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A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras: Modern Reflections on the Ancient Journey
Ancient techniques for thriving in modern times
Living a healthy, happy, and purposeful life starts with a clear and focused mind. A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras is an easy introduction to the lessons of Patanjali—graceful, concise explanations of spiritual truths. With short chapters that show you how to adapt these yoga sutras to modern life, you'll be on an accelerated journey of the soul.
Need help falling asleep, controlling stress or anger, or just becoming a happier person? These teachings will help you do just that and more. According to this wisdom tradition, the mind, when truly understood, is an extraordinary tool that can take you to a state of total freedom.
A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras
A map to peace—Concentration, manifestation, existentialism, and enlightenment are all explained.Daily exercises—Every chapter ends with an exercise or reflection to help you assimilate Patanjali's vision.Ancient tools, ideal for our time—The yoga sutras may date back centuries but feel utterly timely—and deeply necessary—for navigating modern lives.Find out how the teachings of this old practice can have a positive effect on your life with A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras.
Living a healthy, happy, and purposeful life starts with a clear and focused mind. A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras is an easy introduction to the lessons of Patanjali—graceful, concise explanations of spiritual truths. With short chapters that show you how to adapt these yoga sutras to modern life, you'll be on an accelerated journey of the soul.
Need help falling asleep, controlling stress or anger, or just becoming a happier person? These teachings will help you do just that and more. According to this wisdom tradition, the mind, when truly understood, is an extraordinary tool that can take you to a state of total freedom.
A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras
A map to peace—Concentration, manifestation, existentialism, and enlightenment are all explained.Daily exercises—Every chapter ends with an exercise or reflection to help you assimilate Patanjali's vision.Ancient tools, ideal for our time—The yoga sutras may date back centuries but feel utterly timely—and deeply necessary—for navigating modern lives.Find out how the teachings of this old practice can have a positive effect on your life with A Seeker's Guide to the Yoga Sutras.
227 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 31, 2019
275 people are currently reading
153 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 20, 2019
This book teaches yoga philosophies and truths that will help the reader to slow down, stay calm, and find freedom. Each chapter features a modern translation of a sutra quote from the original Sanskrit, a few short paragraphs expanding on the teaching, and a meditation exercise or reflection for the reader to ponder.
I really like that this book is broken up into two page tidbits. It's perfect for quick and thoughtful reading right before or after a yoga session, and then taking 5 minutes to meditate on the lesson or truth that is presented.
The lessons include things like calming the mind, harnessing our emotions, identifying the energies in our body, practicing non-attachment to material things, controlling our habits, showing compassion and patience to others and ourselves, and of course focusing on the breath.
There were very few lessons that had any religious overtones. Most of the lessons are general philosophy and universal truths that apply to any person. There are a few mentions of "karma", but I didn't see any major deities mentioned.
I think I will use this book to enhance my yoga practice and help me to meditate and focus as I do yoga. The layout and design of the pages is really beautiful, with lovely mandala designs on each page.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
I really like that this book is broken up into two page tidbits. It's perfect for quick and thoughtful reading right before or after a yoga session, and then taking 5 minutes to meditate on the lesson or truth that is presented.
The lessons include things like calming the mind, harnessing our emotions, identifying the energies in our body, practicing non-attachment to material things, controlling our habits, showing compassion and patience to others and ourselves, and of course focusing on the breath.
There were very few lessons that had any religious overtones. Most of the lessons are general philosophy and universal truths that apply to any person. There are a few mentions of "karma", but I didn't see any major deities mentioned.
I think I will use this book to enhance my yoga practice and help me to meditate and focus as I do yoga. The layout and design of the pages is really beautiful, with lovely mandala designs on each page.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.
January 21, 2020
Ram Bhakt packs a TON of wisdom in these 102 sutra reflections. I am someone who practices physical (asana) yoga a few times a week, but haven't read the yoga sutras. This volume goes verse by verse through the sutras and offers an in-depth analysis of the verse with such wisdom and insight. Bravo!!! One could use this as a daily devotional that would last 3 1/2 months, or could read sequentially. It took me some time to read sequentially because each page was so rich.
