The Yoga Sutras (Part 1) ~ The Big Idea: Learn Yoga Philosophy with Rachel

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, What's the main idea of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, and what do you really need to know?
In this video (Part 1 of the series), Rachel distills and shares Patanjali's most important idea, and shows how this understanding can impact your daily life in practical terms. By the end of this video, you'll have a greater sense of why this text is useful, and why it may help you further your happiness, well-being, and self-development. She'll also share her fave translations so that you can find one you like!
Translations:
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sri Swami Satchidananda (great place to start)
Heart of Yoga, Desikachar (great book with translations in back; life oriented)
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Chip Hartranft
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Edwin Bryant (scholarly)
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, BKS Iyengar
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Salvatore Zamibto (compilation of multiple translations)
How to Know God, The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali (Prabhavanada and Isherwood)
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[@joelschaefer1326]

Great primer on the yoga sutras and a focus on the primary purpose of yoga - to quiet the fluctuations of the mind stuff. Thanks for getting us yogis back to the basics and remembering that the practice of yoga is not about achieving the next challenging pose, but about releasing all our internal and external identities, quieting the mind, finding a sense of presence and reacquainting ourselves with our true essence. 🕉🙏💚🙏

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🥰

[@Mcgif21]

This was great! I was not expecting someone on KZbin to put these teachings so simply yet thoughtfully.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Thanks Michael! Good to have you here.

[@isabellecompton8053]

I love your videos! I'm currently doing my 200 hour YTT and your videos are helping me so much! Thank you

[@RachelScottYoga]

Awesome Isabelle! Nice to connect with you here and congrats on your YTT!

[@Mcgif21]

Speaking on the translation of “restraint” or “cessation”. I think it is important that the understanding for both is allow d and even implied. As we retrain the fluctuations of our mind while involved with daily life (conscious living, living meditation). But in order to reach a deeper state of consciousness, when we have the time, the lower (ruminating and calculating) functions of the mind must cease so that the higher portions of our mind may be expressed or find union with even higher portions above that.

[@nockneed6809]

Thank u so much, just got my first yoga book from your recommendations. Looking forward to learning ❤

[@lanabee2732]

I've just started learning the sutras as part of my YTT and it's sooooooo interesting! They are so much deeper than they seem at first glance, I'm loving teasing them apart and discussing them. Your videos are super helpful Rachel, thank you! 🙏💕

[@RachelScottYoga]

Yay!! My pleasure ~ I agree, I love how they are SO relevant to daily life and the ongoing act of managing our crazy brains!

[@aaronwheaton6888]

Patanjali my man! The yoga sutra is was the beginning of my understanding that my superficial personality is dwarfed by the connection of my physical body to the universe through the disconnection of thinking and the mind. Awesome of you bringing the book into the mix and put in the hamsters back in the shoe box!🙏🕉💜

[@RachelScottYoga]

Hahaha hamsters begone! 😆😁💗

[@anatzen8755]

Thank you so much for that, Rachel. You have a wonderful way to make things easy for us. ❤

[@RachelScottYoga]

Great to have you here Anat!

[@internationalnatureandfore6159]

I’ve just returned from a week at Yogaville and finally understood what yoga is all about. Thank you for explaining this so well. Got the book too🧘🏽

[@RachelScottYoga]

😁😁😁

[@sophiefarrar6745]

Rachel, you are so knowledgable and have helped me in understanding so much. Thanks for your enthusiasm and expertise, you are so clearly passionate and it's fun to learn from you.

[@RachelScottYoga]

I’m so glad Sophie, nice to connect here 😄

[@rseyedoc]

Very interesting and informative. I'm Buddhist and didn't realize yoga has such a similar goal to Buddhism - calming our wild monkey mind to reveal its underlying Buddha-nature (its true nature) that is inherent in all sentient beings.

[@RachelScottYoga]

They are definitely from the same wellspring of philosophical thought! 💛

[@ariues]

buddhism, jainism, and yoga were all part of the same indian milieu i think. same period i think.

[@matthewnicholson8406]

Great explanation on the sutras, I am doing my YTT and was having a mini meltdown over all the philosophy stuff, Im very practical and not very academic so I love the way you explain it in such a calm and fun way. Thankyou for taking the time to share this, I feel much better now X

[@RachelScottYoga]

That’s great to hear Matthew ~ glad this hit the right note! Nice to connect with you here 👍🏻

[@jenp10000]

Thank you so much Rachel. I'm also in the middle of a YTT, and your videos have given me a foothold in the mountain I'm exploring.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Glad to connect with you here, Jen :)

[@jakeandkeeliephelps7229]

Learning more from you than my yoga instructor/teacher! Currently doing my 200 YTT.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Congrats on doing your YTT!! Glad that this channel can be a resource for you 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Meriem8468]

Hahah it's funny that i've just started studying the first chapter exactly 2 days ago for my Ytt, and then was looking to your channel to find if more details... And tadaaaaaa, video was just uploaded 🤩🤩 that's made me smiiiile from the bottom of heart.. thank youu soo much Rachel, great lecture as usual 🙏🙏🙏

[@RachelScottYoga]

YAY! Perfect timing!!

