Patanjali Yoga Sutras

The mind, stilled, one limb at a time.

All 108 concepts

• Atha Yoganushasanam — Now Begins the Discipline of Yoga — The first sutra of Patanjali's yoga system begins with 'atha' — 'now' — the single most important word in all of yoga: the invitation to total, undivided presence in this moment.
• Yogash Chitta Vritti Nirodhah — Yoga is the Cessation of Mental Fluctuations — The most famous definition in all yoga literature: yoga is not a posture or a breathing technique but the complete stilling of the mind's constant movement.
• Tada Drashtuh Svarupe Avasthanam — Then the Seer Abides in Its Own Nature — When mental fluctuations cease, pure consciousness (the Seer, Purusha) rests in its own essential nature — this is the state of liberation, available in every moment of genuine stillness.
• The Five Modifications of the Mind — Vrittis — Patanjali identifies five categories of mental modification — correct knowledge, error, imagination, sleep, and memory — both painful and non-painful, that must be understood and stilled.
• Abhyasa Vairagyabhyam Tan Nirodhah — Practice and Non-attachment Still the Mind — The two wings of spiritual practice: sustained effort (Abhyasa) and the gradual release of craving and aversion (Vairagya) — neither alone is sufficient, but together they systematically still the…
• Ishvara Pranidhana — Devotion to the Lord as the Fastest Path — Patanjali describes surrender to Ishvara (the Lord, pure consciousness untouched by afflictions) as the most direct and rapid path to samadhi — the grace of devotion accomplishes what years of…
• The Nine Obstacles — Antarayas — Patanjali lists nine obstacles that scatter and agitate the mind on the path of yoga: disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, craving, delusion, non-achievement, and instability.
• Maitri Karuna Mudita Upekshanam — The Four Attitudes — Patanjali prescribes four attitudes toward different kinds of people that, when cultivated, make the mind serene: friendliness toward the happy, compassion toward the suffering, joy toward the…
• Savitarka and Nirvitarka Samadhi — Gross and Refined Absorption — Patanjali describes a ladder of increasingly refined samadhi states, from Savitarka (absorption with thought and object) to Nirvitarka (absorption without conceptual activity), mapping the…
• Ritambhara Prajna — Truth-Bearing Wisdom — In the highest cognitive samadhi, a spontaneous wisdom arises that 'bears truth' — perception so pure and direct that it reveals reality as it actually is, beyond all conceptual distortion.
• Nirbija Samadhi — Seedless Absorption, the Threshold of Liberation — Nirbija Samadhi is the highest state described in the first pada — absorption without any seed (bija) of future rebirth, without object, without content — pure consciousness aware of itself alone.
• Klishta and Aklishta Vrittis — Painful and Non-painful Mental Modifications — Patanjali distinguishes between mental modifications that cause suffering (klishta) and those that do not (aklishta), teaching the practitioner to recognize the subtle difference and gradually…
• The Five Kleshas — Root Causes of All Suffering — Patanjali identifies five afflictions (kleshas) that are the root cause of all human suffering: ignorance, ego, attraction, aversion, and clinging to life. Yoga practice systematically dissolves…
• Avidya — The Root Affliction: Mistaking the Impermanent for the Permanent — Avidya (spiritual ignorance) is the fundamental cause of all suffering: mistaking the impermanent for the permanent, the impure for the pure, the painful for the pleasurable, and the non-self for…
• Asmita — The Ego's Fundamental Error — Asmita is the confusion of the power of pure consciousness (Purusha) with the instrument of cognition (buddhi) — the moment awareness identifies with the mental apparatus rather than recognizing…
• Raga and Dvesha — Attraction and Aversion as the Engines of Bondage — Raga (attraction that follows pleasure) and Dvesha (aversion that follows pain) are the two engines that keep the wheel of conditioned existence turning — and both are rooted in the same Avidya.
• Abhinivesha — The Fear of Death and Clinging to Life — Abhinivesha is the universal instinct to cling to life — present even in the wise, arising even without intellectual causes — and is considered by Patanjali to be rooted in the memory of past deaths…
• Heyam Duhkham Anagatam — Future Suffering is to be Avoided — Patanjali's most optimistic teaching: future suffering has not yet arrived and can be avoided. The purpose of yoga is not to cure past pain but to prevent the suffering that has not yet occurred.
