The Yoga Sutras
of Patanjali
A word-by-word journey through yoga's foundational text
A four-month online study of all 195 sutras, rooted in the Viniyoga approach. Take the whole text or one chapter at a time. All levels welcome.
Flexible, trauma-informed classroom. Open to all.
195 sutras. Four months. One word at a time.
अथ योगानुशासनम्
atha yogānuśāsanam
Now begins the experiential teaching of yoga.
Yoga Sutra I.1The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali are among the most precise and penetrating texts ever written on the nature of the human mind. Yet most practitioners have only glimpsed them through secondary sources, fragmentary readings, or isolated commentaries.
This course is different. We will move through all four chapters with patience and care, examining each word in its original Sanskrit, tracing the layers of meaning, and exploring how these teachings apply to our lives today.
All are welcome. No prior Sanskrit knowledge is required. Whether you are new to yoga philosophy or deepening a long-standing study, this course will meet you where you are.
Four months, one complete text
We devote four weekly sessions to each of Patanjali's four chapters, allowing real depth and integration rather than a surface survey. Join for the whole text, or one chapter at a time.
Samadhi Pada
On ContemplationThe opening chapter introduces the nature of yoga itself, the movements of the mind (citta vritti), and the classical states of absorption. We explore what it means to settle, to witness, and to arrive.
51 Sutras
Sadhana Pada
On PracticeThe practical heart of the text. Kriya yoga, the afflictions (kleshas), karma, and the eight limbs of yoga all unfold here. This chapter bridges philosophy and lived experience directly.
55 Sutras
Vibhuti Pada
On CapacitiesPatanjali describes the inner practices of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi, as well as the extraordinary capacities (siddhis) that can arise through deep practice and the dangers of attachment to them.
55 Sutras
Kaivalya Pada
On LiberationThe culminating chapter addresses the nature of the mind, consciousness, time, and the final goal of yoga: kaivalya, the aloneness of pure awareness, free from all conditioned overlays.
34 Sutras
Everything you need for deep study
Rooted in the Krishnamacharya tradition
T. Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as the father of modern yoga. His son T.K.V. Desikachar developed the term viniyoga to describe the heart of his father's approach: applying the tools of yoga appropriately, in the right measure, for this person, at this time.
In this tradition, we study the words of the Sutras carefully so that we may ultimately move beyond them, allowing the text to illuminate our experience rather than becoming an end in itself.
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
Yoga is the restraint of the activities of the mind.
Yoga Sutra I.2All levels welcome
This course is not a lecture series. It is a sustained, participatory engagement with a living text. It is designed for anyone drawn to the depth of yoga's philosophical roots.
तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्
tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe'vasthānam
[The result of yoga] is the residing of the seer in their own nature.
Yoga Sutra I.3New to Yoga Philosophy
If you have a yoga practice but have never studied the foundational texts, this course offers a guided, supported entry. No prior philosophy background is assumed.
Deepening Your Study
For practitioners who have encountered the Sutras but want to move through them systematically, with sustained attention and proper lineage context.
Teachers and Advanced Students
Yoga teachers and those in teacher training programs will find this study invaluable for grounding their teaching in the philosophical tradition from which the practices emerge.
Your Instructors
Kevala has been studying the Yoga Sutras for the last decade, not as a text to master, but as a living practice - returning to Patanjali's words the way a practitioner returns to the mat: with fresh eyes, a quieter mind, and something new to discover. Her approach to the Sutras is experiential first. The philosophy is always in service of something experienced, not just understood.
Her study is rooted in the Viniyoga tradition through personal mentorship with Chase Bossart of the Yoga Well Institute, a direct student of TKV Desikacahr. She also trained in Ashtanga under David Miliotis, an authorized teacher of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. Both lineages trace back to T. Krishnamacharya, and together they shape how she holds this text: with rigor and with spaciousness, with precision and with care for the individual student in front of her.
She is currently pursuing a Master's degree and Ph.D. in Yoga Science at Vivekananda Yoga University - one of the few institutions in the world offering graduate-level academic study of yoga as a discipline. That ongoing scholarship feeds directly into how she teaches: bringing the full depth of the tradition into the room without losing the thread of lived, embodied experience.
Pragalbha has spent decades studying yoga, and it shows in how she teaches. Her work is rooted in the classical frameworks of Yoga Therapy and grounded in science, but what students notice first is her genuine care for the person in front of her.
She trained as a yoga therapist through the 1008-hour Yoga Therapist Training and the 300-hour Viniyoga Foundations Teacher Training with Chase Bossart of the Yoga Well Institute, and continues her own study of Yoga Therapy and philosophy with him. Her instructions are clear, precise, and easy to follow.
Study the whole text, or one chapter at a time
Live on Zoom, Mondays 4:30 to 6:30 PM PT, every session recorded. Begins November 16.
All four chapters
- 16 live sessions, November 16 to March 22
- All 195 sutras, word by word
- Complete translation, yours to keep
- Every session recorded
One chapter
- Chapter 1, Samadhi Pada: Nov 16, 23, 30, Dec 7
- Chapter 2, Sadhana Pada: Dec 14, 21, Jan 4, 11
- Chapter 3, Vibhuti Pada: Jan 25, Feb 1, 8, 22
- Chapter 4, Kaivalya Pada: Mar 1, 8, 15, 22
This course is also part of our 300-hour Viniyoga Teacher Training.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to know Sanskrit?
What if I miss a session?
How much time should I set aside each week?
Is this a yoga philosophy class or a meditation course?
When exactly does the course start?
Do I need a book with the translations?
Is this appropriate if I am not a yoga teacher?
Can I pay one chapter at a time?
A living text, studied with care
Patanjali's Yoga Sutras have guided practitioners for centuries. This is an opportunity to encounter them fully, word by word, in the company of serious students and within an unbroken lineage of transmission.