April 1, 2024 • 34 mins
Embark on an ancient journey with us, Dan and Jody, as we begin to unravel the tapestry of the Yoga Sutras, a text that defies time with its profound wisdom on self-leadership and self-realization. Have you ever considered that yoga is more than just poses; that it's an intricate science? Tune in to our latest episode where we explore the enigmatic origins of this guidebook, which scholars believe was penned 4,000 years ago, though the exact timeline is as elusive as the mist. We delve into the lexicon of the Yoga Sutras, from their potentially collective authorship to the significance of their 194 to 196 aphorisms, with each interpretation offering new insights into the science of living.
Together, we'll begin to dissect the essence of these cryptic aphorisms, emphasizing the importance of not just reading, but actively practicing the teachings. The Yoga Sutras beckon us inward, urging a harmony of mind and body through the union that is yoga. Join us as we decode the first sutra and discuss the mythical figure Patanjali who may—or may not—be the sole author of this timeless work. It's a call to action, a reminder that the path to self-discovery and transformative growth lies in the art of interpretation and the discipline of practice. Don't miss the conversation that may well be the thread you need to stitch together a more conscious and centered life.
We would love to hear from you! Email us at becomeoneliving@gmail.com or reach out to us on Instagram at BecomeOne Living.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Hello and welcome back to become one living.
My name is Dan.
This is my wife, Joe.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi everyone.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
We're back.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome back.
Today I would like to talkabout the Yoga Sutras.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I think it's great.
Well, it's embarking on ajourney embarking on a journey.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
What a great leeway into the Yoga Sutras, because
they offer you a journey.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's not a story to read, it's a whole expedition.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
It is a guidebook on how to practice yoga.
That was written 4,000, four tofive thousand years ago.
Now why aren't I giving you anexact date or time?
The Hindu philosophy varies,meaning all different scholars
(01:19):
will tell you differenttimelines because there is no
exact times in literature thatthey can find, so they vary a
thousand years here and there.
So that's why, if you are ayoga teacher or you study these
practices, if you read differentbooks, different commentaries,
(01:39):
they will tell you a differenttimeline.
Nobody is right or wrong.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Right and it's something you have to touch upon
, but the history of it,historical context of it is just
almost insignificant comparedto the material and the depth
that happens once you start tounpack them and beginning with
(02:04):
the first one, you couldprobably spend a good amount of
your lifetime just unpacking thefirst one.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
We are going to spend a whole episode unpacking the
first one, but right now I wantto go back a little to clarify
exactly what it is.
What are they?
So they're a guidebook on howto attain yoga and practice yoga
(02:33):
.
It's a guidebook.
In this book there's 194 to 196aphorisms to 196 aphorisms.
Why the difference between afew numbers?
It depends on whose commentaryyou're reading.
Again, it doesn't matter theamount, but I like to share this
(02:56):
for yoga teachers or anyoneinterested.
If you go and say well, yousaid 195 and this book says 196.
Just so you know, it varies.
It really depends on who iswriting it and there's in
particularly one Yoga Sutra thatwas added in in the third book.
(03:18):
That makes it have more thanthe other books.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
We're not sure how many thousands of years ago that
one was edited Exactly, or whoedited.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And let's talk about that.
These were supposedly writtenby a mythical person.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Patanjali.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Patanjali.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
However.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
However, nobody knows for sure if he existed.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Or if it was a group of scholars at the time that
came together to put this all inplace.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yes.
So some scholars think it was agroup of people that came
together to write this.
Others say it was students.
Because sutra means thread tothread together like a sutra,
like a suture.
Suture, right means thread tothread together like a sutra,
(04:10):
like a suture.
And you're threading togetherthese aphorisms.
And some people say aphorismsare short sentences.
But here's the difference Anaphorism is a concise statement
of a scientific principle.
So it's a concise statement ofa scientific principle.
So it's a concise-.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Statement of a scientific principle.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Exactly, yoga is a science.
Yoga is a science.
I'm gonna say that a few moretimes Yoga is a science.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yoga is a science.
Yoga is a science.
Yoga is a science.
It's a science of a way ofliving.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Well, if we look at the word yoga, it's a science of
a way of living.
Well, if we look at the wordyoga, it's a science of yoga.
Yoga is union or comingtogether of two different things
, so it's a science of bringingthe mind and the body together
for self-leadership andself-realization.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
So here is a whole guidebook with aphorisms,
concise statements.
They can be short and cleverand wise.
That are scientific principlesthat now, here's the difference
between just a statement and anaphorism.
An aphorism has to beinterpreted.
(05:28):
It's a short saying thatrequires interpretation.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
It's almost as if the statement is compelling the
reader inward to do work.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, it's a calling, you read it and people think
reading it is enough.
But it is a guidebook withpractices in it, and the
practices have to be done, haveto be used in order to create a
transformation.
It cannot just be read, it'sjust words.
(06:10):
So, to go back, the Yoga Sutrasare so powerful because it is a
specific guide on how to attainself-realization.
And self-realization is yourealize your fullest potential,
(06:31):
your own potential in thislifetime?
Speaker 1 (06:37):
By way of the rituals , by way of actually putting
into place what's shared in here.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
The Yoga Sutras also, aphorisms are said to be handed
down through traditions.
So the aphorisms that we arebeing blessed and honored to
read have been passed downthrough tradition, orally,
because the Hindu philosophy isan oral tradition.
(07:10):
So then here's my question whydo people change it?
Why do I'm so curious?
I've been in the yoga world myfriends 30 years, 30 years.
I was in my teens.
30 years of your life, yes,most of my life.
I am 48.
