SESSION #1: Yoga Sutra by Patanjali

Canonical image of Patanjali, supposed to be the son of the serpent god Adishesha...

This text is the founding text of most yoga teacher training programs: in short, the yoga bible.[1].

Text class (written in "aphorisms" or sutras or "threads") - 195 sutras - has always been accompanied by a commentary.

This means that the text itself can be read very quickly. Comments, on the other hand, require a lot of good will, and there are multitudes of them.

Enjoy your discovery and tasting...

[1] It is the masterpiece studied in the "Indian philosophy" section, often accompanied by the Baghavad gita.

Preparation

The essentials:

• Read the wikipedia article: https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoga_s%C5%ABtra

• Read the FR version without commentary and select 2 extracts: one that speaks to you, that matters to you for one reason or another, one that you don't understand at all, or that shocks you.

Warning: Read the part without commentary: pages 100 to 110) but you must read this part to the end... Suspense...

Optional work

• Listen to one or both of the 2 podcasts below and note the main points...

  • An interview (1h07) with David Gordon White (author of the edifying and highly erudite book "The Yoga Sutra of Patanjali"): MIPodcast #13: What's the "Yoga Sutra of Patanjali": https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdFTYvBic8Y

  • An excellent podcast featuring White's analysis (19'40): https: //www.historyofphilosophy.net/yoga

  • For a counter review: How Yoga Migrated From India to Your Local Gym

Post-session information

The presentation:

The article: "The Yoga Sutras and The Red Violin: a review of David Gordon White's New Book".

"Only 11 short pages...

And finally, Ramdev, a contemporary figure, a great guru, a hairy man, to whom we'll return one day: