Yoga Sutras
Also known as: Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, Ashtanga
Sanskrit: योग सूत्र, from yoga ('union') and sutra ('thread' or 'aphorism').
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are a foundational text of classical yoga philosophy, composed of 196 concise aphorisms organized around an eight-limbed path (ashtanga) leading from ethical conduct through physical and breath practices to meditative absorption and liberation.
The eight limbs described in the Yoga Sutras are yama (ethical restraints), niyama (observances), asana (posture), pranayama (breath control), pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (absorption). Modern postural yoga draws its name and much of its framework from this text, though it emphasizes asana far more than the sutras themselves do.
Compiled by Patanjali, likely between the 2nd century BCE and 4th century CE, the roughly 196 sutras open with one of the most quoted lines in the entire yogic tradition, 'yogas chitta vritti nirodhah,' commonly translated as yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Despite being the philosophical foundation most yoga teacher trainings cite, the text says almost nothing about physical postures beyond a brief mention of asana as a steady, comfortable seat, underscoring how far removed the classical source material is from a modern studio's physical practice.
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Related Terms
Asana
Asana refers to the physical postures of yoga, the third of Patanjali's eight limbs. Originally describing a stable, comfortable seated position for meditation, the term has expanded in modern practice to cover the wide range of standing, seated, balancing, and inverted poses taught in yoga classes today.
Pranayama
Pranayama is the yogic practice of consciously regulating the breath, using specific ratios of inhalation, retention, and exhalation to influence the nervous system, mind, and vital energy (prana). It is the fourth limb of Patanjali's eight-limbed yoga and a foundation of most yoga and meditation traditions.
Samadhi
Samadhi is the eighth and final limb of Patanjali's yoga, describing a state of deep meditative absorption in which the sense of a separate observer dissolves into unified awareness with the object of meditation. It is traditionally considered the culmination of sustained meditative practice.