In this live recorded talk Grischa explains the key concepts of the most famous and most relevant text on Yoga known today in a very accessible way.

Patañjali's Yogasūtra is the map and guidebook of yoga. The text which has been passed down orally to this day, is a good 2,000 years old. It codifies practical knowledge that is much older including central Buddhist teachings.

The aim of the sutra text form is to describe all relevant knowledge on the given topic in the shortest possible form. Yogasūtra defines the concept of yoga, its goals, procedures for beginners and advanced practitioners, techniques, milestones, pitfalls, etc. This yogic original text is one of the few absolutely valid references of yoga. It is the standard by which we can recognize the correctness of yoga practices and teachings. How else are we to recognize the many frauds that lie in wait for us?

The Bhagavad Gita is an incredible text. On the surface it is a comprehensive yogic teaching of the warrior Arjuna by the legendary Krishna just before a murderous war. Already in the first chapters Krishna explains that Arjuna must not shy away from his task. For "killing and dying in the righteous cause" is the warrior's supreme happiness, so may Arjuna fight - Krishna (aka "the lord") declares to the hesitant Arjuna before our eyes.

It seems almost unbearable! How can you connect duty and war with the ideal world of our feel-good yoga with the scent of incense sticks? Quite a few first-time readers, like me, must have thrown "the Gita" in the corner after 2-3 of the 18 chapters in horror. A giant mistake!

Adi Shankara ("Shankaracarya") was one of P. Jois' favorite authors. This text is simply divine! Not only are the teachings of Advaita Vedanta cleverly summarized. In this text Shankara also pokes fun at the totally misunderstood yogic techniques right in front of our eyes that we even see in our beloved Ashtanga scene.

"sukhenaiva bhavedyasminnajasraṁ brahmacintanam. āsanaṁ tadvijānānānānnetaratsukhanāśanam ৷৷ 112 ৷৷"

"One should know this as real āsana, in which meditation on Brahman flows spontaneously and unceasingly, and not any other that destroys one's happiness."

Aparokṣanubhūthiḥ by Adi Shankara, ca. 800 AD in by