(07:32):
I joke in yoga class and tellpeople I'm 80 and that the
practices have really helped mewith longevity.
It sometimes goes over well,but when you hear it so many
times, nobody thinks it's funny.
But I do.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I do too.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So I started in my teens because I had this feeling
that there had to be a betterway, a better way of living.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Since I've gotten to know you, the most potent piece
of your story to me is that thedrive with what motivated you in
your pursuits was healthchallenges, addiction, and so it
(08:21):
wasn't like just something thatyou did because it was fun, or
something you did on the weekend.
You were honestly in earnestreading these things, taking
them to heart, for change, foryou to live better, feel better.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
The second training I did was purely because of the
yoga sutras.
I remember knocking on Joe Twas her name Crystal.
I remember knocking on Joe T'sdoor saying you have to let me
into this training or I'm goingto die.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
She locked you out.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
No, no, this was before oh okay.
Before that, when I asked if Icould come in because I had
missed a weekend, and the reasonI was so drawn to this training
was because the first trainingI did was purely physical.
When we hear the word yoga,especially in the West, right
away thoughts go off.
(09:24):
Asana handstand, backbend wheel.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Put your feet behind your head and pretzel and all
that kind of funny stuff.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And I learned the asana and I had come from a body
background.
I was a personal trainer.
I studied physical educationand health and exercise phys.
I needed more, so I did atraining specifically to learn
the yoga sutras and thephilosophy, because I wanted a
new way of life.
(09:56):
So this book offers you all away of living.
Stop changing it, stop alteringit.
It is potent and the theoriesbehind it have been proven by
data and even more now becauseof the study of neuroscience.
(10:19):
Now, how was it proven yearsago?
Because you have these rishisand these yogis walking around
that have touched or metself-realization and
enlightenment and consciousness.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, they didn't need the science back then.
I think there's a great um fromthe buddhist influence that
these teachings were handed offfrom one warm hand to the other
or to another, and, and, and,and, and, that you know the, you
know the proof, the scientificproof was literally walking.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, years ago.
And for me, I would look at theteacher and say I want what
they have.
Not, I want to be them.
You hear the difference,friends?
I wouldn't look at someone andsay, oh, I want to be them, and
I wouldn't idolize the person.
I would have, and still feelnow for my teachers, great
(11:15):
respect for the practices,rituals, sacrifice and
discipline they had to gain themastery that they had, and
that's why I only trained withpeople of great mastery, because
I wanted that.
I wanted to learn how to leadmy life from consciousness, from
(11:42):
love, and not from fight orflight, which is what most of us
live in right now.
Due to high levels of stress inthe world and due to the state
of the world, most of us live inthis busyness.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, it's so rich.
Jo, when you say a word likeritual, you know it's just a
reminder to everyone listeningis that it's not something that
you read and say, oh, I get it,I know it in my head and like
and then you go to work and youget on with life.
(12:22):
It's, they're actually thingsthat if you do plug them in, if
you do practice, if you doritual, they yield a better life
.
You know, I mean whereeveryone's rushing around and
squeezing it in, skidding intoyoga and getting their practice
on.
But if you do slow down andtake the time to investigate,
(12:47):
explore, discover, practice, itworks.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And the suggestions on what to practice are in the
book.
So the Yoga Sutras have fourpadas, p-a-d-a.
A pada means a book.
It actually means foot, butit's broken up into four books
and the first book is about whatis yoga, the theory of yoga.
That's the first book.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Lays the groundwork.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yes, it's mainly what is yoga.
So the whole first book talksabout, well, yoga is this.
It defines yoga.
We'll talk about that inanother episode, in another
episode, but for now justcreating content and structure
for the container.
The first book explains what isyoga.
(13:46):
Now you can read about it anddiscuss it, interpret it.
What does yoga mean to you?
If the word yoga and what itmeans isn't relevant or
relatable to you, you will notdo it so neurologically.
For us to feel safe withsomething and for us to want to
dive in to something, we have torelate to it.
(14:07):
So I suggest to all of youlistening if you practice yoga
or think you practice yoga, whatdoes yoga even mean to you?
What is it?
That's what the first bookexplains, but I'm curious what
does it mean to you?
Listening right now?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, email us.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Oh yeah, oh my God.
Yes, you can email us atbecomeoneliving at gmailcom.
That would be lovely to receiveemails to see, to read, to feel
what yoga means to you.
How does it light you up?
(14:50):
There's this pulse inside of uscalled spanda.
This pulsation longs to live.
It's a passion, itcha.
These are Sanskrit words, butit's this drive to co-create.
What are you creating with?
If you don't know what yogameans to you and you take on my
(15:11):
meaning, or Dan's meaning, orSwami Satchitananda's meaning or
some teacher's meaning thatsits in front of you, you may
not dive in as deeply.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Yes, and just right there in that little piece, it
requires so much more than justsaying oh.
Yoga means this to me and it'slike a word.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Yeah, it's a feeling.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
It's a philosophy, it's a feeling, it's ideas, it's
concepts, it's relationships.
It's inclusive.
There's nothing excluded.
It's all of you, all of who youare, all that you've
experienced, all that you wishfor, all that you long for, all
that you've lost, everythingthat, that, that that you've
(16:01):
experienced On the surface, it'sall.
It's so rich I almost feel it'sunfortunate that we have to
name it something, because thatalone, to me, turns people off.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
The name diminishes the potency.
And then we try, because ofneurologically, my friends, we
try to label something and putit in a category of familiarity
that makes us feel safe.
So the labeling allows thebrain neurologically to feel
safe, but then it minimizes itto fit into our lens and
(16:44):
minimizes the possibilities ofknowing.
