Discover the Supreme Joy in the original roots of yoga! In modern society, yoga has become an unstoppable avalanche. The well-being it brings is enormous, but this becomes even greater if we immerse ourselves in its essence, in its very core, in its original roots. And who better to guide us than Patanjali, the father of yoga? His Yoga Sutras are the way towards supreme happiness, step by step, day by day. Patanjali, however, lived centuries ago and it is not always easy to see how to apply his valuable teachings in an effective and relevant way. In these pages you will receive help from one of the great spiritual masters of our times, Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the wellknown spiritual classic, Autobiography of a Yogi. Thanks to Yogananda’s commentaries, you will find yourself able to apply each of Patanjali’s first thirty-one Yoga Sutras to your daily life, to your meditation, to the yoga asanas and to understanding yourself. Through an imaginary dialogue between Patanjali and one of his disciples, you will be presented with: Each sutra in the original Sanscrit with an English translation An explanation of the sutra’s deeper meaning Hints for experimenting with it in your meditations Instructions for applying it to the yoga asanas Inspiration for applying it to your daily life A guide for self-analysis for each sutra.

What happens as we grow spiritually? Is there a step-by-step process that everyone goes through—all spiritual seekers, including those of any or no religious persuasion—as they gradually work their way upward, until they achieve the highest state of Self-realization? About 2200 years ago, a great spiritual master of India named Patanjali described this process, and presented humanity with a clear-cut, step-by-step outline of how all truth seekers and saints achieve divine union. He called this universal inner experience and process “yoga” or “union.” His collection of profound aphorisms—a true world scripture—has been dubbed Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Unfortunately, since that time many scholarly translators with little or no spiritual realization have written commentaries on Patanjali's writings that have succeeded only in burying his pithy insights in convoluted phrases like “becomes assimilated with transformations” and “the object alone shines without deliberation.” How can any reader understand Patanjali's original meaning when he or she has to wade through such bewildering terminology? Thankfully, a great modern yoga master—Paramhansa Yogananda, author of the classic Autobiography of a Yogi—has cut through the scholarly debris and resurrected Patanjali's original teachings and revelations. Now, in Demystifying Patanjali, Swami Kriyananda, a direct disciple of Yogananda, shares his guru's crystal clear and easy-to-grasp explanations of Patanjali's aphorisms. As Kriyananda writes in his introduction, “My Guru personally shared with me some of his most important insights into these sutras. During the three and a half years I lived with him, he also went with me at great length into the basic teachings of yoga. “I was able, moreover, to ask my Guru personally about many of the subjects covered by Patanjali. His explanations have lingered with me, and have been a priceless help in the [writing of this book].”

Too often, Westerners perform the yoga positions without considering the forms' underlying philosophy and spiritual dimension. For the first time, in this new and elegant translation from the Sanskrit, all the sutras appear in an accessible question-and-answer format, along with special queries that encourage self-reflection. The result is a treasure trove of insight.

A high-profile Ashtanga Yoga teacher introduces an inspirational 30-day program that will “completely overhaul your attitude . . . eliminate negativity . . . while also allowing yoga to transform your body” (PopSugar) “The brave heart of a yogi is defined by actions that make the world a better place.” Live with authenticity. Practice patience. Let go of negativity. These are some of the core tenets of a yoga lifestyle, on and off the mat. Yoga is about much more than twisting yourself into shapes—the heart of this ancient practice is an inner journey, one of reflection, spiritual awakening, and ultimately a calm, clear mind. The Yogi Assignment is a 30-day introduction to these life-affirming and simple—yet revolutionary—principles. Led by master Ashtanga yoga teacher Kino MacGregor, this journey will challenge and uplift your body, mind, and spirit. Each day offers a practice and meditation that will help you confront your emotional, physical, and mental limitations and inspire real change in your life. MacGregor is a fierce, loving guide who encourages you to look deeply within to find your wellspring of inner strength and courage.

