Within the practice of yoga the ‘Heart’ text is the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali. This is a beautiful and rich text which defines yoga and offers a path through the challenges of what it is to be human. It was compiled around the 3rd-6th Century CE and forms the foundation for the ‘Highest Yoga’ – Raja Yoga.
Many people in the yoga world have heard of the sūtras but more and more the depth of it all is just not taught or understood. Single concepts are cherry picked and used without any real understanding of how those concepts fit within the whole path offered in the sūtras or with any real understanding about what Patañjali is saying. Terms like ‘ahimsā’, or ‘the 8 limbs of yoga’ are referred to a lot, but without looking at Patañjali in the round their true impact is lost.
This study group is not a course. It is an informal journey through all of the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali from sūtra 1.1 to sūtra 4:34 looking at the Sanskrit meanings of the sūtras themselves and the commentary that sits alongside them from Vyāsa (the oldest and first commentary which accompanies Patañjali).
The Yoga Sūtra follow blocks of themes and we will aim to cover these blocks in each session. For instance, sūtras 1.1 to 1.4 define ‘yoga’, sūtras 1.5 to 1.11 explain the activities of our minds, sūtras 1.12 to 1.17 discuss ‘practice’ and ‘openness’, and so on. If you miss a session you will miss the themes covered in that session but we’ll start new themes each time and so that would be fine. Each session therefore will be stand alone and can be attended without the others.
The sessions will be 3 hours long and about half of that will be studying the Yoga Sūtra which will include learning to chant each sūtra (the traditional way to learn). There will be a break when you can chat to other like-minded yoga people.
The rest of the session will be a practice following Patañjali’s formula – āsana (physical) practice, prānāyāma (seated breathing practice), pratyāhāra (withdrawal inwards) using nyāsa (hand placement), and meditation using japam (recitation of mantra).
Our first 6 sessions will be on Friday afternoons from 1:30pm to 4:30pm:
13th May 2022
1st July 2022
23rd September 2022
18th November 2022
13th January 2023
10th March 2023
The cost will be £35 per session or £180 offering a saving of £30.
This is an in-person group only in the White Horse Yoga Centre in Devizes and numbers will be kept small.
Sessions must be booked in advance with David.
Full payment is required at the time of booking a place. If that place is cancelled more than 6 weeks before the session then your full payment can be transferred to a later session, or a refund of your payment less a £15 administration charge will be made. If you cancel later than 6 weeks before the session then your full payment can be transferred to a later session or a refund of your payment less the £15 administration charge will only be given if the place is re-sold.
If we have to cancel a session for any reason we will offer a full refund or hold your payment for a further session as you prefer.