So the first book againexplains what yoga is.
Now the second book tells youthe practices you have to do
this, this, this what yoga isNow.
The second book tells you thepractices you have to do this,
this, this and this.
Okay, then the third book isthe achievements or the benefits
(17:04):
of those practices.
And let me tell you, my friends, I am living proof of the
benefits and the gifts that thepractices offer.
I would not be sitting here ifit wasn't for yoga, the eight
(17:28):
limbs, the eight limbs wediscussed in earlier episodes.
So if you're interested inlearning about the eight limbs
or hearing our take on them,please listen to our prior
podcasts.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Yeah, and if you listen to them and you have a
chance to chew on them for awhile and you have questions
again, email us.
But maybe include in the emailsthe episode number so that we
can readily and easilycommunicate with you, Because we
want to invite everybody intothe conversation.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Dan is very excited about this.
He wants to engage with you.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's yoga.
Yoga is interaction, engagement, relationship, interaction,
engagement, relationship.
Now the fourth book of the YogaSutras talks about freedom and
liberation and it's a morecosmic or universal look at it.
And this is how I feel aboutliberation.
(18:28):
Liberation to me is being freefrom my twisted thoughts.
Liberation is zooming out andrealizing I'm not those things
that I think.
Enlightenment to me means I cansee clearly enough to know that
(18:49):
that's dark or that's twistedor that's a protector created
story.
So I turn the lights on andshine the light on that so that
I don't behave from that placeof distortion.
So the fourth book says if youunderstand what yoga is and you
(19:10):
do these practices, you're goingto get these benefits and then,
with these benefits, you willbe free.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
You know, I love it, it's amazing.
But but you know, here's thebooby trap is, people hear that
last part and they want to justlike, read something and say, I
just read this and oh my God, Ithink that I'm free because it's
in their head.
Read this, and oh my god, Ithink that I'm free because it's
in their head, you know, I.
So I just want to remindeverybody you know, get to
practice the rituals.
(19:41):
Let's just pick something andand jump in.
That's look what.
The coolest thing for me,looking at you, is the journey.
You know, and I, you know, it'sone of those cosmic things that
(20:03):
I'm not sure like how exactlythat you from so many people
that think they're doing yoga Is.
You know, it's not somethingthat happens overnight and again
(20:24):
, I don't know what it is withinyou.
That's the curious thing to meabout you.
Why did you knock on Jyoti'sdoor and why did you keep
pursuing?
It's almost like you keptdrilling and drilling, and
drilling and drilling.
There's something that led youto believe and I and I know a
couple of the things along theway, a couple of your
experiences with different yogateachers that compelled you a
little bit more.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
There was almost like the carrot and you kept
pursuing it because and when Ihear those words, I feel them
and the feeling I get is, in thesense I'm feeling even in this
moment, is life or death, and itfelt like that to me.
(21:09):
It felt life or death.
What I was living in thatmoment felt like I was dying.
I was aware, consciously, thatI was in an addiction.
I was in survival mode, I waslying, I was manipulating, I was
doing anything I could tosurvive, not to hurt anyone, but
(21:30):
rushing around doing whatever Ineeded to do to make it through
the day, when I would readsomething or go to a class and I
started to feel better.
I hung on to that feeling andthought, okay, there's more to
this.
So then I dove into the body,but I realized the body was
(21:52):
limited because I sometimes usedmy body the way I did my
addiction.
I just bullied it.
I beat it up, jump back, jumpup.
I was bound up.
One time my legs were with ayoga strap and two blocks in
between my legs and my teachershad me drop back 30 times.
(22:13):
Now a drop back, if you don'tall know this is you're standing
up and then you just bendbackwards and come up, bend back
, bend back.
I used my body to the pointwhere I broke my spine.
I have a spinal injury thatgymnasts get Most gymnasts have
from backbending in misalignmentor overly.
(22:35):
So I used the body to the pointof almost abuse and realized,
okay, I don't think this is yoga.
That's when I went to Joe T andsaid I need the philosophy, I
need meat, I need something tochew on and the word that we use
(22:55):
for chewing is called manana.
I need something to take in andjust be with.
So I would go home and I wouldread the Yoga Sutras as if it
was the Bible to some people, asif there was life in those
words, some people, as if therewas life in those words, and I
(23:17):
believed, and I don't know why.
Maybe, as our podcast unfolds,it will become clear.
Like you're saying, there wasthis seed in me that this
language spoke to.
Please hear that this is soimportant.
If what you're doing doesn'tspeak to you, I have chills all
(23:37):
over my body right now.
The language of yoga spoke to mysoul.
This concept of, if the storiesstop, if I practice this
framework that was alreadycreated before me, the Yoga
Sutras, if I study this and thenpractice it and embody it, that
(24:03):
I may feel.
Peace was a concept I nevercould even think of before.
I didn't even know what peacefelt like could even think of
before.
I didn't even know what peacefelt like.
So what drove me was knowingthere had to be a better way,
and I knew it wasn't onlyphysical, and I knew it was only
through food, because I alsoaltered my diet, thinking okay,
(24:28):
and stop drinking and stop doingthis, and that there was still
something missing.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
I'm like hello this and that and there was still
something missing.
I'm like hello, right, right.
There are so many things thatwe can think that we're
controlling, like diet, oreliminating something, or taking
more of something, or doingthis over and over again, or
doing strengthening,strengthening, strengthening, or
(25:03):
you know just all these thingsthat are there but tend to be
distractions, until you go intothe, to the piece where it
starts to get the mental and thebody dance between the two.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah, between the two .
