This course unlocks the hidden wisdom and practices of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, the seminal text that threads together the essential teachings of Yoga as a process of self-realization. Human beings’ supreme potential unfolds in the state of Yoga. From the view of this ancient tradition, our mind is inherently luminous and we are inherently free. The yoga sutra guides us into the practice of yoga as a process(es) that reduce the obstacles to clear perception. The result is that we are able to perceive our “self-essence.”

Each step we take toward greater clarity reduces fear, confusion and suffering while, at the same time, enlivening the mind’s higher capacities. In the process, one approaches the source of limitless intelligence, lasting peace, and freedom. This is yoga practice, culminating at the heights of wisdom and compassion. This is how the yoga sutra leads us to toward the fullest version of ourselves––becoming what our heart aspires to be.

Written around 200 C.E., Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra maps the mind’s journey into yoga more  systematically than any text before or after. It offers seekers a definitive roadmap to sublime experience (depicting the end of the journey, the obstacles we encounter along the way, and how we overcome those obstacles). In this way, it serves as a guiding source of wisdom for how we experience peace within and without.

The word ‘sutra’ means “thread.” The text is called the Yoga Sutra, in part, because it threads together the teachings of Yoga and also because it serves to “suture” together i.e., heal the fragmented parts of our mind. The result of dedicating oneself to the guiding principles of its teachings, are a path of self-inquiry exalting all levels of being: mind, body, breath, soul, and Source.

The Yoga Sutra is often taught in an overly simplistic, even reductionist manner in which it is common to pare its teachings to a fraction of the entire text––Ashtanga Yoga or the 8-limbed path i.e., niyama, yama, asana, etc… (Please note: this content in not part of the course curriculum one, because it is so widely taught and two, in order to devote plenty of time for the less known and more profound content in the scripture).

From a traditional point of view, guidance by qualified teacher is essential, not only to practice (the text provides only the most cursory details) but to truly understand the text––given its subtlety and esoteric language. Only then can the Yoga Sutra accelerate one’s journey of personal growth and light an understanding of the potential of Yoga.

Throughout the course, specific practices bring key teachings of the Yoga Sutra to life––for example, the keys and signs of mastering asana, pranayama, and devotion, the subtle distinctions of states of meditation i.e., samadhi. Thus, the course’s guided practices provide the experiential basis to illumine the most essential themes through dynamic asana, vinyasa, pranayama and meditation sequences.

Lecture content, together with guided asana and meditation practices makes it possible for teachers (and dedicated students) to unlock subtle and powerful wisdom hidden in the sacred text. Collectively, we outline Yoga’s path for using the mind to achieve greater self–mastery.

The Secrets of the Sutra leaves both teachers and non-teachers alike with a profound sense of ease born from clarity of mind, compassion and the realization of the culmination of its teachings––freedom.

In this course, you will explore:

• Keys to the mastery of asana
• The aim of practice and the steps to achieve it
• The secret teaching of the breath
• The science of meditation
• Stages of samadhi
• The power of mantra
• The model of the mind, according to Yoga
• The practice of self-inquiry
• The causes of suffering and the means to reduce them
• Pranayama and the mind
• Faith in practice and life
• The different aims and approaches of meditation
• Tantra in the Yoga Sutra
• Mysticism and spirituality: beyond the psychology of the Yoga Sutra

>>>PURCHASE COURSE<<<

LIVESTREAMS W/ ROD STRYKER SCHEDULE: FEBRUARY 29, MARCH 14, 28 & APRIL 11 | 1:30-2:45PM MT

**PLEASE NOTE: STUDENTS WHO HAVE PREVIOUSLY PURCHASED THE SUTRAS ONLINE COURSE ARE WELCOME TO JOIN THE LIVESTREAMS. PLEASE SEND AN EMAIL TO INFO@PARAYOGA.COM TO REGISTER.**