Yoga Sutras

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Questions and Answers on the Yamas

Q: In the Ramayana and Mahabharata, it’s clear that there was killing. The Gita itself takes place on a battlefield. How is this explained and justified in terms of ahimsa (non-violence)? Swami Satchidananda: In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna talks about non‑violence to...

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali Online Study Group

Join us as we explore the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali through Sri Swami Satchidananda's translation and commentary! Tune in to Facebook every Tuesday beginning September 13, 2022 at 10 am (Eastern) as we study each sutra slowly and carefully, broadening our attitudes and...

Can the Yoga Sutras Bestow Power?

Observing how Yoga has changed the world, I cannot help but wonder how the world has changed Yoga. As the plethora of Yoga studios and communities formed, they focused mainly on serving the physical body. The calling was great; strengthen and balance the body—that is...

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Light on the Yamas & Niyamas: Introduction

Light on the Yamas & Niyamas: Introduction

In this new column, Dale Ann Gray offers reflections on the yamas and niyamas of the Yoga Sutras, incorporating insights from classical Nondual Yoga. In this article, she offers an overview on the distinctions between the dualistic philosophy of Patanjali’s Yoga and...

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The Science of Yoga, Part 2: Kriya Yoga

The Science of Yoga, Part 2: Kriya Yoga

Patanjali called the things that cause us to suffer kleshas, or obstructions. He named five of them. The first, avidya, is that we do not fully know who we are. Avidya is often translated as ignorance. The ignorance it refers to is that, while we might know a lot...

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Raja Yoga Now: The Beginning

Raja Yoga Now: The Beginning

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali begins with a call that reverberates through the ages: Atha Yoganusasanam: Now the exposition of Yoga is being made. It is an invitation to seekers of truth everywhere, irrespective of place, time or circumstance. It offers a universal...

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Right Relationship with Our Bodies

Right Relationship with Our Bodies

In this episode of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast, our two yogis continue their discussion of aparigraha, the fifth and final yama, with an examination of two of its very subtle aspects: the teaching of not receiving gifts, and of one’s relationship to the physical...

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Non-Hoarding

Non-Hoarding

We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing, so why do we spend so much of our time holding onto things? That’s what we’ll get into in this deep dive into the final yama from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: aparigraha. As George Strait, the famous...

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Let’s Talk About Yoga & Sexuality

Let’s Talk About Yoga & Sexuality

How do we integrate Sri Patanjali’s teachings about sex/celibacy/continence in today’s world? What does brahmacharya really mean? Swami Asokananda and Rev. Prem (the two yogis of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast) consider various aspects of this yama (ethical...

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Ahimsa as a Way of Life

Ahimsa as a Way of Life

Ahimsa is one of the most fundamental principles from the original scriptures of Yoga and serves as a foundation for the practice of Yoga, on and off the mat. This practice is especially important now since our world desperately needs a grassroots movement to end...

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“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”

“Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff”

Continuing their discussion in Episode 12 of the “Two Old Fogey Yogis” podcast, this week, in Ep 13, our two yogis go deeper into the 5 kleshas (obstacles) focusing on raga (desire) and abhinivesha (fear of death). Hear what they conclude about these specific kleshas...

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Obstacles ARE the Path

Obstacles ARE the Path

In Episode 12 of the "Two Old Fogey Yogis" podcast, our two yogis discuss the 5 kleshas (obstacles presented in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali). In a deep and encouraging way, they share how we can work with these and other challenges more skillfully, that transforming...

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