Yeah, having the Yoga Sutras asa hand guide, as a handbook and
a guide to keep going back to.
I even share this with mystudents now.
It's for remembrance.
We have to remember because ourmind is designed to forget.
(25:33):
What does that mean?
It means neurologically, everymoment we step into that's new.
We are surveying the land.
What's this, what's that?
Am I safe, am I not?
What's happening?
Okay, in that moment, we forgetthat we're okay.
We forget that I just came fromyoga class.
(25:55):
Now I'm driving home and I'mgetting cut off and I got oh my
God, I'm clenching the wheel, myteeth.
We forget.
We need micro-remembers.
I just made that word up.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Micro-remembers.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yes, we need micro-reminders.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
That's what we need to micro-dose on.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
To bring us back.
Hey, I'm safe in this moment.
Hey, here I am.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Yeah, a micro-reminders would be so much
better than all these otherthings, because all the other
things don't.
They take you away, they takeyou out of the matter at hand.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
They alter this state , and when our state is altered,
then we alter.
But what about the times wecan't be in an altered state?
I joke with people and I'mgoing to share this to you.
If I'm having a confrontationwith someone, I can't just whip
out tree pose.
Hey, hang on for a second orsit and meditate.
(27:00):
Om Namah Shivaya.
Om Namah Shivaya, god help me.
We need to make the Yoga Sutrasapplicable.
We have to be able to applythese in our life.
But we can't do that, myfriends, please, please, hear
this.
You cannot apply something thatyou haven't practiced.
(27:21):
You have to practice these.
After you practice them, thenthe application I know this
sounds weird you start to refineit after you practice it.
Make it sloppy, just do it,just do it.
Then you start to refine itafter you practice it.
Make it sloppy, just do it,just do it.
Then you start to refine it andit becomes more your size, it
(27:42):
fits you, it works for you.
Because this journey that Dansaid, this yoga sutras, these
are a journey.
It looks different for everyone, but I will tell you what the
thread is.
The sutra that goes through allof us is a longing to know
oneself.
Our soul, our potential longsto know itself.
(28:07):
That's in everyone.
How you get to you, my friends,that's's your choice, but yoga
is a way.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yoga is a way to you through you, through these
practices, though you can'tthink yoga yeah, the really
powerful and at the same time,sweet thing that I witnessed
with you and your teachertrainees, for instance, is is
(28:41):
through the course of training.
It's almost like if you've gotsomeone who's got a lot of edges
, whether it's a triangle uh,you know or or or a rectangle.
It's almost like you see theedges start to soften, more
flows start to happen and theresistance start to calm down
(29:01):
and literally a transformationthat happens.
And it is almost as if one dayin one of your trainings we'll
be able to schedule when thebreakdowns happen.
You know the rituals and thepractice over and over again.
It just we witness it.
I witness it in Jodi's studentsthat they it's literally,
(29:26):
literally a blossoming intothemselves, but it comes at a
little bit of a cost.
There's change, there'scommitment, there's resistance,
there's kicking and screaming.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Sometimes there's, you know a lot Blame, there's
anger.
Yeah, there's so much emotionsin my trainings that people are
not used to me saying expressthat, tell me how you feel.
That's when the breakthroughsstart happening.
(29:59):
When I say how do you feel,tell me, and we are able to
start to express and share whatis rising in the moment.
That's yoga.
If we can't practice skillfully,or practice sharing our
feelings unskillfully, we're notgoing to be able to refine that
(30:22):
.
Stay with me, my friends,because it may seem that we're
off a little, but this is whatyoga is about.
If you don't understand yourpsychology, if you don't
understand your emotions, whichare energy in motion, if you
don't understand your energy,your psychology, you cannot be
(30:45):
there for someone else.
You cannot hold space forsomeone else's psychology and
energy.
So, this practice, as deep asyou want to go in the yoga
sutras, with these practices andrituals, that's how deep you
can hold space for others.
So I offer you thatcontemplation.
(31:09):
Are you ready, are you willingto step into this journey of
yoga, which starts with the yogasutras, and do the practices
that they tell you to do?
That is written before you,without changing it, without
(31:30):
altering it, without addingmusic and creativity, because
there has to be a point ofsilence and stillness,
eventually, at some time, tohear what has been pushed down
so deeply inside you, so thatyou could just function daily.
Are you ready?
(31:50):
Are you ready for that?
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Are you ready for that?
Speaker 2 (31:54):
So the yoga sutras are a framework.
They will hold you if you allowthem to.
They talk about what is yoga,how to gain this yogic state,
this yoga lifestyle, through thepractices.
What are the benefits you'llreceive from the practices, the
(32:15):
practices, what are the benefitsyou'll receive from the
practices and, lastly, thefreedom and liberation and the
connection to your fullestpotential.
Dan, just gave me a thumbs upy'all and we'll start Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
We're going to start to wrap this episode up.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Bummer, bummer, it's just like you lit the match, oh,
would you like to share beforewe do, do you feel?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
um, I would just say this If this is speaking to you,
the very first thing I wouldrecommend as a requirement is
simply this Approach this withan open mind, my husband Dan
(33:16):
poisons Open open heart, openmind that's how this man lives.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
It's so beautiful to watch.
Thank you, and thank you allfor listening.
Become one living.
You can follow us atbecomeoneliving on Instagram and
you can email us atbecomeoneliving at gmailcom
Comments, suggestions, justmaybe to introduce yourself and
(33:47):
say hi, so we get to know you.
Thank you for listening toAncient Tools for Modern Living.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Beautiful.
Hello and welcome back to become one living.
My name is Dan.