In The Secret Power of Yoga, world-renowned Yoga expert Nischala Joy Devi interprets Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, the principles at the basis of Yoga practice, from a heart-centered, intuitive, feminine perspective, resulting in the first translation intended for women. Yoga is well known for its power to create a healthy body, but few realize the emotional and spiritual benefits. Devi’s simple, elegant, and deeply personal interpretations capture the spirit of each sutra, and her suggested practices offer numerous ways to embrace the spirituality of Yoga throughout your day.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Book 2: Sadhana Pada What relevance does the wisdom of the ancient and timeless practice and philosophy of yoga have for us today? Has the world qualitatively changed such that the principles of life and the dynamics of consciousness as observed by the seers and teachers of ancient times are no longer relevant? Is modern culture’s aim of freedom to pursue desires and experience the world through the senses a sufficient explanation and justification of life? In Sadhana Pada the ageless methods for achieving freedom from desires are presented. These life changing principles and practices are offered here so that they can be tested and experienced in the setting of modern life; the experience of peace that they bring can then be measured against the experience of a life spent fulfilling desires.

The first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to viniyoga--yoga adapted to the needs of the individual. • A contemporary classic by a world-renowned teacher. • This new edition adds thirty-two poems by Krishnamacharya that capture the essence of his teachings. Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, who lived to be over 100 years old, was one of the greatest yogis of the modern era. Elements of Krishnamacharya's teaching have become well known around the world through the work of B. K. S. Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Indra Devi, who all studied with Krishnamacharya. Krishnamacharya's son T. K. V. Desikachar lived and studied with his father all his life and now teaches the full spectrum of Krishnamacharya's yoga. Desikachar has based his method on Krishnamacharya's fundamental concept of viniyoga, which maintains that practices must be continually adapted to the individual's changing needs to achieve the maximum therapeutic value. In The Heart of Yoga Desikachar offers a distillation of his father's system as well as his own practical approach, which he describes as "a program for the spine at every level--physical, mental, and spiritual." This is the first yoga text to outline a step-by-step sequence for developing a complete practice according to the age-old principles of yoga. Desikachar discusses all the elements of yoga--poses and counterposes, conscious breathing, meditation, and philosophy--and shows how the yoga student may develop a practice tailored to his or her current state of health, age, occupation, and lifestyle. This is a revised edition of The Heart of Yoga.

The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali is the classic text on the spiritual practice of yoga. Written more than 2,000 years ago, this work is a map to the fast track to enlightenment. They derive from an ancient oral tradition, when Devi, the Divine feminine, was worshiped. Yet, today, the Yoga Sutra is taught by priests and scholars from a masculine Hindu...

If you think that you have to retreat to a cave in the Himalayas to find the enlightenment that yoga promises, think again. In this second edition of Living Your Yoga, Judith Hanson Lasater stretches the meaning of yoga beyond its familiar poses and breathing techniques to include the events of daily life—all of them—as ways to practice. This edition includes three new chapters (Relaxation, Empathy, and Worship), a full index, and new interior and cover designs.Using the time-honored wisdom of the Yoga Sutra and the Bhagavad Gita to steer the course, she serves up off-the-mat practices to guide you in deepening your relationships with yourself, your family and friends, and the world around you.Inspiring and practical, she blends her heartfelt knowledge of an ancient tradition with her life experiences as a daughter, sister, partner, mother, friend, and yoga practitioner and teacher. The result: a new yoga that beckons you to find the spiritual in everyday life.

Dating from about the third century A.D., the Yoga Sutra distills the essence of the physical and spiritual discipline of yoga into fewer than two hundred brief aphorisms. It is the core text for any study of meditative practice, revered for centuries for its brilliant analysis of mental states and of the process by which inner liberation is achieved. Yet its difficulties are legendary, and until now, no translation has made it fully accessible. This new translation, hailed by Yoga Journal for its "unsurpassed readability," is by one of the leading Sanskrit scholars of our time, whose Bhagavad Gita has become a recognized classic. It includes an introduction to the philosophy and psychology underlying the Yoga Sutra, the full text with explanatory commentary, and a glossary of key terms in Sanskrit and English.