[@theldsyogi]

This was perfect and just what I was looking for. Thank you so much!

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻💛💛💛

[@nathanrichardson8402]

Thank you for creating this series!! Please keep more great content coming!! I love your teaching style!!

[@RachelScottYoga]

Thank you! I've been on a bit of hiatus because of the Nerve Tour, but there will be more to come ;)

[@minazhassam9821]

Love your passion !

[@RachelScottYoga]

🤍🤍

[@vibingwiths.6927]

Sammeee attempting to finally wrap up my 200 hour YTT!

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

[@EviloveMetal]

Let's gooooo Rachel (and algorithm)!

[@RachelScottYoga]

😘😘😘

[@judithmartinez-cx4by]

Gracias 🙏🏼 Namaste ❤

[@RachelScottYoga]

De nada Judith!! :) 💛

[@hempressdigital]

Thank you

[@_o.m.yoga_]

This was so extremely helpful! Thank you 💞

[@RachelScottYoga]

✨🙏🏻I’m glad it was useful!!

[@lustsexlies]

This was great thank you 🙏🏽

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@phuong2776]

ohh dear you're my savior! I'm doing my YTC in India and I can't understand my teacher bc he has different English accent. You make it so straight and easy to understand though i have no ideas ab philosophy. Thank you so much for these amazing videos!

[@RachelScottYoga]

I am so glad that these videos are helpful to you on your yoga journey😄awesome to connect with you!

[@ritikakushwaha3717]

If you wanna learn yoga, you better learn atleast little bit of Sanskrit but TBH, English language sucks, it lacks vocabulary, wayyy too much. English have only 26 alphabets and lack many sounds because sanskrit has 108 billion words in vocabulary...like e.g. "ट" and "त" but you have only one sound which is "t" which makes it more difficult because the thing like accent doesn't exist when it comes to sanskrit. It's either right way or wrong way. It's mantras. That's why foreigners comes to Indian instructor because foreign instructor always mess up the pronunciation.

[@FeralSpirit]

Love this! Thank You for explaining this. Can’t wait to watch the next one. Also I am intrigued by the use of the San skript words. In other sacred text the original translation is not present at all and I wonder about how the vibrations of the sans skript comes Into play.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Great point - there is an intention to the words used and the vibration ~ I wish I were more of a Sanskrit scholar to more accurately relay what the words/ sound imported. I would refer anyone interested to Christopher Hareesh Wallis or Carlos Pomeda who are scholar /practitioners with more understanding of this element :)

[@marciusoliveira6379]

George Feuerstein in his book The Yoga Tradition also contains a translation of the sutras. It's not that deep, but it's worth the context of the book. Thanks for the class.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Excellent! Thank you for the reference 🙌🏻🙏🏻

[@cristinamunoz6389]

Muchas gracias Rachel. Que aproximación tan didáctica! Me hubiera gustado que en mi formación hubiesen comenzado explicando a Patañjali igual que tú. 👏👏

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@Nick-ye8pf]

Fantastic video. I've shared it.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Thanks Nick! 🤗🙏🏻

[@stevejennings2394]

Great overview thanks kindly 😊

[@RachelScottYoga]

🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻my pleasure Steve!

[@gayatris4169]

waiting for the series ☺

[@RachelScottYoga]

😄

[@RachelScottYoga]

I will add to description now, you can check out :)

[@eonoe11]

Gee, the chitta is the place where the mind stuff resides. Vritti is "modifications" or fluctuations that happen in the mind. When they are restrained, emptiness is. I like the comparison of Vritti to windiness. Some times the breezes can be gentle, sometimes they can be violent in intensity, sometimes they are replaced by their absence, a stillness. Existencence(Sat), Consciousness (chit, the holding cell of chitta), Bliss, (Ananda), satchitananda is likely not seen with all this wind.

[@dannymeske3821]

zazen!

[@fluffedsquirrel]

Is the time era CE the same as BC? (Sorry not an American,)

[@RachelScottYoga]

Excellent question! CE means common era, and BCE means before common era.

[@abrahamhempel9260]

Did Pantanjali develop any asanas? I thought I heard he had developed some basic asanas.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Not to my knowledge ~ just a meditation seat ~ 🧘

[@phunkytier]

Brain Software, a Book and translation from the view a IT engineer.

