Yoga Sutras

The Yoga Sutras are considered the most significant text on Raja yoga, which is a branch of the yoga tree that incorporates spiritual and physical practices.

The Yoga Sutras provide the aspiring yogi with a thread, or Sutra, to follow through each stage of the yoga journey. We know very little about the author,Patanjali, but it is said that he may have written this text during the first or second century CE.

The Yoga Sutras  contain four chapters, each denoting a different stage, level and approach to yoga.

Chapter 1:  The explanation of yoga, the fluctuations of the mind and the obstacles for the yoga practitioner.

Chapter 2: The eight limbs of yoga.

Chapter 3: The potential of the mind and extrasensory awareness that can be gained through yoga.

Chapter 4: The final journey of the soul towards release and liberation.

Written many centuries ago, the Sutras are still used in yoga practice today.