• Vivekakhyati — The Discriminative Wisdom That Ends Confusion — Vivekakhyati — the clear perception of the difference between the Seer (pure consciousness) and the seen (everything else) — is the ultimate remedy for Avidya and the direct cause of liberation.
• Tapas, Svadhyaya, Ishvara Pranidhana — Kriya Yoga — The three-part practical yoga for the ordinary spiritual seeker: disciplined effort (Tapas), self-study including mantra practice (Svadhyaya), and surrender to the sacred (Ishvara Pranidhana).
• Parinama Vada — The Philosophy of Transformation — Patanjali's cosmological framework: the universe consists of Prakriti (primal nature) which undergoes constant transformation (parinama) across three qualities (gunas) — tamas, rajas, and sattva —…
• Karma and the Wheel of Conditioned Existence — Patanjali's analysis of karma: every action rooted in the kleshas plants seeds (samskaras) that must eventually bear fruit as future experience — yoga practice is the systematic interruption of this…
• The Three Sufferings — Why the World Cannot Provide Lasting Happiness — Patanjali identifies three types of suffering that permeate conditioned existence: pain from one's own body and mind, pain from external beings, and pain from natural forces — and concludes that all…
• The Purpose of the World — Experience and Liberation — Patanjali teaches that Prakriti (the world of experience) has two purposes: to provide experience (bhoga) to the soul, and ultimately to facilitate the soul's liberation (apavarga) — the entire…
• Ahimsa — Non-harming as the Supreme Ethical Principle — Ahimsa (non-violence) is the first and foundational Yama — the ethical restraint that must be established before any other spiritual practice can bear genuine fruit.
• Satya — Truth as the Alignment of Thought, Word, and Reality — Satya (truthfulness) is the second Yama — the alignment of inner knowing with outer expression, such that speech and thought perfectly reflect reality without embellishment, omission, or distortion.
• Asteya — Non-stealing and the Abundance of the Uncovetous — Asteya (non-stealing) extends beyond physical theft to include taking credit for others' work, coveting what belongs to others, and the subtle theft of attention and time — and its fruit is the…
• Brahmacharya — The Conservation and Elevation of Vital Energy — Brahmacharya (walking in the awareness of Brahman) is the Yama of energy conservation — redirecting the creative life-force from dissipation in sense pleasure toward the single-pointed cultivation…
• Aparigraha — Non-possessiveness and the Knowledge of Past Lives — Aparigraha (non-grasping, non-possessiveness) is the fifth Yama — releasing all tendency to accumulate, hoard, or cling to people, things, and experiences — and its extraordinary fruit is the…
• Yamas as Universal Ethical Law — Not Limited by Class, Country, Time, or Circumstance — Patanjali uniquely defines the Yamas as 'Mahavratam' — Great Vows — not limited by any social, cultural, or circumstantial qualification, making them absolute ethical universals applicable to every…
• Vitarka Badhane Pratipaksha Bhavanam — Counter-thought as Ethical Training — When negative thoughts arise that violate the Yamas and Niyamas, Patanjali prescribes Pratipaksha Bhavanam — actively cultivating the opposite thought — as the practical method of ethical training.
• Saucha — Purity of Body and Mind — Saucha (cleanliness, purity) — the first Niyama — extends from physical hygiene through dietary purity to the purification of mental and emotional patterns, and its fruit includes disinterest in…
• Santosha — Contentment as the Supreme Happiness — Santosha (contentment) is the second Niyama — the deliberate cultivation of satisfaction with one's present circumstances — and its fruit is unparalleled happiness (anuttama sukha).
• Tapas — The Fire of Purification and the Perfection of Body — Tapas (austerity, disciplined effort, the practice of generating spiritual heat) purifies both body and senses — and in the Yoga Sutras it is specifically the willingness to endure difficulty as a…
• Svadhyaya — Self-Study and the Communion with the Chosen Deity — Svadhyaya (self-study through scripture, mantra, and self-observation) is the fourth Niyama — and its extraordinary fruit is direct communion with one's Ishta Devata (chosen deity or personal form…
• Samadhi Siddhir Ishvara Pranidhanat — Samadhi from Surrender — The fifth Niyama: Ishvara Pranidhana as a complete surrender of all action and its fruits to the divine — which Patanjali states directly produces samadhi.
