Welcome to Yoga Sūtra Freenotes

This Freenotes aspect of the Yoga Studies website will offer sūtra by sūtra translations, interpretations and commentaries from my in-depth word by word studies of the Yoga Sūtra with the two longest serving students of the eminent T Krishnamacharya, especially my root Yoga teacher TKV Desikachar. With gratitude for what this learning has helped lead me towards.

Patāñjali

yogena cittasya padena vācāṃ malaṃ śarīrasya ca vaidyakena I
yopākarottaṃ pravaraṃ munīnāṃ patañjaliṃ prāñjali rānato’smi II

‘Coming from the lineage of teachers who transformed impurities of the mind by Yoga,
of speech by grammar and of the body by medicine. To Patañjali I salute.’

The chapter pages and topic lists are set up but not yet filled with content. However the migration work of collating my various web site content under one roof is complete so now I can turn my attention to output, especially Yoga Sūtra work. Meanwhile the work in progress can be viewed here

One important part of this process is the ability to present the teachings using ‘proper’ Romanised Saṃskṛta as part of the web interface. I feel strongly that we need to be able to appreciate how the vitality and poetry of Yoga concepts is an inherent aspect of correct pronouncing. In this instance I feel it to be more vital to correctly sound vibrationally Yoga concepts relating to states of Heart such as Duḥkha, rather than states of Body such as Uttānāsana.

Thank you for your interest and patience. Paul June 7 2011

“The target of Yoga is ‘svatantra’ 
which means to discover our own technique.
‘Sva’ means itself and ‘tantra’ means technique.
The techniques are in oneself and we must discover them;
if not we will depend on others. I am sick and I go to the doctor;
but finally I must become my own therapist. This is ‘svatantra’.”
TKV Desikachar