This is my wife, Joe.
Speaker 2 (00:22):
Hi everyone.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
We're back.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Welcome back.
Today I would like to talkabout the Yoga Sutras.
What do you think?
Speaker 1 (00:36):
I think it's great.
Well, it's embarking on ajourney embarking on a journey.
Speaker 2 (00:47):
What a great leeway into the Yoga Sutras, because
they offer you a journey.
Speaker 1 (00:51):
It's not a story to read, it's a whole expedition.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
It is a guidebook on how to practice yoga.
That was written 4,000, four tofive thousand years ago.
Now why aren't I giving you anexact date or time?
The Hindu philosophy varies,meaning all different scholars
(01:19):
will tell you differenttimelines because there is no
exact times in literature thatthey can find, so they vary a
thousand years here and there.
So that's why, if you are ayoga teacher or you study these
practices, if you read differentbooks, different commentaries,
(01:39):
they will tell you a differenttimeline.
Nobody is right or wrong.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Right and it's something you have to touch upon
, but the history of it,historical context of it is just
almost insignificant comparedto the material and the depth
that happens once you start tounpack them and beginning with
(02:04):
the first one, you couldprobably spend a good amount of
your lifetime just unpacking thefirst one.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
We are going to spend a whole episode unpacking the
first one, but right now I wantto go back a little to clarify
exactly what it is.
What are they?
So they're a guidebook on howto attain yoga and practice yoga
(02:33):
.
It's a guidebook.
In this book there's 194 to 196aphorisms to 196 aphorisms.
Why the difference between afew numbers?
It depends on whose commentaryyou're reading.
Again, it doesn't matter theamount, but I like to share this
(02:56):
for yoga teachers or anyoneinterested.
If you go and say well, yousaid 195 and this book says 196.
Just so you know, it varies.
It really depends on who iswriting it and there's in
particularly one Yoga Sutra thatwas added in in the third book.
(03:18):
That makes it have more thanthe other books.
Speaker 1 (03:21):
We're not sure how many thousands of years ago that
one was edited Exactly, or whoedited.
Speaker 2 (03:28):
And let's talk about that.
These were supposedly writtenby a mythical person.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Patanjali.
Speaker 2 (03:36):
Patanjali.
Speaker 1 (03:37):
However.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
However, nobody knows for sure if he existed.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
Or if it was a group of scholars at the time that
came together to put this all inplace.
Speaker 2 (03:49):
Yes.
So some scholars think it was agroup of people that came
together to write this.
Others say it was students.
Because sutra means thread tothread together like a sutra,
like a suture.
Suture, right means thread tothread together like a sutra,
(04:10):
like a suture.
And you're threading togetherthese aphorisms.
And some people say aphorismsare short sentences.
But here's the difference Anaphorism is a concise statement
of a scientific principle.
So it's a concise statement ofa scientific principle.
So it's a concise-.
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Statement of a scientific principle.
Speaker 2 (04:26):
Exactly, yoga is a science.
Yoga is a science.
I'm gonna say that a few moretimes Yoga is a science.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
Yoga is a science.
Yoga is a science.
Yoga is a science.
It's a science of a way ofliving.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Well, if we look at the word yoga, it's a science of
a way of living.
Well, if we look at the wordyoga, it's a science of yoga.
Yoga is union or comingtogether of two different things
, so it's a science of bringingthe mind and the body together
for self-leadership andself-realization.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
I like that.
Speaker 2 (05:05):
So here is a whole guidebook with aphorisms,
concise statements.
They can be short and cleverand wise.
That are scientific principlesthat now, here's the difference
between just a statement and anaphorism.
An aphorism has to beinterpreted.
(05:28):
It's a short saying thatrequires interpretation.
Speaker 1 (05:37):
It's almost as if the statement is compelling the
reader inward to do work.
Yes.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, it's a calling, you read it and people think
reading it is enough.
But it is a guidebook withpractices in it, and the
practices have to be done, haveto be used in order to create a
transformation.
It cannot just be read, it'sjust words.
(06:10):
So, to go back, the Yoga Sutrasare so powerful because it is a
specific guide on how to attainself-realization.
And self-realization is yourealize your fullest potential,
(06:31):
your own potential in thislifetime?
Speaker 1 (06:37):
By way of the rituals , by way of actually putting
into place what's shared in here.
Speaker 2 (06:49):
The Yoga Sutras also, aphorisms are said to be handed
down through traditions.
So the aphorisms that we arebeing blessed and honored to
read have been passed downthrough tradition, orally,
because the Hindu philosophy isan oral tradition.
(07:10):
So then here's my question whydo people change it?
Why do I'm so curious?
I've been in the yoga world myfriends 30 years, 30 years.
I was in my teens.
30 years of your life, yes,most of my life.
I am 48.
(07:32):
I joke in yoga class and tellpeople I'm 80 and that the
practices have really helped mewith longevity.
It sometimes goes over well,but when you hear it so many
times, nobody thinks it's funny.
But I do.
Speaker 1 (07:48):
I do too.
Speaker 2 (07:50):
So I started in my teens because I had this feeling
that there had to be a betterway, a better way of living.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Since I've gotten to know you, the most potent piece
of your story to me is that thedrive with what motivated you in
your pursuits was healthchallenges, addiction, and so it
(08:21):
wasn't like just something thatyou did because it was fun, or
something you did on the weekend.
You were honestly in earnestreading these things, taking
them to heart, for change, foryou to live better, feel better.
Speaker 2 (08:45):
The second training I did was purely because of the
yoga sutras.
I remember knocking on Joe Twas her name Crystal.
