Yoga Sutras | Yoga Teacher Training Recap

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Day 9 of my yoga instructor training was intense.  The entire class was assigned various yoga sutras to study and explain.  The sutras are ancient teachings interpreted throughout time.  In this instance, I was assigned 4 sutras from Book 2.  (The Yoga Sutras are composed of 4 Books total).  Here are my interpretations and thoughts:

Book 2, Sutra 17

• We also identify ourselves with that is seen, what we possess.  Often in life, we so easily become attached to what we own.  We attach ourselves to a car and when the car is totaled, we are crushed and mourn that loss. Then we go right back out and purchase another car.  We miss the fact that if we feel that we suffered a loss, we are still here. We didn’t lose ourselves, we just lost something that we had.

Book 2, Sutra 18

• Nature (everything outside of our body) is here is to give us kicks and burns to hopefully one day liberate us.  Patanjali speaks about a silkworm that is born and eats and eats and eats.  Every day the worm consumes double what it ate on the previous day.  Finally, the worm can’t eat anymore and it passes out into a coma and forms a cocoon.  While in the cocoon, the work repents and begs for forgiveness.  Only when the worm promises to never over-consume again, does it grow wings and become a silk moth.  This makes me really examine my life choices and ask myself if I’m over consuming.

Book 2, Sutra 19

• Nature comes in many stages including stages that we can’t see or define.  If we develop a more subtle perception, we can see subtler things.  Are things really what they seem?  This made me examine how often I may judge things based on what I see on the outside.

Book 2, Sutra 20

• The Seerer sees through the mind.  My interpretation of this is that we need to embrace everyone.  This includes the wicked and what we would consider the worse sinners keeping in mind that we ourselves were once sinners.

I have read through Patanjali’s sutras multiple times and I still feel like I haven’t scratched the service.  I will continue to read and study.  It seems like the more that I learn, the more that I want to learn.  One of the best things about yoga is that it’s not just about the physical practice, it’s about making an entire mind shift.