my friend | Patanjali
The Whispers of the Sutras
Sometimes the Yoga Sutras feel like they come to us in shadows, half-glimpsed. At other times, they arrive in blinding flashes of clarity. They are steady companions on the path of practice - sometimes subtle, sometimes fierce, always alive.
One sutra I return to again and again is II.16: heyam duḥkham anāgatam -“future suffering can and should be avoided.” It’s deceptively simple. What would it mean if our practice did not just soothe old wounds but altered the trajectory of what is yet to come? Patanjali suggests that through awareness and effort, the seeds of sorrow need not sprout. A reminder that practice is not only about repair - it is about shaping the future.
The second chapter of the Yoga Sutras, the Sādhana Pāda, is full of this kind of pragmatic instruction. It lays out the work: tapas, svādhyāya, īśvarapraṇidhāna. The grinding stones of discipline, self-study, and surrender. These sutras don’t reveal themselves all at once. They unfurl slowly, over years of effort and attention. And then, unexpectedly, one will flare like lightning, rearranging how we see our lives.
And just as the Sādhana Pāda grounds us in effort, the very first chapter balances that weight with spaciousness of heart. Consider I.33: maitrī karuṇā muditā upekṣāṇām sukha duḥkha puṇya apuṇya viṣayāṇām bhāvanātaś citta prasādanam. To cultivate friendliness toward joy, compassion toward suffering, delight in virtue, and equanimity in the face of vice - this is how we steady the heart. A practice as practical as it is profound.
And in perfect balance, the sutras also describe what happens when we lose that steadiness: II.31 speaks of duḥkha, daurmanasya, aṅgamejayatva, śvāsa-praśvāsa - suffering, despair, instability of body, disturbance of breath. Iyengar’s commentary (LIght on the Yoga Sutra’s of Patanjali proposes that we’re not in a state of yoga in the company of any of these 4. The contrast is deliberate. Patanjali shows both sides of the mirror: the clarity that comes with cultivation, the turmoil that arises when we neglect it and the possiblity of balance between the two.
This is why practice matters. It is not abstract philosophy but a living guide. Each sutra is a doorway; some open slowly, worn smooth by years of repetition, while others swing wide in a sudden revelation. To study them is to study ourselves - our tendencies, our resistances, our potential.
So here is my invitation: dive deeper. Read. Study. Practice. Not only alone, but in community. The sutras are not relics to be admired at a distance; they are meant to be embodied, tested, and lived. When we gather in class, in practice, in dialogue - we hold up the mirror for one another.
The path of the sādhaka (a spiritual seeker, or practitioner) is not always easy, but it is illuminated by these timeless words. Whether revealed in shadows or in lightning, they point us back to the same truth: clarity is possible, freedom is possible, and practice is the way.
Come join me. Let’s walk this path together.
xo kellie