[@Risperi1]

3:45

[@roops2939]

Yoga was an established practice in ancient India. It was already an old practice at the time of the Buddha. Buddha was born about 2500+ years ago so yoga philosophy is older than 2000 years.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Yah, definitely older than 2,000 years ~ from what my scholar sources tell me, it was not so much a Vedic tradition as a shramanic traditions, and has closer ties to the ascetic practices of the Upanishads, so they place it more around 3,000 years old than, say, 5,000 ~ But it depends who you listen to! Thanks for mentioning this ~ it's certainly interesting to see what they continue to uncover about the tradition.

[@roops2939]

@@RachelScottYoga wow! You are very knowledgeable about this subject. 😊

[@RachelScottYoga]

@@roops2939 HA!I just have smart teachers ;)

[@Chanakya2]

No yoga is purely Vedic concept please read rigveda first mention of om is in rigveda and secondly yoga meaning is described in upnisad and Vedas not in any shramic tradition​@@RachelScottYoga

[@RachelScottYoga]

@@Chanakya2 Hello! Yes! OM is in the rgveda ~ As I understand, more as a sense of "So Be It!" rather than with the complexity of understanding developed later in the Mandukya Upanishad. And yes - yoga is certainly in the Upanishads! The clarification here is that the scholars I have studied indicate the INSPIRATION for the new paradigm and focus on meditation that we find in the Upanishads (which then became a part of the Vedas) were almost certainly sourced from shramanic traditions rather than existing Vedic work. Thank you for commenting!

[@Risperi1]

Sutra in Malay refers to silk. And Malay has Sanskrit origins.

[@barryroach4813]

Rachel I still don’t get why it’s important to “know your true self”. Isn’t it more entertaining to let your mind fluctuate? A good example is watching social media like instagram or videos like yours on KZbin. The mind is happier doing this rather than sitting and doing nothing. It is so boring that few people stick with a meditation practice. If I knew why it’s important to know my true self then I might make the effort. For example if it will give me some super power or stop worrying then it would maybe be worthwhile. Help me understand.

[@RachelScottYoga]

You're right! The mind does do better when it has something to latch onto. (One of the reasons why meditating with an object to focus on...like a mantra, candle, visualization...is helpful. It gives your mind something to do.) Here's the downside of not meditating. An untrained mind will drag you all over the place. It is like a puppy, constantly bringing you toys, running after squirrels. In this case, the toys and squirrels are memories, imaginings, associations. It takes YOU on a joy ride. (When you start thinking about something and suddenly you're in tears remembering how you were a bad friend two years ago and thinking you're a bad person, for example.) This is not reality. This is a puppy joy ride. This is a series of neurological associations that just ran on autopilot. The purpose of meditation is to give you back both perspective and (if we're lucky) a modicum of control over your puppy so that instead of running all over the place it can serve you. The "you" that is not just a produce of your conditioning and experience, but the YOU that is at the center of the experience. You don't need to erase fluctuations...just develop the capacity and perspective to not be a slave to them. Do you have that now? If so, then perhaps you don't need to meditate! But if not...here are some reasons to stick with it. Will meditation reduce your stress and anxiety? Yes. Will it give you an enhanced sense of connection and aliveness? Yes. Will it give you a center in yourself to hold onto when your life goes to shit? Yes. Will it bore your mind? Yes, absolutely. But once your puppy is trained, it will be so very happy to play with you and be of service. Now, all that said, maybe you need some meditations that hold your attention better? Guided meditations, meditations with music, meditations with visualizations...? Does that help?

[@portillamail]

SIT NORMALLY!

[@RachelScottYoga]

Hi Juan! I am not sure what you mean by "normally," I assure you this is quite normal for me, though I surely do appreciate concern over my posture. There is also no need to SHOUT in all caps and with exclamation points, I'd prefer that we keep communication on my channel kind and beneficial when possible.

[@ariues]

meditation tip; just be physically still, man. physical stillness often leads to mental stillness; that is a drawing away from the river of thoughts and itchiness that you experience.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Beautiful~ thank you for sharing this ~

[@samhowl1152]

You resemble Christopher Reeve. That's not an insult.

[@RachelScottYoga]

He was a remarkable human.

