The Essence of the Yoga Sutra Digital Workshop Digital Workshop Guide Lecture and Practicum Resources Workshop Guide Instructions This Workshop Guide is designed to help you along the way. As you watch each lecture, you’ll see quotes, Sanskrit terms, practice tips, and other information occasionally pop up on the screen. You will not need to jot these down; they are all in this booklet “As soon as the mind reaches for your reference. Below, you’ll see the Takeaways, Tweetable Wisdom (great to share this wisdom with your friends on Face- the lotus of the heart, it becomes book and Twitter!), along with a Lecture Snapshot or summary. We advise that you refer to the Snapshot after watching the lec- established in concentration, ture video. You may wish to keep it beside your bedside table or meditation cushion when you need inspiration to do your prac- meditation, and focus. tice. For each of the practicums, you’ll find a list of practice tips, Then the trail of joy itself becomes along with a list of helpful further resources: articles, video, and audio that will reinforce the asana and pranayama techniques our guiding force, leading us all the way presented in this workshop. The Sanskrit terms are all included as a glossary at the end of this Workshop Guide. Here again, you to the core of our being. will not need to worry about writing these terms down as they flash on the video screen. And when that experience matures, We suggest that you start by reading the preface to The Secret automatically it turns into samadhi: of the Yoga Sutra, and that you read the relevant sutras that are associated with each lecture (listed in the video lecture as the place of our true power and perfection. “Homework”) in between each Essence of the Yoga Sutra ses- It is something very natural.” sion. This will reinforce the content as you build the foundations of your study and practice. As you put the techniques you learn in this workshop into practice, The Secret of the Yoga Sutra will continue to guide you, providing depth and insights for years to — Pandit Rajmani Tigunait, PhD come. The Secret of the Yoga Sutra Enjoy this exciting journey! The Essence of the Yoga Sutra Digital Workshop Guide 1 Workshop Overview Lecture 1. The Secret of Being a Yogi This digital workshop is designed to introduce you to Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, one of the core texts of the Yoga tradition, in a practi- Tweetable Wisdom cal and experiential way. In today’s fast-paced world, we often find o “We are always connected to our source. That's the ourselves with too little time, too little energy, and too much stress. only reason we are alive, healthy, happy, motivated, Yoga—the wisdom of the ancient sages—teaches us how to reclaim and creative.” @YI_mag #yogasutra our clear, calm, and tranquil mind so that we can apply it to whatever spiritual and worldly pursuits we wish. Inner freedom and fulfillment o “Self-luminous joy is what constitutes our core. The is our birthright, and the Yoga Sutra teaches us a precise method for human body is perfectly designed to reach samadhi.” @YI_mag #yogasutra reaching this goal. o “Yoga sadhana is the journey of life itself.” Yoga is a living tradition. For millennia, yogis have studied and prac- @YI_mag #yogasutra ticed the timeless wisdom that is contained in the Yoga Sutra. Each sutra (which means “thread”) is short, which means it is easy to memorize and portable, but this compactness means that further Takeaways explanation is necessary to put the wisdom into practice. For this Takeaway #1 reason, teachers have explained and clarified the cardinal points of Ultimately, what we are looking for is a qualitative change the sutras. And generations of students have integrated the wisdom in our personal life—to enjoy life in a much more profound way. into their practice, using their bodies and minds as laboratories in the process of self-transformation. This is part of Yoga as a “living Takeaway #2 tradition.” To follow the path of being a yogi, the most important thing is to understand life’s purpose. Life has a purpose, and we have the Pandit Rajmani Tigunait has distilled the wisdom of the Yoga Sutra ability to find it. and the living tradition into a format that is useful for today’s modern seeker. The Secret of the Yoga Sutra offers a storehouse of informa- Takeaway #3 tion and inspiration. This digital workshop is designed to comple- Life’s purpose can be put into two words: fulfillment and freedom. When we come to realize this, everything in life ment your book learning and give you tools and knowledge to take becomes a wonderful Yoga sadhana. your current practice to the next level. You’ll learn, in a step-by-step way, techniques of asana, pranayama, and meditation that will point Takeaway #4 the way toward the ultimate goal of yoga: samadhi. You will also Yoga sadhana helps us recognize our own weaknesses and have the chance to engage in dialogue with your yoga teacher and habit patterns—those subtle yet potent obstacles—so we can fellow students, and with Pandit Rajmani Tigunait in a live Q&A ses- overcome them. sion and guided practice. 