I remember knocking on Joe T'sdoor saying you have to let me
into this training or I'm goingto die.
Speaker 1 (09:02):
She locked you out.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
No, no, this was before oh okay.
Before that, when I asked if Icould come in because I had
missed a weekend, and the reasonI was so drawn to this training
was because the first trainingI did was purely physical.
When we hear the word yoga,especially in the West, right
away thoughts go off.
(09:24):
Asana handstand, backbend wheel.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
Put your feet behind your head and pretzel and all
that kind of funny stuff.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
And I learned the asana and I had come from a body
background.
I was a personal trainer.
I studied physical educationand health and exercise phys.
I needed more, so I did atraining specifically to learn
the yoga sutras and thephilosophy, because I wanted a
new way of life.
(09:56):
So this book offers you all away of living.
Stop changing it, stop alteringit.
It is potent and the theoriesbehind it have been proven by
data and even more now becauseof the study of neuroscience.
(10:19):
Now, how was it proven yearsago?
Because you have these rishisand these yogis walking around
that have touched or metself-realization and
enlightenment and consciousness.
Speaker 1 (10:33):
Yeah, they didn't need the science back then.
I think there's a great um fromthe buddhist influence that
these teachings were handed offfrom one warm hand to the other
or to another, and, and, and,and, and, that you know the, you
know the proof, the scientificproof was literally walking.
Speaker 2 (10:54):
Yeah, years ago.
And for me, I would look at theteacher and say I want what
they have.
Not, I want to be them.
You hear the difference,friends?
I wouldn't look at someone andsay, oh, I want to be them, and
I wouldn't idolize the person.
I would have, and still feelnow for my teachers, great
(11:15):
respect for the practices,rituals, sacrifice and
discipline they had to gain themastery that they had, and
that's why I only trained withpeople of great mastery, because
I wanted that.
I wanted to learn how to leadmy life from consciousness, from
(11:42):
love, and not from fight orflight, which is what most of us
live in right now.
Due to high levels of stress inthe world and due to the state
of the world, most of us live inthis busyness.
Speaker 1 (12:00):
Yeah, it's so rich.
Jo, when you say a word likeritual, you know it's just a
reminder to everyone listeningis that it's not something that
you read and say, oh, I get it,I know it in my head and like
and then you go to work and youget on with life.
(12:22):
It's, they're actually thingsthat if you do plug them in, if
you do practice, if you doritual, they yield a better life
.
You know, I mean whereeveryone's rushing around and
squeezing it in, skidding intoyoga and getting their practice
on.
But if you do slow down andtake the time to investigate,
(12:47):
explore, discover, practice, itworks.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And the suggestions on what to practice are in the
book.
So the Yoga Sutras have fourpadas, p-a-d-a.
A pada means a book.
It actually means foot, butit's broken up into four books
and the first book is about whatis yoga, the theory of yoga.
That's the first book.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Lays the groundwork.
Speaker 2 (13:19):
Yes, it's mainly what is yoga.
So the whole first book talksabout, well, yoga is this.
It defines yoga.
We'll talk about that inanother episode, in another
episode, but for now justcreating content and structure
for the container.
The first book explains what isyoga.
(13:46):
Now you can read about it anddiscuss it, interpret it.
What does yoga mean to you?
If the word yoga and what itmeans isn't relevant or
relatable to you, you will notdo it so neurologically.
For us to feel safe withsomething and for us to want to
dive in to something, we have torelate to it.
(14:07):
So I suggest to all of youlistening if you practice yoga
or think you practice yoga, whatdoes yoga even mean to you?
What is it?
That's what the first bookexplains, but I'm curious what
does it mean to you?
Listening right now?
Speaker 1 (14:25):
Yeah, email us.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
Oh yeah, oh my God.
Yes, you can email us atbecomeoneliving at gmailcom.
That would be lovely to receiveemails to see, to read, to feel
what yoga means to you.
How does it light you up?
(14:50):
There's this pulse inside of uscalled spanda.
This pulsation longs to live.
It's a passion, itcha.
These are Sanskrit words, butit's this drive to co-create.
What are you creating with?
If you don't know what yogameans to you and you take on my
(15:11):
meaning, or Dan's meaning, orSwami Satchitananda's meaning or
some teacher's meaning thatsits in front of you, you may
not dive in as deeply.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
Yes, and just right there in that little piece, it
requires so much more than justsaying oh.
Yoga means this to me and it'slike a word.
Speaker 2 (15:36):
Yeah, it's a feeling.
Speaker 1 (15:38):
It's a philosophy, it's a feeling, it's ideas, it's
concepts, it's relationships.
It's inclusive.
There's nothing excluded.
It's all of you, all of who youare, all that you've
experienced, all that you wishfor, all that you long for, all
that you've lost, everythingthat, that, that that you've
(16:01):
experienced On the surface, it'sall.
It's so rich I almost feel it'sunfortunate that we have to
name it something, because thatalone, to me, turns people off.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
The name diminishes the potency.
And then we try, because ofneurologically, my friends, we
try to label something and putit in a category of familiarity
that makes us feel safe.
So the labeling allows thebrain neurologically to feel
safe, but then it minimizes itto fit into our lens and
(16:44):
minimizes the possibilities ofknowing.
So the first book againexplains what yoga is.
Now the second book tells youthe practices you have to do
this, this, this what yoga isNow.
The second book tells you thepractices you have to do this,
this, this and this.
Okay, then the third book isthe achievements or the benefits
(17:04):
of those practices.
And let me tell you, my friends, I am living proof of the
benefits and the gifts that thepractices offer.
