a center for
personal and planetary
awakening

Mystic River Yoga
196 Boston Avenue
Suite 3900
Medford, MA 02155

781 396 0808
info@MysticRiverYoga.com

Traditionally, Indian scriptures were always transmitted from generation to generation through the word of mouth and so also was the subject of Yoga. In the 5th-2nd century B.C, it was Sage Patanjali, who was the first to codify and present to posterity the ancient Indian heritage of Yoga, through his treatise the Yoga Darshana.The Yoga Darshana is such a deep, encompassing study of the subject that the treatise which consisted of just 196 sutras (aphorisms), became his magnum opus.

These Sutras were and are still the most profound and enlightening study of the human psyche. In just 196 aphorisms, he shows how through the practice of Yoga, we can transform ourselves, gain mastery over the mind and emotions, overcome obstacles to our spiritual evolution and attain the goal of yoga: kaivalya, liberation from the bondage of worldly desires. This treatise comprises of only 4 chapters and is in Sanskrit. Several translations and commentaries on the Yoga Sutras have been written over the centuries with each scholar interpreting them as per the times and as per his own understanding.

Prior to the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali had also written the Mahabhasya, a classical work on grammar and another on Ayurveda, the science of life and health. On the strength of his expositions on yoga, grammar and ~ayurveda, Patanjali came to be regarded as the foremost thinker of his time. Even today, Patanjali's works are followed by yogis in their effort to develop a refined language, a cultured body and a civilized mind.