• Sthira Sukham Asanam — The Definition of Asana — Patanjali's definition of Asana — steady (sthira) and comfortable (sukha) — applies to every posture and to life itself: the ideal relationship to any position is complete stability combined with…
• Prayatna Shaithilya — Effortless Effort in Asana — Patanjali prescribes two complementary practices for mastering asana: relaxation of effort (prayatna shaithilya) and absorption in the infinite (ananta samapatti) — revealing that the highest yoga…
• Sthite Dvandva Anabhighatah — Invulnerability to the Pairs of Opposites — The fruit of mastered asana: invulnerability to the dualities — heat and cold, pleasure and pain, praise and blame — that ordinarily disturb the mind and prevent sustained meditation practice.
• Pranayama — The Science of Breath and the Veil Over Consciousness — Pranayama (the regulation of the life-force through breath) removes the veil that covers the Inner Light — Patanjali's most precise description of how breath practice directly affects consciousness.
• Pratyahara — The Withdrawal of the Senses from Their Objects — Pratyahara (sense withdrawal) is the bridge between outer and inner yoga — the practice of withdrawing the senses from their objects so that they follow the mind inward rather than drawing it outward.
• Dharana — Concentration, the Binding of Attention — Dharana (concentration) is the sixth limb — the practice of binding the mind to a single point of focus and maintaining that focus against the mind's tendency to wander.
• Dhyana — Meditation, the Continuous Flow of Awareness — Dhyana (meditation) is the seventh limb — distinguishable from Dharana by the continuity of awareness: in Dharana the mind periodically wavers; in Dhyana attention flows continuously toward its…
• Samadhi — Absorption, When Meditator and Object Become One — Samadhi (absorption) is the eighth limb — the state in which the mind is so completely absorbed in the object of meditation that the meditator's sense of a separate self appears to dissolve, and…
• Samyama — The Combined Practice of the Three Inner Limbs — Samyama (literally 'holding together') is the simultaneous, unified practice of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi on a single object — the master key that unlocks direct knowledge of and mastery over any…
• The Siddhis — Extraordinary Powers as Both Gift and Obstacle — The siddhis (extraordinary powers) that arise from Samyama are genuine but double-edged: they confirm progress on the path but also tempt the practitioner to detour from liberation into the glamour…
• Dharana on the Heart — Direct Knowledge of the Mind — Samyama on the heart (hridaya) gives direct knowledge of the nature of the mind (chitta) — one of the most practically important Samyamas in the entire third chapter.
• Parinama — The Three Transformations of Mind in Samadhi — Patanjali describes three specific transformations (parinamas) of the mind during the progression toward samadhi: the transformation of the object of awareness, the transformation of the quality of…
• Kshana Tat Kramayoh Samyama — Samyama on Moments and Their Sequence — Samyama on a single moment (kshana) and the sequence of moments produces the highest discrimination (Vivekaja Jnana) — direct knowledge of the infinitely fine structure of time that is the gateway…
• Taraka — The Transcendent Knowledge That Carries Across — Taraka Jnana is the highest knowledge described in the Vibhuti Pada — a wisdom that 'carries across' (from tar, to cross) the river of conditioned existence to the far shore of liberation.
• Kaivalya — Aloneness, the Absolute Freedom of Pure Consciousness — Kaivalya (liberation, aloneness) is Patanjali's term for the final state of the Yoga Sutras: pure consciousness (Purusha) recognized as eternally free, alone in its own nature, forever untouched by…
• Dharma Megha Samadhi — The Cloud of Dharma Samadhi — Dharma Megha Samadhi — the 'cloud that rains righteousness' — is the penultimate samadhi state, immediately preceding Kaivalya, in which virtue floods the yogi like rain from a cloud, purifying the…
• Chiti Shakti — The Power of Pure Consciousness — Chiti Shakti — the primordial power of consciousness itself — is Patanjali's most profound description of what pure consciousness is: not passive awareness but an active, creative, self-luminous…
• Viveka Khyati and the Final Discrimination — The final, irreversible discrimination (Viveka Khyati) is the fruit of sustained non-attachment and practice: consciousness permanently recognizing the difference between itself (Purusha) and…
• The Ashtanga Yoga System — Integration of All Eight Limbs — Patanjali's Eight-Limbed Yoga (Ashtanga) is not a sequential curriculum but an integrated, simultaneous practice: all eight limbs support and enhance each other, forming a complete ecology of…
• The Intelligence of Pure Consciousness — Chitta as the Mirror of Purusha — Patanjali's most subtle teaching: the chitta (mind-stuff) is not consciousness itself but its reflection — and the confusion of this reflection for the original is the mechanism of all bondage.
