The yoga sutras of
Patanjali

As with many things in history, there is disagreement about when Patanjali lived and whether it was one person or several.

It seems Patanjali lived, in South Asia, somewhere between 325 and 425 CE according to Philipp Mass as referenced in the book “The Roots of Yoga”. Mass also says that the sage is one person who drew on ancient texts to create and inform their work.

Patanjali is relevant to me and my yoga practice because the sutras influenced the yoga practitioners who bought yoga to the west. Krishnamachara (1888 – 1989) who is known as the “Father of modern yoga” taught K.Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, T. K. V. Desikachar who brought and taught yoga across the west. Much of our yoga today has come from these teachers and they were influenced by the yoga sutras.

Within the yoga sutras the eight limbs of yoga are detailed.  These are followed by many yoga students, and the image below shows the yamas and the niyamas.

The yamas are social or ethical restraints and the niyamas are personal disciplines.

These are guidelines on how to conduct oneself.  Iyengar refers to them as the “golden keys” to yoga – by following them we can unlock a deeper practice.