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Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Santosha, Contentment

October 9, 2026 in /by

Patanjali Yoga Sutras – 2.42 Santosha, Contentment 2.42 Yoga Sutra 2.42 — Santoṣa saṃtoṣād anuttamaḥ sukha-lābhaḥ From contentment comes unsurpassed happiness. Verse Commentary by Joseph Le Page Cultivating Contentment Seen through Yoga’s lens of awakening, Santoṣa, contentment, is resting in the wholeness of our inner Being, for what we seek in our surroundings is inherently […]

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Asteya, Integrity

July 16, 2026 in /by

Patanjali Yoga Sutras – 2.37 Asteya, non-stealing 2.37 asteya pratiṣṭhāyāṁ sarva ratno ‘pasthānaṁWhen non-stealing is firmly established, all wealth comes into our presence. Verse Commentary by Joseph Le Page Integrity is Harmony Asteya, non-stealing, is more than not taking what belongs to another; it is integrity and reciprocity in every activity, whether commercial, interpersonal, environmental, […]

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: Surrender to Īśvara

June 9, 2026 in /by

Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.23 īśvara-praṇidhānād-vā Verse Commentary – Surrender to the Divine by Joseph le Page In the previous sutras, we see that deep samadhi requires faith in awakening, vitality for the journey, mindfulness and consistency in practice, gradually unfolding as wisdom and clarity. Sutra 1.23 presents another doorway to awakening through Īśvara praṇidhāna, surrender […]

Patanjali Yoga Sutras: 5 qualities of Samadhi

February 23, 2026 in , /by

In the sutra 1.20, Patanjali describes five qualities that support the attainment of samadhi, deep meditative absorption. These qualities also apply to all other Yoga practices. These five qualities are: śraddhā, faith; vīrya, vitality; smṛtiḥ, mindfulness; samādhi, a consistent practice, and prajñā, wisdom.  śraddhā-vīrya- smṛtiḥ samādhi-prajñā-pūrvaka itareṣām Samādhi is preceded by faith, energy, mindfulness, regular […]

Patanjali Yoga Sutra: Dispassion

December 23, 2025 in /by

tat paraṁ puruṣakhyāter guṇa vaitṛṣṇyaṁ  – Sutra 1.16 That supreme non-attachment is absence of craving even for the forces of nature, the three gunas, through direct realization of puruṣa, the true Self. This sutra states that the highest form of dispassion  involves releasing all attachment even to the three gunas, the basic forces within nature. […]

Patanjali Yoga Sutra: Dispassion

July 21, 2025 in /by

Yoga Sutra 1.12: “That stilling of the movements of the mind is through practice and dispassion.” The Yoga journey can be seen as two wings of a bird. The first wing is practice, effort and dedication called abhyasa. The second is dispassion, non-attachment, letting go, called vairagya.  Abhyāsa has two main facets. The first is […]

Forgiveness Meditation

June 10, 2025 in /by

How do we release the pain of the past? Releasing the pain of the past occurs through forgiveness, remembering that forgiveness has a special meaning within Yoga. We envision forgiveness in 5 steps: First, we recognize that all beings seek happiness and avoid suffering. People don’t hurt others intentionally, but as a form of defense […]

What is perfect health from the Yoga Perspective?

April 16, 2025 in /by

From the Yoga perspective, perfect health is the integration of the five bodies, the five facets of our being called the five koshas.  These facets are your physical being, your energetic being, comprised of breath and subtle energy, your psyche-motional being, your body of wisdom and clarity, and your spiritual being, comprised of all your […]

Why do we chant Shanti, Shanti, Shanti Hari Om in Yoga?

January 20, 2025 in , /by

Shanti means “peace,” and also has a wide range of connotations including harmony, silence, forgiveness, protection, comfort, and even abundance. We chant Shanti three times at the beginning and end of any Yoga practice and each of these three Shantis has a special meaning. – The first Shanti is called adhi daivika, and refers to […]