Welcome to your course on the last 2 chapters of Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras! Each lesson will contain 2 audio recordings – the first one allows you to repeat after the teacher, along with a group, sections of each Sūtra, combining them eventually to recite the complete Sūtra. We refer to this as ‘slow recitation’. It helps you recognise and learn the different terms to gain competence with the vocabulary. More importantly, it creates a sāttvic method of study, bringing your mind to a point of focus, allowing deeper study. The second recording repeats full Sūtras 3 times each, for additional practice. 

From my own personal learning journey of the Yoga Sūtras (since 2005), I cannot recommend more highly this method of studying, first by chanting and then a discerning, logical analysis of the Sūtras, looking into etymology and grammar to fully understand their import.

Vibhūti Pāda borrows heavily from Samādhi Pāda & Sādhana Pāda, therefore it is recommended that you have established some knowledge of the initial 2 chapters of the Yoga Sūtras.

To really enjoy the magnitude of this brilliant text, please ensure you are familiar with the following: Definition of Yoga, The Sānkhya process of evolution, Samādhi & stages of Samādhi, Emotional purification practices of Chapter 1, Aṣṭānga yoga, concepts of Saṃskāra and Karma.

We start each class with the following mantras and invocation to Patañjali. If you would like to learn these, please ask your instructor for access to the Invocatory Prayers course, all students should have complimentary access.

Through the duration of this course, if you have any questions, please post them in the discussion area located at the end of the course. You don’t need to wait until the end of the course to ask your question, the discussion area is already open for you!