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I can't get enough of the Yoga Sutras. I'm in the process of reviewing eight translations; here are the first four. For students in the subscription class, these are the books I'm using to guide the Sutra study in class.

"The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali" by Alistair Shearer

Stats at a glance
Sanskrit text: No
Transliterated text: No
Translation of individual Sanskrit words: No
Translation of Sutras: Yes
Ability to read all the Sutras back-to-back: Yes

Shearer reviews the history of the Vedas, the similarities between yoga and Buddhism (he concludes they both stem from the same philosophy, rather then one proceeded from another). It’s part sociological treatise, part grammar, part explanation of key terms, and a weird attempt at comparing the yogic experience to the breakdown of classical physics.

Shearer postulates the text has “an inner unity that has to be approached on its own terms.” Unfortunately the evidence of this is never elucidated. Though Shearer does a great job in defining the terms in the Sutras, the cohesion of the four padas (chapters) is never made clear.

And for the translation: I’ve never read a more lyrical translation that still adheres to the sanskrit text. Shearer’s words are accurate, simple and descriptive without being the least bit flowery. I recommend this book highly for this feature.

A Yoga Geek Note: Shearer makes a baffling decision to combine sutras III.21 and III.22, and not account for the combination when numbering the Sutras. Translating the two sutras as one statement makes sense from a translation perspective, but now his 22nd sentence is the 23rd sutra in pada three. The mislabelling isn't obvious either, and the confusion makes comparing translations in the book three frustrating. To his credit, some versions of the sutras omit III.22 altogether. But since he used the text, he could have helped readers by maintaining the numbering. In any case, I suggest renumbering the Sutras to avoid a headache.

“Yoga Philosophy of Patañjali” by Swami Hariharananda Aranya

Stats at a glance
Sanskrit text: Yes
Transliterated text: No
Translation of individual Sanskrit words: No
Translation of Sutras: Yes
Ability to read all the Sutras back-to-back: Yes

Perhaps the most ambitious of any Sutra translation and commentary is, the “Yoga Philosophy of Patañjali”. Swami Hariharananda Aranya (SHA) is not only translating the Sutras, but also translating the famous commentary of Vyasa and adding his own copious annotations to it. It’s a scholarly, erudite, and dense work, and best exemplifies yoga’s foundation on and growth from the Samkhya philosophy.

The arguments in the book are generally sensible, although SHA does rely on the shastras (sacred texts) as proof on occasion. It’s the equivalent of saying “it's true because it's in the Bible”, which is not a persuasive tactic when building an argument. According to the Yoga Sutras, one of the ways pramana (correct knowledge) is found is through sacred texts, so SHA is applying this technique in the tradition of the Sutras. The problem lies in the circular reasoning that results.

Aside from that small complaint, I couldn’t be more satisfied with this book, which includes a glossary of Sanskrit terms, a short summary of the definition of yoga, and much longer treatises on jnana yoga and karma. At almost 500 pages it is a project to read. If you’re not particularly interested in the workings of the Samkhya and yoga philosophy and want a briefer experience with the sutras, this isn’t your book. But anybody interested in the nuts and bolts of this system’s mechanics cannot do better.

“The Path of the Sutras” by Nicholai Bachman

Stats at a glance
Sanskrit text: No
Transliterated text: No
Translation of individual Sanskrit words: No
Translation of Sutras: No
Ability to read all the Sutras back-to-back: No

The route most sutra translations and commentaries take is the scholarly route, in which the text and philsophy are explained in hopes to present a deeper understanding of Patañjali’s logic. But once that is done, how to apply the concepts to your practice?

Nicholai Bachman’s “The Path of the Sutras” is a unique and invaluable book. Rather than translate and comment on the actual text, Nicholai has extracted the sutras’ key elements and offers suggestions on how to incorporate them into a thoughtful yoga and meditation practice. Each element gets its own chapter. Nicholai examines how we can apply these concepts in our lives with exercises and examples of the concept at work.

That it’s so practical doesn’t diminish its value as a scholarly work. But what Nicholai has succeeded in doing is point directly to yoga as a process and not merely texts to understand.
 

“Light on the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali” by BKS Iyengar

Stats at a glance
Sanskrit text: Yes
Transliterated text: Yes
Translation of individual Sanskrit words: Yes
Translation of Sutras: Yes
Ability to read all the Sutras back-to-back: No

From one of the world’s most famous yoga teachers comes a great reference book, and the only one I know where you can see the translations of the individual Sanskrit words immediately following the sutra. I’m fond of being able to tell what is Patañjali’s voice and what is the translator’s. Iyengar’s book allows you to study the actual words in the text, rather than translation of the entire sutra.

Iyengar’s commentary is helpful, though the readability is not spectacular. Unlike Swami Hariharananda Aranya’s book, “Light on the Yoga Sutras” fails to cohere the text linearly. The Sutras weren’t meant to be strictly linear, so perhaps Iyengar is keeping with the interwovenness that something called a “sutra” implies. But Aranya’s explanations work better as a book to read from cover to cover.

The upside to Iyengar’s interwoven rendering is the ability to skip around to related sutras. Iyengar has an Appendix in the book called “Interconnection of Sutras” that makes it easy to do just that. Whenever I need to reference a specific concept in the Sutras, this is my go-to book to get started.

It's time for many people to figure out how 2012 is going to be the best year to date, and the time-honored "New Year's Resolution" is upon us. Here are some tips to make the resolutions work for you and not against you.

