What the Yoga Sutras Are
The Yoga Sutras are the foundational text of the Yoga darshana, one of the six classical systems of Sanatana Dharma. They are written as sutras — threads — deliberately compressed so that a teacher can unfold them. The text is traditionally studied alongside the commentary of Vyasa (the Yoga Bhashya).
This is Raja Yoga, the yoga of the mind. Posture is one limb of eight, and Patanjali devotes a single pair of sutras to it (2.46–2.47). The subject throughout is the movement of consciousness itself.
The Definition — Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah
Yogash chitta vritti nirodhah (1.2) — "Yoga is the stilling of the movements of the mind-field." The next sutra gives the result: tada drashtuh svarupe avasthanam (1.3) — "then the seer abides in its own true nature." And the alternative: vritti sarupyam itaratra (1.4) — otherwise, we take ourselves to be the movements.
Patanjali then names the two wings of the whole practice: abhyasa, steady effort, and vairagya, non-attachment (1.12–1.16) — the same pairing Krishna gives Arjuna in Bhagavad Gita 6.35.
The Four Padas
1. Samadhi Pada — On Absorption (51 sutras)
Defines yoga, catalogues the five vrittis (1.6: right knowledge, error, imagination, sleep, memory), and the obstacles to practice (1.30). Offers the four attitudes that steady the mind — friendliness, compassion, gladness, and equanimity (maitri, karuna, mudita, upeksha, 1.33) — and describes the levels of samadhi.
2. Sadhana Pada — On Practice (55 sutras)
The working chapter. Opens with kriya yoga — tapas, svadhyaya, ishvara pranidhana (2.1) — names the five kleshas or afflictions (2.3: ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, clinging to life), and then lays out the first five of the eight limbs.
3. Vibhuti Pada — On Attainments (56 sutras)
Covers the last three limbs — dharana, dhyana, samadhi — which together form samyama (3.4), and the siddhis or powers that arise from it. Patanjali is blunt that these are obstacles to the final goal (3.37).
4. Kaivalya Pada — On Liberation (34 sutras)
The philosophical close: the nature of mind, karma and its traces (samskaras), and kaivalya — the seer standing free, established in its own nature.
The Eight Limbs of Yoga (Ashtanga)
Yama niyama asana pranayama pratyahara dharana dhyana samadhayo ashtav angani (2.29). Limbs, not steps — they mature together.
- Yama — restraints (2.30). Ahimsa non-violence, satya truth, asteya non-stealing, brahmacharya continence, aparigraha non-possessiveness. Patanjali calls these the great vow, unconditioned by class, place, time, or circumstance (2.31).
- Niyama — observances (2.32). Shaucha cleanliness, santosha contentment, tapas disciplined heat, svadhyaya self-study and scripture, ishvara pranidhana surrender to the Divine.
- Asana — seat (2.46). Sthira sukham asanam — "the posture is steady and comfortable," perfected by relaxing effort (2.47).
- Pranayama — regulation of breath (2.49–2.53). The pause and lengthening of breath after posture is steady; it thins the veil over inner light (2.52).
- Pratyahara — withdrawal of the senses (2.54). The senses follow the mind inward rather than chasing objects.
- Dharana — concentration (3.1). Desha bandhash chittasya dharana — binding attention to one place.
- Dhyana — meditation (3.2). An unbroken flow of attention toward that one point.
- Samadhi — absorption (3.3). The object alone shines; the sense of a separate meditator falls away.
The first five are bahiranga — outer limbs; the last three are antaranga, inner (3.7).
Obstacles and Their Remedies
- The nine antarayas (1.30) — illness, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sense-craving, false perception, failure to reach a stage, and instability once reached.
- Their companions (1.31) — sorrow, despair, bodily restlessness, and disturbed breathing.
- The remedy (1.32) — practice with one principle, eka tattva abhyasah. One object, held steadily, rather than many methods loosely.
- For troubling thoughts (2.33) — pratipaksha bhavanam, deliberately cultivating the opposite.
How to Begin Studying the Sutras
- Memorise four sutras first — 1.2, 1.3, 1.12 and 2.29. They hold the whole architecture.
- Read Sadhana Pada before Samadhi Pada. Chapter two is written for the practitioner still in the middle of life.
- Take one yama or niyama per week. Observe where it is easy and where it is not; that friction is the practice.
- Sit daily, briefly, without negotiating. Patanjali's condition for a firm foundation is long duration, without break, with sincerity (1.14).
- Journal what you notice. Svadhyaya — self-study — is itself a niyama.
Continue the Journey
The Gita's sixth chapter is the closest companion text — see the comprehensive Bhagavad Gita guide. For the seated practice itself, the Vedic meditation mantras give a single object to hold, and the 108 journal prompts support svadhyaya.
Note: This guide is for reflection and education. It is not medical or mental-health advice.