The book is divided into four parts, with color coding on the right border so one can flip to the section one wishes to address. Book One is Understanding the Mind, Book Two Purifying the Mind, Book Three Stabilizing the Mind, and Book Four Going Beyond the Mind. After each commentary there is a reflection, exercise to try, or personal story. The resource section at the end of the book offers quality books for further exploration and wisdom.
Fabulous! Thank you, Callisto, for the review copy!
The book is divided into four parts, with color coding on the right border so one can flip to the section one wishes to address. Book One is Understanding the Mind, Book Two Purifying the Mind, Book Three Stabilizing the Mind, and Book Four Going Beyond the Mind. After each commentary there is a reflection, exercise to try, or personal story. The resource section at the end of the book offers quality books for further exploration and wisdom.
Fabulous! Thank you, Callisto, for the review copy!
February 12, 2020
I love the format of the book. The language used to explain the sutras is so accessible for everyone. You do not have to do a deep study into yoga to get the understanding of it. The book is divided into 4 sections; book2, book 2 etc.
In my option, is better to read a page a day and do the daily exercise so that the wisdom and message of the day can resonate with the reader. The book is a pretty little book and makes a great gift to anyone who has interest in yoga and want to learn more. Even if you are not interested in yoga, the wisdom is profound and provides a great guide to improve oneself. I would like to thank the publisher Rockridge Press for providing me with an ARC of this lovely book. My review has been completely voluntary. Happy to say that I am a proud owner of this book.
I highly recommend this book!
In my option, is better to read a page a day and do the daily exercise so that the wisdom and message of the day can resonate with the reader. The book is a pretty little book and makes a great gift to anyone who has interest in yoga and want to learn more. Even if you are not interested in yoga, the wisdom is profound and provides a great guide to improve oneself. I would like to thank the publisher Rockridge Press for providing me with an ARC of this lovely book. My review has been completely voluntary. Happy to say that I am a proud owner of this book.
I highly recommend this book!
January 15, 2020
Thank you to Callisto Publisher's Club and Rockridge Press for this free book. The following review contains my honest opinions.
This book was not what I was expecting. I expected something more informative, this book is really more introspective. This would be good for someone who likes to journal and is maybe looking for inspirational prompts.
This book was not what I was expecting. I expected something more informative, this book is really more introspective. This would be good for someone who likes to journal and is maybe looking for inspirational prompts.
December 30, 2023
Purchased after seeing it on a list of recommended works by an influential yoga teacher and educator whose advocacy work in decolonizing yoga meant their opinion mattered to me. This list came to me secondhand from someone I met at a yoga retreat.
Ok so it’s a quirk but I think it matters how a reader comes across a book. And personally? I like those details. Was it just the cover? Something about the blurb? You were at the airport? It can give some indication into the reader’s motivation, if it was something they picked out or something they’re going with based off word-of-mouth.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, like nearly all scriptures, will not mean much if you have never come across them or had a teacher break down each sutra. This is due to the teacher-student relationship in yoga. Yoga Sutras were meant to be memorized and chanted. This is why each sutra, or thread, is short, practically-speaking. Each thread weaves together. Although they are short, they condense a lineage of ideas, some of them the student who is beginning the sutras is already expected to know, and some of them contributed over thousands of years by commentators that dedicated their lives to it. When you came to the sutras, you came with learning already. To read the Yoga Sutras with a blank slate can be difficult, especially if you grew up in a western environment. You just won’t pick up on and get some things.
I first read Yoga Sutras after I completed my 200 hour training a few years ago. I struggled with philosophy and it required discipline to read (although I still preferred it to my anatomy texts). It is one of those texts that you should, as a yoga teacher or seeker, know, and return to. It is not readily poetic like The Bhagavad Gita can be, at least in its translated form. Much of the poetical beauty of the sutras are lost in the English, or not as easily discernible, to my understanding. A sutra is like an aphorism. It’s the commentaries that give it flavour, which is why Swami Satchidananda’s translation and commentaries are so beloved. It sounds like you are sitting with him and he is talking to you.