• Samskaras and the Deep Memory of Consciousness — Samskaras (mental impressions left by every experience) accumulate across lifetimes, shaping personality, preference, talent, and fate — and the systematic purification of the samskara field is the…
• The Sole Witness — Purusha as Unconditioned Awareness — Patanjali's radical metaphysics: the Purusha (pure consciousness) is the sole witness of all mental activity — unchanging, unaffected, eternally present, the foundation on which all experience rests…
• Satya — Truthfulness (Yoga Sutras) — Satya (Truthfulness) in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras — the second Yama and cornerstone of ethical practice.
• Asteya — Non-Stealing (Yoga Sutras) — Asteya (Non-stealing) — the third Yama in Patanjali's system — extends beyond physical theft to the subtle theft of attention, credit, and others' time, and produces the spontaneous gift of abundance.
• Brahmacharya — Energy Conservation (Yoga Sutras) — Brahmacharya in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras — the conservation and elevation of vital energy through restraint of sense indulgence — and its fruit of extraordinary vigor.
• Samadhi (Yoga Sutras) — Samadhi — unified consciousness, the eighth and highest limb — as the culminating state of Patanjali's yoga system in which meditator and object merge in pure awareness.
• Chitta (Memory-Consciousness) — Chitta — the mind-field comprising memory, intellect, and ego — is the substrate of all experience, the medium through which consciousness engages with the world, and the field that yoga practice…
• Vrittis (Mental Modifications) — Vrittis are the continuous modifications, fluctuations, and movements of the mind-field — the ever-changing content of consciousness that yoga practice aims to still.
• Samskaras (Mental Impressions) — Samskaras are the deep impressions left in the mind-field by every experience — the accumulated residue of all past actions, perceptions, and emotions that silently shapes present experience and…
• Ishvara Pranidhana — Surrender to the Divine (Yoga Sutras) — Ishvara Pranidhana — devotion to and surrender of all action to the sacred — appears three times in the Yoga Sutras as both Niyama and Kriya Yoga component, and is described as the most direct and…
• Asana (Steady Posture — Yoga Sutras) — Asana in Patanjali's original definition is the mastery of a steady, pleasant seated posture for meditation — far more about the quality of presence in the posture than its physical form.
• Pratyahara (Withdrawal of Senses — Yoga Sutras) — Pratyahara — the withdrawal of the senses from their objects — is the bridge between outer and inner yoga, the fifth limb that prepares the mind for the profound inwardness of Dharana, Dhyana, and…
• Dharana (Concentration — Yoga Sutras) — Dharana — the deliberate binding of attention to a single point — is the sixth limb and the foundation of all deep meditative states. Every other advanced yoga practice rests on the ability to…
• Dhyana (Meditation — Yoga Sutras) — Dhyana — the unbroken flow of meditative awareness — is the seventh limb: the natural deepening of Dharana when concentrated attention relaxes into effortless, continuous presence with its object.
• Santosha (Contentment — Yoga Sutras) — Santosha (contentment) as the second Niyama — the deliberately cultivated acceptance of present circumstances that produces supreme happiness.
• Svadhyaya (Self-Study — Yoga Sutras) — Svadhyaya — self-study through scripture, mantra, and self-observation — is the fourth Niyama, producing direct communion with one's chosen form of the sacred.
• Yama — The Ethical Foundation of Yoga — The Yamas (ethical restraints) are the outer foundation of all yoga practice — the five universal ethical principles that must be established before deeper practice becomes meaningful.
• Niyama — Personal Observances That Refine the Inner Life — The five Niyamas (personal observances) are the inner practices that complement the outer Yamas — transforming not just behavior but character, consciousness, and the quality of inner life itself.
• Samprajnata Samadhi — Cognitive Samadhi With Support — Samprajnata Samadhi (cognitive samadhi) is the spectrum of absorption states that still involve some cognitive activity — from gross reasoning through subtle reflection to the threshold of…
• The Purification of Chitta — Stages of Mental Refinement — Patanjali describes five stages of the chitta (mind-field) from most disturbed to perfectly purified — mapping the progressive refinement of consciousness through sustained yoga practice.
