|
|
|
|
|
|
Click Here for the text of the "The Yoga Sutras"
Saturday Yoga in the Park!
Attend the 3:30 Pranayoga Mixed Levels Class
and stay for Yoga Sutras class FREE
I am pleased to offer an Applied Study Class of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the original, ancient text which compiled the oral traditions of the Yoga Sages into written form. It represents wisdom and practices which date back 6000 years and beyond. If you have been practicing Yoga Asana (postures) or have an interest in any form of Yoga and want to gain an understanding of the full intent of the practices of Yoga, then a proper study of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is essential. It is the foundational text of the eightfold path to enlightenment called Ashtanga Yoga ("ashta" meaning "eight" and "anga" meaning "limbs") or Raja Yoga ("raja" meaning "royal or kingly").
It is Yoga in its highest, most comprehensive form:
1) the Yamas--moral conduct; (2) the Niyamas--observances; (3) Asanas--postures; (4) Pranayama--breath control; (5) Pratyahara--withdrawal of the senses from external objects; (6) Dharana--concentration; (7) Dhyana--meditation; and (8) Samadhi--transcendence.
In this class we will read and discuss the Sutras and Commentaries on the Sutras, and where appropriate, we will apply the principles in practice. The The Yoga Sutras are not theoretical or philosophical (in the sense of being intellectual discourse or mindplay detached from reality). Patanjali wrote based on personal experience and the composite practical wisdom of the Yogi Sages who preceded him. The Sutras represent a practical guide to spiritual transformation. We will therefore make a living, practical application of the Sutras in physical practice (Asana, Pranayama) and meditation (Dharana, Dhyana).
The second verse of The Yoga Sutras reads: "Yogash citta vritti nirodha: Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind." The practices of Yoga reveal to us the fact that the essential Self is hidden beneath the non-stop noise and fluctuations of the ego mind. Through the practices of Yoga, we experience directly the condition of Yoga-- unity with our true ground of being, which is already complete, whole and one with Allness. Yoga is the practices and the process of the dissolution of the ego mind and the Realization of Self as Integrity.
Whether you are primarily interested in physical posture practice or transformational meditation practice, this class will add a vital new dimension to your Yoga.
We will be studying the translation and commentary of the text by Yogi Sahaj. Please download and print out this translation and commentary of the Yoga Sutras. This is a lengthy Word document. Right click and Save it to your hard drive, then print.
For the original, online web document of this translation and commentary of The Yoga Sutras and other excellent, relevant texts, please visit Sahaj Yogi's web site.
Call Steven Vincent at 818-345-9642 for more information.
II 30. Ahimsa-satya-asteya-brahmacarya-aparigraha yamah
Certain activities hinder our progress in yoga. If they are wisely given up while their opposite qualities are nourished (yama), then our progress will flow more smoothly and quickly. These yamas are ahimsa (non-violence, i.e. the removal of violence from our own life as well as others (taken in the non-dual sense, in which the two are really one), satya (truthfulness being the removal of the veils of deceit and falsehood from our lives including that of self deceit), asteya (honesty, non-stealing, non-exploitation of others, and integrity in All Our Relations), brahmacharya (continuity, centeredness, wedded-ness, or one pointedness to the all inclusive weave of "Source" -- harmony and union in true Integrity while not allowing oneself to be distracted from the spiritual goal), and aparigraha (non-possessiveness, non-greed, non-envy, non-attachment, letting go, non-false identification penetrating throughout the mind in meditation as well as in all our relationships as the simplification of our life so that we are better able to focus on the spiritual goal latent in every moment).
|
|
|
|
