Distilled Spirit

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali The varied philosophies and methodologies of Yoga itself were clearly and methodically brought together and presented by the sage Patanjali in his set of 196 aphorisms called "The Yoga Sutras," written some 2200 years ago. The Sutras bring together all the various strands of theory and practice from all sources of yoga and present them in one concise, integrated and comprehensive text. How all the aspects interrelate and form part of the whole body of yoga is clearly elucidated. There are 8 disciplines to yoga as presented by Patanjali (thus Astanga yoga - 8 limbed yoga), which must be practiced and refined in order to perceive the true self- the ultimate goal of Yoga: Yama - Universal ethics: Non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, sexual restraint and non-acquisitiveness. Niyama - Principles of self conduct: purity, contentment, intense dedication or austerity, study of self and scriptures and self-surrender. Asana - practice of the postures. Pran