Avoid all pass/fail resolutions:

Let's use cake as an example: The resolution is "I resolve to not eat cake". It will work, maybe for the first six weeks of the new year. Then Valentine's Day catches you at a weak point, and cake happens. There's an "aw schucks" hands-in-the-air moment, and you spend the rest of the year having failed. The resolution is dead.

Using a pass/fail goal sets you up for failure and then lets you off the hook when the failure happens. It's the easy way out of a New Year's resolution. This method also puts you in a confrontational situation with cake. YOU VS. CAKE is not a productive way to live. Cake isn't going anywhere, and is a strong contender. Cake tends to win. Cake is like Chuck Norris.

So let's analyze: Why the cake? There's usually a health-based reason behind it. We just need to design a healthier set of resolutions to fit it.

1. Make a specific ongoing goal:

First things first—we need to get rid of the chance of failure. To stick with the cake example, we can resolve to pay attention to our diet in general—"Every time I eat food, I will pay attention to how my body feels". Now there's no pass or fail, only an observation. Notice what cake does you a minute after, an hour later, when you're trying to sleep at night. You'll start to develop the habit of listening inward to cake. Perhaps you'll notice the sugar spike, perhaps you'll realize it's harder to fall asleep, and perhaps nothing much happens at all. Remembering these feelings will help you pick foods that make you feel healthier.

2. Make a general affirmative goal:

Now we decide on a general notion, like "eat more greens" or "try out smaller portions". Make this resolution a positive, pro-active one, but don't set specific criteria. Something with the word "more" should suffice.

Resolutions shouldn't be about avoidance. They should be about developing great habits and self-improvement. The above two techniques will have you consistantly referring to your resolutions. The resolution gets reinforced through repetition. And repetition is what will ultimately make the good habits stick. You're self-improving! And it won't stop, because you'll always notice more and more. In Sanskrit, this notion is called "viveka" and is roughly translated as "discernment". Design your goals as an aid for improvement and you'll be more discerning in no time.

So that's an improvement-style resolution. What if we want to accomplish something specific this year, like writing a book or hiking the Appalachian Trail?

1. Tell somebody: You'll need some help on a big project, so find somebody who's done it. Ask them how they did it, and figure out a timeline. Remember, stuff worth doing is going to take dedication. Go!

2. Don't tell everybody: Watch this video before Facebooking your goal! Derek Sivers says it's better to keep goals secret. Think about people you know who declare they're going to do one amazing thing after another: Have they ever done them? Save the news for the accomplishment, not the intention.

May everyone have a wonderful, safe and content 2012!

Warmly,

-Richard

I've email blasted the latest newsletter with some information about the Yoga Sutras. The next post will be a review of all seven books about the sutras, which hold me in constant fascination.

For the fifth year now, I'm turning Saturday's 10:30am Squirrel Hill Yoga 1 class into a subscription class It's a 12-week series beginning January 7th. The price is $100, which is the same as a 12-class card.  The classes are not transferable, meaning the subscription can only be used for those twelve classes. However, if you cannot make a class, you may send someone in your place.

There is always a big demand for the Saturday classes at the start of the new year, when many people make their fitness resolution a yogic one. In the past I've had to turn up to 20 people away from a class because it was filled. This is our way of accommodating both long-time students and new ones. If you commit to a class, you're guaranteed a spot, so you don't have to show up 1/2 hour early. Also, if you cannot commit to the 12 weeks, you'll still have a Yoga 1 class at 8:45am. No Yoga 2 class will run through March.

If you have any questions, ask me in any class or email!

Take care,

Richard

The radar and cloud map look promising, so Cycling Through Samsara is a go! We'll be meeting at 9:30 in Highland Park. Also, the Bike Fest calendar said this ride would last two hours. Between the yoga and biking though, we're looking closer to three, 3.5 hours all told.

Looking forward to it!

Yesterday I taught my Yin Yoga Primer to a wonderful group of people at the Cameron Wellness Center. We focused on the side body and allowing ourselves to breathe more easily. The center is a great place to teach!

My new Yoga Grump post is up, please check it out. Also, I'm excited to teach a new occasional class called 'Get Crackin!', which premiers this Sunday at Schoolhouse Yoga on the South Side. It's at 9:30am, right before my Yoga 1 class.

Here's the info:

In 2009, medical doctor Donald Unger ended a 50-year personal experiment—after cracking just his left knuckles at least twice a day for five decades, he concluded “there was no arthritis in either hand, and no apparent differences between the two hands.” (from Scientific American). This and many other studies prove cracking your joints on occasion doesn’t harm them at all. In fact, it enhances the range of motion in a joint by allowing all potential movement to occur. Plus it feels really good!

Introducing Richard Gartner’s ‘Get Crackin!’ class, where we spend 75 minutes popping as many joints as we can in the hands, feet, wrists, hips and neck. You might even get lucky and experience the elusive ‘firecracker pop’ all the way down the spine. In addition to joint cracking, we’ll be doing some abdominal work, deep breathing, and a few long holds.

Techni-cool information: This class is based on Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s Pawanmuktasana Series 1 and 2. The first is considered anti-rheumatic and the second is for the digestive tract. As for the cracking itself—there are different types of popping in the body. Richard will explain the different types, which ones are good, and how to tell. We’ll be focusing on what’s called defixation—the release of any vaccuum in the joint caused by two sides of the joint fixed together.

Take care and namaste,

-Richard