The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is one of the most referenced classical yoga texts in modern yoga. It has heavily influenced your yoga practice because many yoga teachers spend time studying it in their teacher training. The Yoga Sutras are 196 short “threads” of yoga knowledge, wisdom and rules that woven together identify the 8 Limbs of Yoga and the general practices associated with them.

The 8 Limbs of Yoga are:

1. Yamas - Right Ethics

2. Niyamas - Right Duties

3. Asanas - Physical Yoga Poses

4. Pranayama - Energy Control Through the Breath

5. Pratyahara - Sense Control

6. Dharana - Concentration

7. Dhyana - Meditation

8. Samadhi - Enlightenment

Of the 196 yoga sutras in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, only 3 discuss the yoga asanas, postures and poses (II:46 - II:48).

So why is this considered a foundational classic yoga text if less than 2% of it references the very thing that you focus on in your yoga practice, the yoga asanas, postures and poses?

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali were written to capture the purpose, essence, general practices, challenges and insights that you, the yoga practitioner, will experience as you travel along your yoga journey. It is yoga wisdom distilled down to just a few words.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali hold great wisdom. It opens doors in your yoga practice. It creates the space for you to dive in and study these sometimes obscure, confusing gems to see how they can shine in your practice and in your life.

You can read the text in the order that it was written. You will gain some knowledge but you will probably experience an uncomfortably high level of general confusion. You will probably be overwhelmed by the questions that it creates and how to bring this tool into your practice on a practical level.

If you haven’t read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, don’t read it front to back. If you have read them that way, you already understand this.

There is a proven way of aligning your practice with a few bits of wisdom from the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, thus opening the door to study them in depth and add continuous value to your life. Try reading them this way to reap a few more insights out of them on your first reading.

Read the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali in this order:

Book II Portion on Practice

This book will give you gems of wisdom that you can apply to your yoga practice no matter where you are on your yoga journey. Most of it will be obscure to you at this point in your practice, and that is as it should be considering that it is a 3000 year old text, but more and more wisdom will seep out as your practice continues to grow.

Book I Portion on Contemplation

This book gives you an overview of the practice of yoga and the impact that it can have in your life. Reading Book II first helps you put the content in Book I in perspective.

Book III Portion on Accomplishments

This book gives you an overview of the benefits and potential traps as you travel along your yoga journey. It focuses on the last 3 limbs - (dharana/concentration, dhyana/meditation, and samadhi/contemplation - of the 8 Limbs of Yoga.

Book IV Portion on Absoluteness

This book guides you in the final limb of yoga - samadhi/concentration - oneness with yourself and with the Universe. Most of it will be hard, if not impossible, for you to understand or even relate to on your first reading. 

Fret not…if it were easy…

Following this order helps you to absorb more and relate the “How” to the “Why”. As you develop a better understanding of the “How” and the “Why” you begin to understand the process of the “What” to move you along on your yoga journey.

Reading the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali will make all 8 Limbs of Yoga more relevant and intertwined in your practice. It will enhance the benefits that you reap as you travel along your yoga journey.