The Yoga of Self-Improvement
Yogasūtras Chapter 2
Have you ever said to yourself:
- How do I know if this voice is really my intuition or just my anxiety?
- Since that pattern is so clear… why do I keep doing it?
- How come I feel so out of balance? Or what can I do to feel more balanced?
- My relationships need help! What can I do to improve my relationship with myself, others, and Spirit?
You are not alone, and the answers are waiting for you in the 2nd Chapter of Patañjali’s Yogasūtra.
This chapter can be divided into three primary sections, and each offers answers to the questions above, and many more!
kriyā-yoga is the Yoga of Action. How our behavior can express Yoga. It outlines how to become aware of and then change your patterns. If you have ever felt the overwhelm of clearly seeing your patterns, while being unable to change them, this is the answer you have been waiting for!
viveka-khyāti is the process of discernment. It’s the tools and awareness necessary to identify, tune into and really follow your Intuition.
aṣṭāṅga-yoga is the “8 Limbs of Yoga.” It lays out how to achieve balance through different practices in relationships (ethics), physical practices (āsana), breathing (prāṇāyāma), and more.
The entire Chapter is extremely practical as it describes how to live and be Yoga.
Prerequisites
This is an ideal class for students who enjoy long term study of Yoga’s ancient texts. It’s perfect for Yoga Practitioners and teachers alike to gain context for their Yoga practice.
Given that Patañjali’s Yogasūtra does not need to be read chronologically, there are no prerequisites to join the class. In fact, many teachers advise students to begin their study of the Yogasūtra with the 2nd Chapter because it is so focused on how to do Yoga in all its different manifestations.
Studying Patañjali’s Yogasûtra has helped me understand the possibilities for healing and transformation. After studying this text, I appreciate that yoga is so much more than practicing postures and “feeling” good.
Class Details
Begins: December 2, 2021
Date/Time: Thursday at 6:15pm PT / 9:15pm ET for 60 minutes
Duration: 18 months
Location: Zoom (free online video conference), which allows you to take classes wherever you are in the world. Classes will also be recorded and made available for replay via your Student Portal.
Please Note: Webcam is preferred, but not required to participate. A dial-in option is also available.
Teacher: Executive Director, Chase Bossart
Cost:
Monthly payments of $137 for 18 months, billed to you automatically.
What You Will Explore
Patañjali’s Yogasūtras is divided into four chapters. This course is a deep dive into the meaning and application of Chapter 2, the sādhana pāda. sādhana means “leading straight to a goal.” This extremely practical chapter focuses on how to attain a state of Yoga.
It begins with instructions that apply to everything we do, all our actions. Then it discusses how to discern your knowing from your patterning (or your authenticity from your past) and finally gives many specific ideas about how to develop a state of yoga through relationships with others and yourself, your body, breath, senses and mind. Every class will begin with a brief review of the material from the previous week along with an opportunity to ask questions about it. Chase will then translate each sūtra, word-by-word, from the Sanskrit (handouts are provided) and describe the meaning and application of each word in every sūtra. As a special bonus he is also providing his word-by-word translation of the Yogabhaṣya, the main commentary on the text! This will be followed by a discussion and time for further questions and answers.
Specific topics we will cover in the course of studying this chapter include:
- How to observe (svādhyāya) and change (tapas) your patterns
- Why we suffer in life, and what to do about it
- How to accurately know when your intuition is guiding you, and tell when something else is instead
- What Yoga’s goal is (kaivalyam) and the keys to attaining it (viveka-khyāti)
- How best to discern your Knowing from the other voices in your head
- Explorations of the 8 Limbs of Yoga (aṣṭāṅga-yoga)
- Practices to support your relationships and how to refine yourself through them
- Critical importance of ethics & integrity
- Essential qualities of physical practice (āsana)
- Defining parts of breathing practices (prāṇāyāma) and their results
- How to bring yourself into a state of Yoga through living your life
What’s Included
Class Recordings
Printable Handouts
Private Online Community
“Chase’s in depth Patañjali’s Yogasūtra are a different way of knowing than anything I have experienced. Such a gift.”
Who this Course Is For
- Yoga practitioners seeking to understand the relationship between Yoga practices (postures, breathing, meditation, etc.) and their experiences in life
- Spiritual seekers looking to understand the path of Yoga and apply it in their daily life
- Yoga practitioners seeking to deepen their practice and experience of Yoga
- Yoga teachers looking to expand their understanding of the sūtras
- Anyone seeking to deepen their experience of divinity in or through living their life
- Yoga teachers exploring the relationship between their teaching and their life
- People who feel modern “self help” lacks depth or substance
- Anyone interested in Eastern Philosophy
Your Instructor
Chase Bossart
Executive Director of the Yoga Well Institute, Chase has been studying Yoga, Sanskrit, eastern philosophy and religion for nearly 30 years.
In 1991, as part of a study abroad program in Chennai, India, Chase took a semester-long course on Yoga Theory with Mr. TKV Desikachar that essentially set the direction for the rest of his life. He became a private student of Mr. Desikachar, who was his mentor and teacher for 20+ years. During that time, he spent a total of four and a half years in Chennai studying with him, his family and his senior teachers. He also had the opportunity to serve as a teacher at the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. From 2006-2012, he was the Director of Therapy and Education at the non-profit Healing Yoga Foundation in San Francisco.
His depth of knowledge on yoga and meditation are shared through practical, humorous anecdotes that translate to everyday life.
No need to worry with our 30 day, no questions asked, money-back guarantee.
At the Yoga Well Institute, we are committed to our students and ensuring this life-changing work is available to all. If finances are the only thing preventing you from enrolling, we invite you to complete our scholarship application and we’ll do our best to work with you. We are especially committed to supporting BIPOC, LGBT+, Veterans, First Responders and other under-represented communities.