I would not be sitting here ifit wasn't for yoga, the eight
(17:28):
limbs, the eight limbs wediscussed in earlier episodes.
So if you're interested inlearning about the eight limbs
or hearing our take on them,please listen to our prior
podcasts.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
Yeah, and if you listen to them and you have a
chance to chew on them for awhile and you have questions
again, email us.
But maybe include in the emailsthe episode number so that we
can readily and easilycommunicate with you, Because we
want to invite everybody intothe conversation.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
Dan is very excited about this.
He wants to engage with you.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's yoga.
Yoga is interaction, engagement, relationship, interaction,
engagement, relationship.
Now the fourth book of the YogaSutras talks about freedom and
liberation and it's a morecosmic or universal look at it.
And this is how I feel aboutliberation.
(18:28):
Liberation to me is being freefrom my twisted thoughts.
Liberation is zooming out andrealizing I'm not those things
that I think.
Enlightenment to me means I cansee clearly enough to know that
(18:49):
that's dark or that's twistedor that's a protector created
story.
So I turn the lights on andshine the light on that so that
I don't behave from that placeof distortion.
So the fourth book says if youunderstand what yoga is and you
(19:10):
do these practices, you're goingto get these benefits and then,
with these benefits, you willbe free.
Speaker 1 (19:18):
You know, I love it, it's amazing.
But but you know, here's thebooby trap is, people hear that
last part and they want to justlike, read something and say, I
just read this and oh my God, Ithink that I'm free because it's
in their head.
Read this, and oh my god, Ithink that I'm free because it's
in their head, you know, I.
So I just want to remindeverybody you know, get to
practice the rituals.
(19:41):
Let's just pick something andand jump in.
That's look what.
The coolest thing for me,looking at you, is the journey.
You know, and I, you know, it'sone of those cosmic things that
(20:03):
I'm not sure like how exactlythat you from so many people
that think they're doing yoga Is.
You know, it's not somethingthat happens overnight and again
(20:24):
, I don't know what it is withinyou.
That's the curious thing to meabout you.
Why did you knock on Jyoti'sdoor and why did you keep
pursuing?
It's almost like you keptdrilling and drilling, and
drilling and drilling.
There's something that led youto believe and I and I know a
couple of the things along theway, a couple of your
experiences with different yogateachers that compelled you a
little bit more.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
There was almost like the carrot and you kept
pursuing it because and when Ihear those words, I feel them
and the feeling I get is, in thesense I'm feeling even in this
moment, is life or death, and itfelt like that to me.
(21:09):
It felt life or death.
What I was living in thatmoment felt like I was dying.
I was aware, consciously, thatI was in an addiction.
I was in survival mode, I waslying, I was manipulating, I was
doing anything I could tosurvive, not to hurt anyone, but
(21:30):
rushing around doing whatever Ineeded to do to make it through
the day, when I would readsomething or go to a class and I
started to feel better.
I hung on to that feeling andthought, okay, there's more to
this.
So then I dove into the body,but I realized the body was
(21:52):
limited because I sometimes usedmy body the way I did my
addiction.
I just bullied it.
I beat it up, jump back, jumpup.
I was bound up.
One time my legs were with ayoga strap and two blocks in
between my legs and my teachershad me drop back 30 times.
(22:13):
Now a drop back, if you don'tall know this is you're standing
up and then you just bendbackwards and come up, bend back
, bend back.
I used my body to the pointwhere I broke my spine.
I have a spinal injury thatgymnasts get Most gymnasts have
from backbending in misalignmentor overly.
(22:35):
So I used the body to the pointof almost abuse and realized,
okay, I don't think this is yoga.
That's when I went to Joe T andsaid I need the philosophy, I
need meat, I need something tochew on and the word that we use
(22:55):
for chewing is called manana.
I need something to take in andjust be with.
So I would go home and I wouldread the Yoga Sutras as if it
was the Bible to some people, asif there was life in those
words, some people, as if therewas life in those words, and I
(23:17):
believed, and I don't know why.
Maybe, as our podcast unfolds,it will become clear.
Like you're saying, there wasthis seed in me that this
language spoke to.
Please hear that this is soimportant.
If what you're doing doesn'tspeak to you, I have chills all
(23:37):
over my body right now.
The language of yoga spoke to mysoul.
This concept of, if the storiesstop, if I practice this
framework that was alreadycreated before me, the Yoga
Sutras, if I study this and thenpractice it and embody it, that
(24:03):
I may feel.
Peace was a concept I nevercould even think of before.
I didn't even know what peacefelt like could even think of
before.
I didn't even know what peacefelt like.
So what drove me was knowingthere had to be a better way,
and I knew it wasn't onlyphysical, and I knew it was only
through food, because I alsoaltered my diet, thinking okay,
(24:28):
and stop drinking and stop doingthis, and that there was still
something missing.
Speaker 1 (24:33):
I'm like hello this and that and there was still
something missing.
I'm like hello, right, right.
There are so many things thatwe can think that we're
controlling, like diet, oreliminating something, or taking
more of something, or doingthis over and over again, or
doing strengthening,strengthening, strengthening, or
(25:03):
you know just all these thingsthat are there but tend to be
distractions, until you go intothe, to the piece where it
starts to get the mental and thebody dance between the two.
Speaker 2 (25:11):
Yeah, between the two .
Yeah, having the Yoga Sutras asa hand guide, as a handbook and
a guide to keep going back to.
I even share this with mystudents now.
It's for remembrance.
We have to remember because ourmind is designed to forget.
(25:33):
What does that mean?
It means neurologically, everymoment we step into that's new.
We are surveying the land.
What's this, what's that?
Am I safe, am I not?
