yoga Sūtra we take a moment to focus on one of the most significant and accessible siddhis (yogic powers) listed in the Vibhuti Pāda (the chapter on accomplishments or powers of the yogi).  When we practice samyama (the integrated practice of the last 3 limbs of the yoga path - Dhārana, Dhyāna, Samādhi) on the first of the “keys” from 1.33 / the first of the Brahmaviharis - maitri (friendliness / loving-kindness) we attain the great powers of our highest self.

This week we explore the essential 8 limbs or practices of Yoga - Yama, Niyama, Āsana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dhārna, Dhyāna, Samādhi.  This path, science, structure, process - can apply to all devotional paths agnostic to faith lineage or iśta devata (chosen divine).  All practices we call “yoga” touch one or more of these limbs, and while they are presented in sequence we also sometimes engage them in a non-sequential experience. They build on each other, and step by step they illuminate a path toward a richly fulfilling and deeply engaging life.

This week we explore the “Locks & Keys”, the attributes of mind that we cultivate to preserve the innate or natural serenity of the yogi’s mind in the face of the worldly winds of material life.  These attributes are also known as the brahmaviharas in Buddhist lineages, the divine abodes or sublime attitudes of the Buddha. We will discuss how we can seek to expand our capacity for each these attitudes (listed here in Sanskrit) - maitri (friendliness or loving-kindness), karuna (compassion), mudito (sympathetic joy), upekshanam (equinimity). 

In this week’s episode we explore the concept of and devotion to Iśvara - as the most direct path to yoga (1.23), and then the attributes of Iśvara to more fully understand the yogic concept that best translates in English as “God”.  We will take a moment to discern the difference between “religion” and “spirituality” to our best understanding, and how yoga is not a religion but is very much a practice of spiritual devotion.  We will continue and explore the nature of our understanding of the divine, how we all have access to a direct experience of the divine of our individual understanding, and our lifelong journey to know the Truth.

This episode we complete the powerful trilogy of the opening of the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali with sutra 1.3 that describes the outcome, or objective, or end result of yoga.  We will explore the idea of the seer or the observer as the “true self” that shines forth when we achieve the state of yoga.

We continue our journey exploring the opening triptych of the Yoga Sutra with 1.2, the essential definition of yoga as presented by Master Patañjali.  We will explore the meaning of yoga as defined in the text, and as lived by us today in the modern world.

We begin at the beginning with the purity and auspicious, ephemeral and eternal exploration of NOW.  This week we explore the first words of the first verse of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutra in 1.1.

Welcome to the Sutra Squad podcast! In this episode Seth, Sara Page, and Sally welcome & give an overview of our approach to study this ancient wisdom.