Theme of the month – January 2021 – The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
NOW is the time for yoga…
In thinking about a theme for this month I have kept returning again and again to the very first of Patanjali’s yoga sutras writer around 2000 years ago (or thereabouts)
1.1 ATHA YOGANUSASANAM – NOW begins the study of Yoga or how I have always read it, NOW is the time for yoga
Over the years the meaning of YOGA has changed and evolved to become mainly associated with the physical practice or poses (asanas). But when Patanjali talks about yoga, he is talking about the whole kit and caboodle – the eight limbs that he codifies in the sutras. From self awareness to meditation, from breathing to asana, from kindness to devotion and much more.
But in the very first sutra in book 1, Patanjali gives us an open invitation to recommit to our Yoga practice every day and stay present in every moment, the ETERNAL NOW. And if there ever was a time when the world needs yoga then that time is surely now.
Su = a thread or string implying a weaving together and tra =to traverse. Sutra implies the weaving of thoughts into a sequence that produces insights into our world, one another and ourselves.
The sutras (literally, “threads”) are ancient aphorisms, small little nuggets of wisdom that encourage us to look at why we practice and how we practice in order to achieve the ultimate goal of union and self realisation. Or to put it more simply, how we live in the best way we can.
The Yoga Sutras are one of the most important Darshanas in Vedic History, offering us powerful tools for living, ways of stopping our self-sabotaging habitual patterns and instead reconnecting with the Self.
Just as our vinyasa yoga practice threads it all together with song of the breath , as we memorize the Sutras by HEART they can become a soundtrack to the way we live, helping us navigate this crazy, mad life of ours.
Join us in the zoom room this month to learn a little more about the sutras and please share your favourite sutra with us, we would love to hear your thoughts!