What's happening?
Okay, in that moment, we forgetthat we're okay.
We forget that I just came fromyoga class.
(25:55):
Now I'm driving home and I'mgetting cut off and I got oh my
God, I'm clenching the wheel, myteeth.
We forget.
We need micro-remembers.
I just made that word up.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
Micro-remembers.
Speaker 2 (26:11):
Yes, we need micro-reminders.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (26:18):
That's what we need to micro-dose on.
Speaker 1 (26:20):
Right.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
To bring us back.
Hey, I'm safe in this moment.
Hey, here I am.
Speaker 1 (26:25):
Yeah, a micro-reminders would be so much
better than all these otherthings, because all the other
things don't.
They take you away, they takeyou out of the matter at hand.
Speaker 2 (26:38):
They alter this state , and when our state is altered,
then we alter.
But what about the times wecan't be in an altered state?
I joke with people and I'mgoing to share this to you.
If I'm having a confrontationwith someone, I can't just whip
out tree pose.
Hey, hang on for a second orsit and meditate.
(27:00):
Om Namah Shivaya.
Om Namah Shivaya, god help me.
We need to make the Yoga Sutrasapplicable.
We have to be able to applythese in our life.
But we can't do that, myfriends, please, please, hear
this.
You cannot apply something thatyou haven't practiced.
(27:21):
You have to practice these.
After you practice them, thenthe application I know this
sounds weird you start to refineit after you practice it.
Make it sloppy, just do it,just do it.
Then you start to refine itafter you practice it.
Make it sloppy, just do it,just do it.
Then you start to refine it andit becomes more your size, it
(27:42):
fits you, it works for you.
Because this journey that Dansaid, this yoga sutras, these
are a journey.
It looks different for everyone, but I will tell you what the
thread is.
The sutra that goes through allof us is a longing to know
oneself.
Our soul, our potential longsto know itself.
(28:07):
That's in everyone.
How you get to you, my friends,that's's your choice, but yoga
is a way.
Speaker 1 (28:18):
Yoga is a way to you through you, through these
practices, though you can'tthink yoga yeah, the really
powerful and at the same time,sweet thing that I witnessed
with you and your teachertrainees, for instance, is is
(28:41):
through the course of training.
It's almost like if you've gotsomeone who's got a lot of edges
, whether it's a triangle uh,you know or or or a rectangle.
It's almost like you see theedges start to soften, more
flows start to happen and theresistance start to calm down
(29:01):
and literally a transformationthat happens.
And it is almost as if one dayin one of your trainings we'll
be able to schedule when thebreakdowns happen.
You know the rituals and thepractice over and over again.
It just we witness it.
I witness it in Jodi's studentsthat they it's literally,
(29:26):
literally a blossoming intothemselves, but it comes at a
little bit of a cost.
There's change, there'scommitment, there's resistance,
there's kicking and screaming.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
Sometimes there's, you know a lot Blame, there's
anger.
Yeah, there's so much emotionsin my trainings that people are
not used to me saying expressthat, tell me how you feel.
That's when the breakthroughsstart happening.
(29:59):
When I say how do you feel,tell me, and we are able to
start to express and share whatis rising in the moment.
That's yoga.
If we can't practice skillfully,or practice sharing our
feelings unskillfully, we're notgoing to be able to refine that
(30:22):
.
Stay with me, my friends,because it may seem that we're
off a little, but this is whatyoga is about.
If you don't understand yourpsychology, if you don't
understand your emotions, whichare energy in motion, if you
don't understand your energy,your psychology, you cannot be
(30:45):
there for someone else.
You cannot hold space forsomeone else's psychology and
energy.
So, this practice, as deep asyou want to go in the yoga
sutras, with these practices andrituals, that's how deep you
can hold space for others.
So I offer you thatcontemplation.
(31:09):
Are you ready, are you willingto step into this journey of
yoga, which starts with the yogasutras, and do the practices
that they tell you to do?
That is written before you,without changing it, without
(31:30):
altering it, without addingmusic and creativity, because
there has to be a point ofsilence and stillness,
eventually, at some time, tohear what has been pushed down
so deeply inside you, so thatyou could just function daily.
Are you ready?
(31:50):
Are you ready for that?
Are you ready?
Speaker 1 (31:52):
Are you ready for that?
Speaker 2 (31:54):
So the yoga sutras are a framework.
They will hold you if you allowthem to.
They talk about what is yoga,how to gain this yogic state,
this yoga lifestyle, through thepractices.
What are the benefits you'llreceive from the practices, the
(32:15):
practices, what are the benefitsyou'll receive from the
practices and, lastly, thefreedom and liberation and the
connection to your fullestpotential.
Dan, just gave me a thumbs upy'all and we'll start Go ahead.
Speaker 1 (32:39):
We're going to start to wrap this episode up.
Speaker 2 (32:40):
Bummer, bummer, it's just like you lit the match, oh,
would you like to share beforewe do, do you feel?
Speaker 1 (32:48):
um, I would just say this If this is speaking to you,
the very first thing I wouldrecommend as a requirement is
simply this Approach this withan open mind, my husband Dan
(33:16):
poisons Open open heart, openmind that's how this man lives.
Speaker 2 (33:23):
It's so beautiful to watch.
Thank you, and thank you allfor listening.
Become one living.
You can follow us atbecomeoneliving on Instagram and
you can email us atbecomeoneliving at gmailcom
Comments, suggestions, justmaybe to introduce yourself and
(33:47):
say hi, so we get to know you.
Thank you for listening toAncient Tools for Modern Living.
Speaker 1 (33:55):
Beautiful.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!