Pada One of the Yoga Sutras: Why Practice Yoga?

Photo by Motoki Tonn on Unsplash

---

If there were a little more silence, if we all kept quiet...maybe we could understand something.
​
- Federico Fellini

---

This blog post is part of our Yoga Sutras series.  Each year, I will select Sutras from the four, successive Padas (with January's - February this year - dedicated to an introduction to a specific Pada).  Although every one of the 196 Sutras could lead a person to transcendence, I will be limited to 43.  In these 43 Sutras, I will attempt to cover most of the important themes within the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali as a whole, by referring to other important Sutras within the discussion.

I invite you on this exploration with me.  To discover the heart of yoga: what yoga is and how to master it.

Want to start at the beginning?

---

In 2023, we will cover Pada One.  The first Pada is for Patanjali’s most advanced students (Stiles, xvi), intended for “those who are already highly evolved to enable them to maintain their advanced state.” (Iyengar, 4).

But in Patanjali’s brilliance, this Pada also serves as a sort of introduction to Raja Yoga.  Specifically, why practice yoga?  What benefits develop from steady, continued yoga practice?  And generally, how to get there?

Read More