Introduction to Yoga Sutras
1 Season . 9 Episodes

Yoga is clearly laid out in an ancient text called the Yoga Sutras, which define yoga as a school of thought and a journey into consciousness. How can we refine it, so as to connect to the inner light of awareness.

Read More
Start Free Trial
The Limbs of Yoga (Preview)

Yoga is clearly laid out in an ancient text called the Yoga Sutras. These sutras were written in Sanskrit by Patanjali sometime between 500 BCE and 200 CE. The text defines yoga as a school of thought. Its focus is not on positions but rather an inward journey into our consciousness. How does our consciousness work? How can we refine it, improve it, work it, in order to connect to the inner light of awareness.

Nicolai Bachman has been teaching Sanskrit, chanting, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda and other related topics since 1994. He has a knack for synthesizing and organizing complex topics into simple and understandable presentations. He studied extensively at the American Sanskrit Institute, the Ayurvedic Institute, the American Institute of Vedic Studies and the Vedic Chant Center. He is the author of The Yoga Sutras: An Essential Guide to the Heart of the Yoga Philosophy.

Episode 1
8 mins
The philosophy and practice of yoga are designed to learn about who we are. In the process, we root out negativity and replace it with loving kindness.
Episode 2
7 mins
Yoga, in its broadest sense, includes a belief in the permanent divine light of awareness. It promotes kindness and selflessness and less attachment to material things.
Episode 3
11 mins
Our consciousness is a field through which the inner light of awareness shines. Understanding how the heart-mind complex functions is essential to understanding how yoga works.
Episode 4
11 mins
Nicolai Bachman explores what karma is, why the theory of karma can explain the inexplicable, and how karma provides incentive to live a kind and honest life.
Episode 5
5 mins
In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, yoga includes eight distinct parts – referred to as limbs – that, when practiced, refine and stabilize every aspect of our lives and lead us toward our inner light of awareness.
Episode 6
6 mins
Nicolai Bachman begins his exploration of yamas, the first of the eight limbs of yoga, by looking at the first element of that limb, ahimsa, which can translate as “non-hurtfulness,” or non-violence.
Episode 7
4 mins
In this essential yoga talk, Nicolai Bachman reiterates the central role of ahimsa – nonviolence – in yoga. He discusses some of the causes of violence, and some ways we can prevent or weaken its expression.
Episode 8
6 mins
Satya, or truthfulness, is the second of five yamas that make up the first limb of yoga. If we value our individual conscience more than our own self-interest, we can become our own hero by maintaining our integrity.
Episode 9
6 mins
How we communicate with others directly affects the health of our relationships. Satya, or truthfulness, practiced alongside ahimsa, or nonviolence, gives us nonviolent communication.