2 The Essence of the Yoga Sutra Digital Workshop Guide 3 Lecture 2. Yoga: Lecture Snapshot Power to Change, Power to Prosper The Yoga Sutra is a guidebook for how to live with meaning and vibrancy. Although day-to-day human lives have changed in the Tweetable Wisdom past 2,200 years, we all desire essentially what the ancients desired: o “Peace and tranquility are our innate nature. There is no peace, joy, inner freedom, and fulfillment. This takes us to the heart commotion and no chaos at our core. It is a joyful place.” and goal of Yoga: samadhi, which is the focus of the Yoga Sutra and @YI_mag #yogasutra something we’re all intrinsically equipped to experience. But what exactly is samadhi, and how can we experience it? According to o “Being in that state of freedom and joy which is not dependent on anything is called Yoga.” Yoga, samadhi is a perfectly clear, calm, and tranquil state where @YI_mag #yogasutra we are free from all doubts, fears, disturbances, and distractions. In samadhi, we are in the state of joyful luminosity which is our core o “We need a one-pointed mind not just for yoga and being, our birthright, and Yoga is the way to reclaim it. To start, we meditation but also to be successful in any aspect of life.” need to realize that life has a purpose, and then we must work to @YI_mag #yogasutra achieve that purpose. We begin by turning our gaze inward, examin- ing who and what we are. Takeaways First, consider our strength—the inherent power of our own intrin- Takeaway #1 sically self-luminous mind. Then consider our weaknesses—the That the mind is a mystery is no secret. Nothing is a greater mystery than our own mind. acquired conditions of our mind that arise through our thoughts, speech, and actions. Over time, these solidify into habit patterns, Takeaway #2 veiling the mind’s intrinsic brilliance. The Yoga Sutra teaches system- Yoga is: atic ways to recognize and work with these habit patterns to regain o mastery over the mind’s roaming tendencies our pristine mind, filled with clarity and joy. To fully experience the o understanding the dynamics of the mind promise of Yoga, we must commit ourselves to the path of prac- o transforming disturbances into vibrant energy tice which will bring life-affirming changes. By integrating the twin Takeaway #3 cornerstones of Yoga sadhana—abhyasa (practice) and vairagya Yoga practice helps us break the vicious cycle of samskaras SYS (non-attachment) ( 1.12–1.14)—into our daily activities and culti- (subtle impressions) and their actions. vating a mindset that supports our journey, we will find balance in all aspects of our life. With sustained practice, we will experience pow- Takeaway #4 erful, positive changes, and can create a new reality of our choice. Through deconditioning our mind, and disentangling ourselves That is the promise of Yoga, and will lead us to our ultimate goal. from what does not serve us, vairagya (non-attachment) changes ordinary yoga practice into “precision yoga practice.” Takeaway #5 We gain access to a vast pool of power and wisdom through the manipura chakra (navel center). 4 The Essence of the Yoga Sutra Digital Workshop Guide 5 Lecture 3. Samadhi: Lecture Snapshot The Power and Perfection of Yoga The mind is our greatest secret, our greatest mystery—and our greatest gift. We all desire an undisturbed mind. More often than Tweetable Wisdom not, however, we find ourselves anxious or fearful about the future, o “Nutritious food sustains our body. Positive thoughts feed dissatisfied with our present situation, or stuck in the past. Yoga our mind. But pure, self-luminous joy feeds our soul.” teaches us how to recognize what destabilizes our mind, and then @YI_mag #yogasutra how to transform this agitation into vibrant energy. According to Patanjali, Yoga is mastery over the roaming tendencies of our mind o “When the knot at your heart center is cut asunder, (SYS 1:2). Our goal is to attain and maintain a crystal clear, tranquil the doubts will disappear and you will become completely fearless.” @YI_mag #yogasutra mind that is under our control. But this can be a challenge, since the causes behind our inner unrest are hard to detect.