• Krama — The Sequence of Transformation in Nature and Yoga — Krama (sequence, succession) is the principle underlying all natural change and the framework within which Patanjali's yoga practice operates — transformation always occurs in proper sequence, never…
• Citta Vritti Nirodha in Practice — The Moment-to-Moment Application — The practical application of chitta vritti nirodha is not a permanent achievement but a moment-to-moment practice — the repeated, gentle returning of scattered awareness to its own still nature in…
• Purusha and Prakriti — The Two Poles of Existence — The Samkhya-Yoga cosmology of two irreducible principles — Purusha (pure consciousness, the Seer) and Prakriti (primal matter-energy, the seen) — provides the metaphysical framework for…
• The Eight Limbs as a Complete Ecology of Transformation — The Ashtanga (eight-limbed) system is not a linear sequence of steps but a complete ecology — eight mutually supporting dimensions of practice that together create the conditions in which…
• Pranayama — The Four Modifications of Breath — Patanjali describes pranayama in terms of four measurable parameters: place (desha), duration (kala), number (samkhya), and subtlety (sukshmah) — making breath regulation a precise, quantifiable…
• Om — The Sacred Syllable Indicating Ishvara — Om (Pranava) is Patanjali's sacred symbol for Ishvara — the vibration that most completely represents the nature of pure consciousness, and the practice of whose repetition and contemplation…
• Samskara Balance — Creating New Impressions to Replace Old Ones — The practical mechanism of yoga practice as Patanjali describes it: every moment of Nirodha deposits a Nirodha-samskara (impression of restraint) that competes with and gradually displaces the…
• Viveka Ja Jnanam — Wisdom Born From Discrimination — Vivekaja Jnana (knowledge born from discrimination) is the highest cognitive achievement of the Yoga Sutras — the spontaneous, total, simultaneous knowledge of all things that arises when…
• Yoga as Union — The Fundamental Meaning — The root meaning of 'Yoga' (from 'yuj' — to yoke, to join, to unite) points toward the fundamental purpose of all yoga practice: the reunion of the individual consciousness with its universal source.
• Ananta Samapatti — Absorption in the Infinite for Mastering Asana — The practice of ananta samapatti — meditative absorption in the infinite quality of space and consciousness — is Patanjali's prescribed method for transcending the body's limitations and achieving…
• The Antarayas — Working With Obstacles as Teachers — Patanjali's nine obstacles on the spiritual path are not merely problems to overcome but teachers whose arising reveals the specific areas where deeper practice and understanding are needed.
• Kleshas as Root and Branch — Understanding the Structure of Suffering — The kleshas operate in a hierarchical structure with Avidya as the root from which Asmita, Raga, Dvesha, and Abhinivesha branch — understanding this structure reveals why dissolving the root is the…
• The Correlation of Inner and Outer Yoga — Bahiranga and Antaranga — Patanjali distinguishes the outer (Bahiranga) limbs — Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara — from the inner (Antaranga) limbs — Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi — recognizing them as distinct in kind…
• Samadhi as the Natural State — Not Achievement But Recognition — The deepest teaching of the Yoga Sutras is that Samadhi is not a state to be achieved through effort but the natural state of consciousness — always already present, temporarily obscured by the…
• The Yoga of Knowledge — Jnana in the Yoga Sutras — Patanjali's system, while often categorized as Raja (royal) Yoga, contains a strong Jnana (wisdom/knowledge) dimension: the systematic investigation of the nature of consciousness that progressively…
• Patanjali's Vision of the Liberated Sage — The Yoga Sutras' implicit vision of the liberated sage (Jivanmukta — liberated while living) is a being who continues to act in the world, but whose action arises from pure intelligence rather than…
• Kriya — The Power of Right Action in the World — Kriya (action, from 'kri' — to do) in the Yoga Sutras context refers specifically to purifying action — action performed with full awareness and without ego-identification with the fruits — which…
• The Relationship Between Patanjali's Yoga and Vedanta — Patanjali's dualistic Samkhya framework (Purusha vs. Prakriti) and Advaita Vedanta's non-dualism (all is Brahman) represent complementary rather than contradictory approaches to the same reality —…