[@samhowl1152]

@@RachelScottYoga I'm just starting your videos. I'm not sure if they'll lead where I'm hoping, but I'm gonna watch. I like that you are a native English speaker. There are many videos on the sutras, but I have a hard time understanding what the people say. I've never been amazing at understanding other accents. Scottish accents are also difficult for me. There's a lot of discussion on the 8 limbs as an overview. I've gathered from the few other videos I've seen that most of the limbs are restraints like don't steal etc However, the part I guess, that interests me are the actually yoga positions in the sutras. What's are they? How many are there? How does it help you control the mind? What do you do if you aren't physically capable of putting yourself in certain positions? I almost died a little over a year ago. Sometimes I wish I had. The result of almost dying is endless anxiety. Most of the time I can control it, manage it to a degree. But especially when I drive, my palms start sweating, my breathing becomes strained and forced, my mind becomes exhausted from the mental effort it involves being this anxious for hours. I have tried breathing deeply and controlling my breath, but it doesn't seem to work. I'm on 2 anxiety medications and I still can't trust that when I go to drive that I'm not gonna fall apart. I just need some peace.

[@RachelScottYoga]

@@samhowl1152 hi Sam. There are no yoga positions in the yoga sutras. It is almost entirely on meditation. The only thing that it says is that your meditation pose should be comfortable and steady.

[@samhowl1152]

@@RachelScottYoga well that's disappointing.

[@wrathofhade]

@@samhowl1152 Yoga for Emotional Trauma by Mary NurrieStearns, Rick NurrieStearns

[@aaronmurphy7967]

I disagree with the time period asana was utilized. You should look at the yoga influence on martial arts. If patanjali was writing about asana 2000 years ago, then we have been doing this thing for much longer. I’ve read this idea of “modern yoga” and it being young. It’s just a new word, in a language old as time. It makes people sound much more important than they really are.

[@RachelScottYoga]

Hi Aaron, I am not sure what you mean. I don't believe more specific postural yoga was introduced til around the era of hatha - though of course as we know, practices may have been done much in advance of when they were recorded! Like the hatha ascetic practices and posture holdings. If you have alternative information - for example, when you say martial arts, I welcome you to share some of your resources so that we can all look into this.Thanks!

[@aaronmurphy7967]

@@RachelScottYoga there are painted pictures, from before the time of Christ, of people in yoga poses, in a series of poses. I’m pretty sure the beginning the “Classical” yoga period was almost 3000 years ago. And What poses did “Hatha” yoga invent? What new breathing did it create? Did it show us the real right way to single minded focus?

[@RachelScottYoga]

@@aaronmurphy7967 Hi Aaron! That's interesting, I know that there are yoga looking like postures in the seals from the Indus Valley River civlization, but perhaps not enough contenxt to say "that's yoga." As Carlos Pomeda says, that could be a guy sitting on the ground! If you have a link to this reference, share it! My understanding is that that hatha yoga (500-1300) built on practices that had been happening in the ascetic communities and expanded upon them. (I would refer anyone interested to James Mallison, who is a hatha yoga scholar!) It's not that these postures (for example, being upside down) were unheard of, but that they became expanded upon as well as came out of secrecy and were intended for a wider audience. I suppose if we're discussing the Yoga Tradition, one of the questions is what do we define a tradition as? Isolated groups doing some practices doesn't quite get there, but when it becomes part of the cultural and social (or sometimes antisocial!) fabric, then we go, ah, there's a tipping point there where a set of practice have become recognizable and codified and part of the "tradition." With yoga, it's not just the shapes (as I'm sure you know!) but it's meditative or transformational intent! Thank you for sharing and if you have any references, send them~! :)

[@aaronmurphy7967]

I see now. Thank you for your attempt at monetizing spirituality. You spread your hatha, like religion. Your way is way. It causes separation. You are not preparing the way, you are ushering people through a door.

[@RachelScottYoga]

@@aaronmurphy7967 Aaron, I see that you are passionately in defense of a point of view that feels important to you, and I want to acknowledge your strong feelings. But I am also disappointed that you feel the need to dismiss me as a monetizer of spirituality - though this KZbin channel is, well, clearly free - because I disagree with you on historical scholarship. It seems like an unnecessary attack. There is no "my hatha" over here, and I claim "no way." What I have shared is a point of view on timelines based on what I have learned from western academics ~ but that kind of scholarship is clearly not the only way to understand the yoga lineage. However, it's what I have learned, so it's the seat from which I am able to share. I wish you well!

[@mrenormouscroc]

Not "We're going to talk about..." what you mean is "I am going to....." be clear from the start. I'm sure you have something worthwhile to say.... but when? You just talk too much for the little reward in return. waste of time to wait forever

[@RachelScottYoga]

Hi there! I usually (but not always) do an intro at the beginning that is like a primer for what's to come in the video, then get into the content. If you like, you can also always fast forward any of those sections vids or listen on double speed, etc.til you get to what you are really interested in. But it also just may not be to your taste. Thanks for trying it out!