Now, having some more familiarity with the Sutras, I read this book. I am sorry to say that the design lay-out quite annoyed me that I couldn’t get into the book. It’s not terrible, but distracting. I was more open-minded this time, and I am glad I did return to it, because it was a rewarding read. Not perfect, but there is learning here.
As it is meant to be an “easy introduction” to the Sutras, I do wonder what is the point. For students new to yoga, philosophy, yoga philosophy, all of this will be a lot to take in, and some things must be simplified. And when things are simplified, it can become reductive, and not quite what the original meaning intended. I almost feel like to understand these scriptures does require, at some part, a course with a guide. Which isn’t to say you can’t read it, but that your experience of the book will be enriched.
To make it easy for students, Bhakt has completely removed the Sanskrit and English translation. Most translations will also include a Sanskrit root breakdown. Bhakt has also chosen some Sanskrit terms to keep in, and some not to. Bhakti has also kept his commentaries very short. About a paragraph on a relatable story that, at times, feels interchangeable if it were to be paired to another sutra, or his thoughts, or an explanation of a philosophical concept or term. Another way of simplification was how each sutra was given a short, almost chapter name or summary. Above each sutra was a few words, almost like Bhakt’s own notes about the sutra. Each book, there are 4 books in the Sutras, are colour coded.
If you approach this book as a modern take on the Yoga Sutras, you will be rewarded with learning and perspective. It’s obvious but try not to expect this book to do everything. Would I recommend this book as a starting-point? Probably not. I’d still refer folks to Swami Satchidananda, but it’s an interesting read, and I’ve already wrote down notes, and I feel like as a teacher, there are some moments that I’d like to weave in to my classes.
Ok so it’s a quirk but I think it matters how a reader comes across a book. And personally? I like those details. Was it just the cover? Something about the blurb? You were at the airport? It can give some indication into the reader’s motivation, if it was something they picked out or something they’re going with based off word-of-mouth.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, like nearly all scriptures, will not mean much if you have never come across them or had a teacher break down each sutra. This is due to the teacher-student relationship in yoga. Yoga Sutras were meant to be memorized and chanted. This is why each sutra, or thread, is short, practically-speaking. Each thread weaves together. Although they are short, they condense a lineage of ideas, some of them the student who is beginning the sutras is already expected to know, and some of them contributed over thousands of years by commentators that dedicated their lives to it. When you came to the sutras, you came with learning already. To read the Yoga Sutras with a blank slate can be difficult, especially if you grew up in a western environment. You just won’t pick up on and get some things.
I first read Yoga Sutras after I completed my 200 hour training a few years ago. I struggled with philosophy and it required discipline to read (although I still preferred it to my anatomy texts). It is one of those texts that you should, as a yoga teacher or seeker, know, and return to. It is not readily poetic like The Bhagavad Gita can be, at least in its translated form. Much of the poetical beauty of the sutras are lost in the English, or not as easily discernible, to my understanding. A sutra is like an aphorism. It’s the commentaries that give it flavour, which is why Swami Satchidananda’s translation and commentaries are so beloved. It sounds like you are sitting with him and he is talking to you.
Now, having some more familiarity with the Sutras, I read this book. I am sorry to say that the design lay-out quite annoyed me that I couldn’t get into the book. It’s not terrible, but distracting. I was more open-minded this time, and I am glad I did return to it, because it was a rewarding read. Not perfect, but there is learning here.
As it is meant to be an “easy introduction” to the Sutras, I do wonder what is the point. For students new to yoga, philosophy, yoga philosophy, all of this will be a lot to take in, and some things must be simplified. And when things are simplified, it can become reductive, and not quite what the original meaning intended. I almost feel like to understand these scriptures does require, at some part, a course with a guide. Which isn’t to say you can’t read it, but that your experience of the book will be enriched.
