Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Study Group

Part 1: Samadhi Pada verse by verse

Indian miniature of a Yogini and her student

A weekly online study group starting at 10am on Saturday 16th September 2023 exploring part 1 of the Yoga Sutras. 

Many yoga teachers will have been given an overview of the Yoga Sutras in their YTT, but there’s so much more to discover when you explore this ancient text in depth, one sutra (verse) at a time, and put it into practice. 

This study group is intended for anyone who is ready to understand the teachings at the heart of yoga through study, self-inquiry and practice. These teachings are about the nature of what you really are and what you believe yourself to be and ultimately become known through your own direct experience.

The sessions will focus on the first section of Patanjali – Samadhi Pada.  Themes covered include:

  • What is the state of Yoga 
  • How we identify with our thoughts, or vritti, the ‘waves of the mind’
  • The 5 kinds of vritti, or thoughts, that we all experience 
  • How to de-identify from—or come to know that you are not—your thoughts through abhyas (practice) and vairagya (detachment) 
  • The states of mind to be cultivated before you can hold a state of samadhi, or Oneness
  • The nature of Purusha, your own divine essence
  • The meaning of Om and how it can be used to bring you back to your divinity 
  • The 9 mental distractions that prevent you from realising your divinity and the physical symptoms that accompany these distractions
  • The specific practices to be used to calm these mental distractions 
  • The different levels of samadhi in meditation
  • How the knowledge that arises through meditation and yoga practice is different from knowledge that is learned or deduced through our intellects
  • Self-realisation, the vision of Oneness
Each class will end with a short guided meditation.

We will aim to cover approximately 5 verses per class. (There are 51 verses in total in this part). However, as it’s important for the participants to come to a good understanding of a verse before we move on and to have plenty of time for questions and discussion, we can decide to add some extra classes on at the end if necessary (at the same rate of £12.50 per class). Similarly, if we finish more quickly, I will reimburse you as appropriate.