11/17/2025
As we come into the last classes of study for this year, I’d like to summarize our last 10 weeks’ work here. Hopefully among all the sutras we learned up to this point, this distillation remains with you.
Yoga is uncovering and seeing yourself clearly.
According to the Yoga Sutras, yoga helps us see ourselves clearly by quieting the mind. When the mind is busy—planning, worrying, comparing—we look at life through a distorted lens. Patañjali says that yoga is the practice of stilling these mental movements. And when the mind settles, something beautiful happens: we begin to see our true nature beneath the noise.
The Sutras teach that clarity isn’t something we “achieve,” it’s something we uncover. With steady practice and gentle non-attachment, the mirror of the mind becomes clean. We stop confusing ourselves with our stress, our emotions, or our roles—and we reconnect with the quiet awareness beneath it all.
Think of your mind like a lake. When the water is rough, you can’t see into it. When it’s calm, everything becomes clear.
Yoga is the practice of calming those waters so you can finally see yourself as you really are.
