In this article Yogacharya Dr. Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani gives us an overview of the four chapters of The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali—the foundational text for the classical Yoga (Ashtanga/Raja) system. This system is neatly unpacked by Dr. Ananda, who gives us key...
As a yogi, mainly in the Krishnamacharya lineage, and as a practitioner of Buddhist meditation for many years, Chip Hartranft’s work bridges the traditions of Yoga and Buddhism. His deep contemplation and study of the Yoga Sutras is evident in this interview,...
To hear Dr. M. A. Jayashree chant the Yoga Sutras in Sanskrit is to be transported to the time when this great text was transmitted in the oral tradition. Her melodious voice, flawless pronunciation and classical articulation of the Sanskrit, replete with meaning and...
Ruth Lauer Manenti (affectionately known as "Lady Ruth" in the Jivamukti Yoga tradition) has been offering her students “dharma talks”—stories from her life that accompany her classes and represent the yogic commitments to ahimsa (non-violence), compassion and...
Dr. Edwin Bryant lived for years in India and was trained with traditional pundits. He has a background in Indian philosophy, and his translation and commentary on the Yoga Sutras is dedicated to contributing to the growing body of literature on Yoga by providing...
What is the relationship between Yoga and Buddhism? Yoga is often perceived as being focused on the body and Buddhist teachings as emphasizing the study of the mind. In this article, (the late) Michael Stone addresses these issues, explores the connections between the...
An ongoing debate concerns the subject of the relationship between Hinduism and Yoga. One side argues that westerners have appropriated Yoga and tried to divorce it from its Hindu roots. The other side argues that Yoga predates Hinduism and cannot be contained under...
What is the definition of Yoga? At the very outset of his Yoga Sutras, Patanjali says, "Yogas Chitta Vritti Nirodhah." That’s the first sutra. What does it mean? "Calming the mind is Yoga." Often, people think that standing on the head is Yoga, that if you don’t know...
In this article, Integral Yoga teacher April Gauri Hunziker (pictured here) explores the issue of how a yogi and vegetarian remains humble and avoids self-righteousness while remaining faithful to his or her principles. She poses some hard questions we may want to ask...
To fully understand Swami Satchidananda’s teachings on the relationship between Yoga and diet, specifically, the psychological and spiritual benefits of a vegetarian/vegan diet, it’s important to know something about the three gunas, or the qualities of nature. The...
When I first studied Raja Yoga, or Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, in my Yoga Teacher Training Class of 2001 at the Integral Yoga Institute, New York City, I clearly remember Swami Ramananda saying something like, “First your mind talked you into eating the ice cream, then...
One of Patanjali’s sutras buried in the Second Pada is: "Pain that has not yet come is avoidable" (2.16). This is very similar to, I would even say, exactly, what the Buddha taught: that suffering can end—as stated in the Third Noble Truth—though we hardly seem to get...
If there is one thing we start to see with Yoga practice, it is that thoughts constantly bombard our minds. Remember being in Paschtimottanasana for what felt like forever with a tornado of swirling thoughts, from that embarrassing event 20 years ago to what’s for...
Robert Butera, Ph.D. studied at the Yoga Institute in Mumbai, India, where Yoga is viewed as a spiritual practice and a total lifestyle. A contributor to Integral Yoga Magazine and presenter at Satchidananda Ashram–Yogaville, Dr. Butera explains how asana is part of...
We learn from our study of Yoga and Vedanta that their goals are one and the same: realization of the true Self. Both sages Veda Vyasa, and Sri Patanjali, in his Yoga Sutras, taught that by cultivating viveka (discriminative discernment) the cause of suffering...
Maharishi Patanjali prescribed inner and outer purification as a prerequisite for pursuing the path of Yoga. Yama, or the five abstinences, might be described as enlightened self-control. Niyama, or the five observances, might be defined as self-regulation. In this...