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Yoga
The eightfold stilling of the mind
India · Patanjali's Yoga Sutras (~200 BCE–400 CE)
When the ripples on the lake of the mind settle, what was always reflected becomes clear.
Core Teaching
Classical Yoga (Raja Yoga) is a science of attention. Patanjali defines it in the second aphorism: yogash chitta-vritti-nirodhah — yoga is the stilling of the mind's fluctuations. When the mind is turbulent, we identify with its contents; when it grows still, the seer rests in its own nature. The eight limbs are a graded discipline — ethical, physical, and contemplative — that leads from outer conduct to the inner absorption of samadhi.
Key Concepts
Chitta-vritti
The movements or modifications of the mind-stuff — thoughts, memories, imaginings — that obscure the seer.
Purusha & Prakriti
Pure witnessing consciousness (purusha) and everything observed, including mind (prakriti). Freedom is disentangling the two.
Abhyasa & Vairagya
Persistent practice and non-attachment — the two wings by which the mind is steadied.
Kleshas
The five afflictions — ignorance, ego, attachment, aversion, and clinging to life — that drive suffering.
Samadhi
Absorption in which the meditator, meditation, and object become one; the eighth limb.
Practices
Asana & Pranayama
A steady, comfortable seat and the regulation of breath — steadying body and prana so the mind can settle.
Pratyahara
Withdrawal of the senses from their objects, turning attention inward.
Dharana → Dhyana
One-pointed concentration ripening into unbroken meditation.
The Path · Stages
01
Yama & NiyamaThe ethical foundations — non-harming, truth, non-stealing, moderation, non-grasping; and purity, contentment, discipline, self-study, surrender.
02
The inner limbsAsana, pranayama, pratyahara — bridging the outer conduct to the meditative core.
03
SamyamaConcentration, meditation, and absorption practised together on a single object — the gateway to insight and freedom (kaivalya).
Key Texts
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
196 terse aphorisms — the root text of classical yoga.
Hatha Yoga Pradipika
A 15th-century manual of posture, breath, and subtle energy.
Bhagavad Gita
Presents karma, bhakti, and jnana yoga as complementary paths.
Voices
Patanjali
Compiler of the Yoga Sutras; codified the eightfold path.
T. Krishnamacharya
'Father of modern yoga'; teacher of Iyengar, Pattabhi Jois, and Desikachar.
Swami Vivekananda
Brought Raja Yoga to the West at the 1893 Parliament of Religions.
“Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Then the seer abides in its own nature.”
— Patanjali, Yoga Sutras 1.2–1.3
Resonant Raags
Raags whose mood meets this path — sit with one as you contemplate.