• Abhyasa — The Quality of Sustained, Devoted Practice — Abhyasa (practice) in the Yoga Sutras is not mere repetition but practice performed with specific qualities: over a long time, without interruption, and with sincere devotion — only this quality of…
• The Pratyahara Bridge — From External to Internal Yoga — Pratyahara is the critical bridge in the Yoga Sutras between the outer limbs (Yama through Pranayama) and the inner limbs (Dharana through Samadhi) — the practice of sense withdrawal that makes the…
• Tapas as Purification — The Fire That Burns Away Impurity — Tapas (austerity, disciplined practice, 'spiritual heat') is the active purifying dimension of yoga practice — the willingness to remain engaged with difficulty, discomfort, and resistance rather…
• The Yoga Sutras as a Living Text — Its Relevance for Contemporary Practice — The Yoga Sutras, compiled approximately 2,000 years ago, remains the most systematically rigorous and practically precise map of consciousness and contemplative practice available in any tradition —…
• Ahimsa (Non-Harming) in Patanjali's System — Ahimsa (non-violence, non-harming) as the first and foundational Yama — establishing the ethical ground on which all yoga practice is built and whose mature realization transforms the practitioner's…
• The Four Means of Achieving Yoga — Alternative Paths — Sutra 1.20 lists five means for achieving the highest samadhi states: Shraddha (faith), Virya (energy/courage), Smriti (memory/mindfulness), Samadhi (absorption), and Prajna (wisdom) — offering…
• The Three Gunas and Yoga Practice — Working With the Qualities of Nature — The three gunas (Tamas, Rajas, Sattva) are the qualities pervading all of Prakriti — yoga practice systematically cultivates Sattva and eventually transcends all three gunas to reach the pure…
• Drishti — The Focused Gaze as a Gateway to Concentration — Drishti (focused gaze) is a practical tool for Pratyahara and Dharana — the use of a specific gazing point to stabilize and direct attention, thereby beginning the withdrawal from outward-scattered…
• Upaya — Skillful Means and the Individuality of the Yogic Path — The teaching of skillful means (Upaya) in yoga — that different practitioners at different stages require different practices — is implicitly built into the Yoga Sutras' recognition of multiple…
• Spanda — The Subtle Pulsation of Consciousness — Spanda (divine vibration, subtle pulsation) from Kashmir Shaivism complements Patanjali's system by describing the vibrant, alive quality of the consciousness that yoga practice reveals — not dead…
• Yoga Nidra — The Practice of Conscious Sleep — Yoga Nidra (yogic sleep) is the contemplative practice of maintaining awareness through the threshold states between waking, dreaming, and dreamless sleep — accessing the deep samskara-clearing and…
• The Yoga of Relationship — Satsang as Spiritual Practice — Satsang (company of truth, association with realized beings) is recognized in the yoga tradition as one of the most powerful spiritual practices — the transformative influence of genuine wisdom…
• The Legacy of Patanjali — How the Yoga Sutras Shaped All Subsequent Yoga — Patanjali's Yoga Sutras established the canonical framework for all subsequent yoga philosophy and practice — providing a systematic, comprehensive map of the contemplative path that has guided…
• The Eternal Teaching — Yoga as the Universal Science of Consciousness — The Yoga Sutras' ultimate claim is not cultural or historical but universal: that consciousness has a nature, that this nature can be investigated, and that the investigation — conducted with the…

Essays on Patanjali Yoga Sutras

• What the Yoga Sutras say about a steady mind — Patanjali defines yoga as the stilling of the mind. Nine concepts on what scatters attention and what settles it, with the sutra numbers.
• What the Yoga Sutras say about the body — Patanjali names no postures. Eight concepts on the body from the Yoga Sutras: the steady seat, effort, discipline, cleanliness and clinging to life.
• What the Yoga Sutras say about breath and pranayama — Patanjali gives breath five short lines and no techniques. Seven concepts on where pranayama sits in his system and what he claims it does.
• What the Yoga Sutras say about habit and discipline — Ten concepts from Patanjali on discipline: the three conditions of sutra 1.14, samskaras, tapas, the nine obstacles, and the sutra that undercuts them.
• What the Yoga Sutras say about doubt — Ten concepts from Patanjali on doubt: samshaya among the nine obstacles, afflicted versus clear doubt, svadhyaya, and why faith is asked for before proof.
• What the Yoga Sutras say about envy and comparison — Ten concepts from Patanjali on envy and comparison: the four attitudes of sutra 1.33, coveting counted as theft, santosha, and the trap of the siddhis.