To make it easy for students, Bhakt has completely removed the Sanskrit and English translation. Most translations will also include a Sanskrit root breakdown. Bhakt has also chosen some Sanskrit terms to keep in, and some not to. Bhakti has also kept his commentaries very short. About a paragraph on a relatable story that, at times, feels interchangeable if it were to be paired to another sutra, or his thoughts, or an explanation of a philosophical concept or term. Another way of simplification was how each sutra was given a short, almost chapter name or summary. Above each sutra was a few words, almost like Bhakt’s own notes about the sutra. Each book, there are 4 books in the Sutras, are colour coded.
If you approach this book as a modern take on the Yoga Sutras, you will be rewarded with learning and perspective. It’s obvious but try not to expect this book to do everything. Would I recommend this book as a starting-point? Probably not. I’d still refer folks to Swami Satchidananda, but it’s an interesting read, and I’ve already wrote down notes, and I feel like as a teacher, there are some moments that I’d like to weave in to my classes.
April 13, 2022
I listened to this on Audible. The narrator was a delight to listen to and that's about half of the enjoyment of a book on tape.
This was a quick listen. There were a several reflections that were new to me and I am glad to have learned them. There were a few, however, that troubled the feminist side of me. Since the title promotes 'modern reflections' I would have assumed that misogynist paradigms would have not been a part of this. Other than that, most of the other commentaries were insightful. As a woman, though, anti-women comments do more than just spoil the entire book.
This was a quick listen. There were a several reflections that were new to me and I am glad to have learned them. There were a few, however, that troubled the feminist side of me. Since the title promotes 'modern reflections' I would have assumed that misogynist paradigms would have not been a part of this. Other than that, most of the other commentaries were insightful. As a woman, though, anti-women comments do more than just spoil the entire book.
February 15, 2020
I received this book through the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.
This is a cute little book full of inspirational sayings and a new way of looking at things. It's broken down by sections and new page can be read day or you can read through the whole thing for lots of insights. It's not traditional book size so it's easy to pack or carry around on the go.
It's not entirely what I expected for yoga sutras, but it's a modern and accessible read.
This is a cute little book full of inspirational sayings and a new way of looking at things. It's broken down by sections and new page can be read day or you can read through the whole thing for lots of insights. It's not traditional book size so it's easy to pack or carry around on the go.
It's not entirely what I expected for yoga sutras, but it's a modern and accessible read.
February 1, 2020
This is a nice little book with daily mantra practices. It can be read front to back or flipped through depending on what you are going through in your life. Each mantra or devotional is two pages. There is an explanation & an exercise suggestion given with each mantra. Each is meant to be used in meditation & throughout the day to help find more balance & peace.
April 6, 2020
This book offers a straightforward and easy to understand versions of yoga sutras.
This is a wonderful reference before you do your daily practice. This can help you focus on what to explore in your personal practice.
I received this book from Calisto Publishing and Rockridge Press for an honest review.
This is a wonderful reference before you do your daily practice. This can help you focus on what to explore in your personal practice.
I received this book from Calisto Publishing and Rockridge Press for an honest review.
January 5, 2023
I liked this, quite an introspective read which although I read traditionally in sittings would probably be best enjoyed and mentally digested by reading a page each day and thinking on the ideas and philosphies covered. It's a short, accessible read and one of the better Yoga/Mindfullness entries I've come across.
3.5 Stars.
3.5 Stars.
August 21, 2020
A brilliant introduction of Yoga Sutra
The books gives a wonderful explanation of yoga sutras in simple language. How we should live the life of a yogi by practicing the teachings is described well.
The books gives a wonderful explanation of yoga sutras in simple language. How we should live the life of a yogi by practicing the teachings is described well.
November 23, 2020
Thank you for the knowledge and wisdom
October 1, 2021
Thought provoking.
This was a beautiful Intro on the sutras. It was very easy to read. It was easy to digest. Would read again
This was a beautiful Intro on the sutras. It was very easy to read. It was easy to digest. Would read again
November 20, 2022
So helpful. Great way to understand the yoga sutras before diving deeper with a more traditional text.
September 22, 2023
Easy read, short and to the point. Great workbook to flip through - fantastic beach or travel companion. Not too much in it but it's exactly what I expected.
December 29, 2021
Couldn't get on with the format of this book.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews