Yoga begins with a question about how we see. Are we meeting life directly, or seeing it through the whirling of memory, expectation and identification? The first four of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras bring this question into focus. They announce the teaching, define Yoga, describe the seer abiding in its own nature, and show what happens otherwise.
James Traverse’s background is in yoga. In Being Yoga, the body, breath and listening are living ways of inquiry into our true nature. These opening sutras therefore belong close to the heart of the teaching on spiritual awakening: seeing clearly what we are, rather than constructing a more accomplished identity.
The English renderings below are James Traverse’s teaching expressions. The Sanskrit is presented in standard transliteration. The explanations connect his yoga background with his Advaita inquiry, while keeping the traditional text in view.
The Power of Yoga Is Its Experiential Nature
The single word that captures the experience of Yoga is Listening. Listening is meditation as relaxed yet alert: a global experience engaging the whole human form in union—Yoga—with the space around the form. In James’s expression, one with space.
Here, listening includes the whole form. Sensation, breath, sound and the surrounding space are experienced together. The body is no longer approached merely as an object to arrange. The experience opens beyond the habitual sense of a form enclosed within its boundary.
First, Energy Follows Attention
At first, the form of an asana, or the teaching of an ancient text, guides attention. The practitioner is invited into an archetypal shape or pose. Attention provides an orientation, and energy follows attention as the form takes shape. The guidance offers a way into the experience.
Then, Attention Follows Energy
When the so-called pose is being held, there is a switchover. Attention follows energy. The whole form listens to the felt movement of life: the breath, the play of sensation, the response of the body and its openness to the space around it.
The shape remains, yet the experience is no longer organized only around maintaining a prescribed outline. The posture is lived through global listening—relaxed yet alert. The form and the surrounding space are experienced in union.
In this description, “energy” names what is felt through its movement and expression. The invitation is experiential: listen through the whole form and let attention follow what is present.
Listening to the Sutras
An ancient statement can guide attention in a similar way. Read it carefully and allow its meaning to orient the inquiry. Then listen globally. Notice how the words meet sensation, breath and the movement of mind. The teaching opens into experience; the experience gives the words their living significance.
This is James Traverse’s approach to practice and inquiry. “One with space” describes the experience of Yoga; it does not make physical space a definition of Brahman. Explore the Yoga of Listening.
Lifting the Words off the Page: Knowing via Being
The point is to bring the first three Yoga Sutras to life—to lift the words off the page. At first, their meaning is approached intellectually. The words guide attention: Now Yoga; the ending of identification through the whirling of mind; then true being abides in its own nature.
Through global Listening, relaxed yet alert, there is a switchover from intellectual understanding to Knowing via Being. The words are no longer only statements being considered. Their meaning is lived through the whole form in openness to the space around it.
Now Yoga becomes the immediacy of the experience. The ending of identification is explored as attention ceases to be organized around the whirling descriptions of oneself. Abiding in one’s own nature is Knowing via Being, rather than maintaining an idea of what being ought to be.
The teaching guides the practitioner into the inquiry, as an asana guides the form into an archetypal shape. Then attention follows energy: global Listening. Intellectual understanding has served its purpose by opening into lived understanding. This is the experiential emphasis of James’s teaching.
What Are Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras?
A sutra is a concise thread of teaching. Patanjali’s text gathers these threads into four chapters: Samadhi, Sadhana, Vibhuti and Kaivalya—respectively, meditative absorption, practice, capacities associated with practice, and liberation. The first four sutras open the first chapter. The Eight Limbs appear later, in Sutra 2.29.
Their brevity invites careful reading. A sentence may be easy to remember and yet take sustained inquiry to understand. For traditional context, Rama Prasada’s translation of the sutras with the commentaries of Vyasa and Vachaspati Mishra provides a useful companion. The reflections here are James’s contemporary approach, rather than a replacement for those commentaries.
The First Four Sutras: Sanskrit and James’s English Renderings
Sutra 1.1 — Now Yoga
अथ योगानुशासनम्
atha yogānuśāsanam
Now Yoga.
The full Sanskrit announces the teaching or exposition of Yoga. James’s concise rendering places the emphasis on now. Yoga is approached here, in the life that is present. A remembered experience can be instructive, and preparation has value, yet neither replaces attention now.
Notice how readily the mind says, “When conditions improve, then I will begin.” The opening can be heard as an invitation to see this postponement. There is a body here, a breath here, a sound here. The inquiry has somewhere to begin.
Sutra 1.2 — Yoga and the Whirling of the Mind
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
Yoga is the ending of identification via the whirling [fluctuations] of the mind.
This is the central statement of the opening. A conventional rendering speaks of the cessation or restraint of the mind’s modifications. James’s expression brings the question of identification forward: how does a passing movement of mind become the definition of what I am?
It may begin with a useful thought: “There is a difficult conversation ahead.” Then memory supplies an old hurt, imagination supplies an anticipated failure, and the thought becomes “I am someone who cannot cope.” A present circumstance has been joined to a story of identity. Yoga invites us to see that movement clearly.
Sutra 1.3 — Abiding in One’s Own Nature
तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्
tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe ’vasthānam
Then true being [Consciousness] abides in its own nature.
The traditional word draṣṭṛ is the seer. James uses “true being [Consciousness]” to draw attention to what sees, rather than another picture of oneself. “Abides” need not be heard as an effort to hold a spiritual pose. The invitation is to recognize being without defining it through a passing mental form.
What you are is not made more real by a favourable thought or less real by an unfavourable one. In this teaching, recognition concerns the nature of being; the changing thought concerns an appearance.
Sutra 1.4 — Assuming the Form of the Fluctuations
वृत्तिसारूप्यमितरत्र
vṛtti-sārūpyam itaratra
Otherwise being assumes the form of the mental fluctuations.
A worry appears, and being is spoken of as worried. A judgement appears, and the whole situation is seen through that judgement. The distinction between a changing content and what knows it becomes obscured.
James’s “assumes the form” describes this apparent identification. It does not require Consciousness to have literally changed its essential nature. An image of yourself can change repeatedly while the question of what you are remains open.
The Four Sutras as One Continuous Statement
Now Yoga. Yoga is the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind; then the seer abides in his true nature; otherwise seeing is veiled by the content and activity of the mind.
Read the paragraph slowly. The four statements belong together: the invitation, the definition, the recognition and the description of mistaken identification. The last statement helps explain why the second matters. A quieter mind can be welcome, yet the inquiry reaches further than the preference for quiet.
In James’s emphasis, Yoga is the ending of identification through the whirling of mind. The question is not simply how many thoughts arise. It is how those thoughts are taken to establish who you are.
Understanding Sutra 1.2: Citta, Vritti and Nirodha
Citta — The Field of Mind
Citta refers to mind in a broad sense. In this inquiry, attend to the whole movement of perception, memory, imagination and response, rather than only the words silently spoken in your head. A bodily contraction may accompany an expectation before that expectation is put into a sentence.
Suppose someone pauses before answering you. There is the pause itself, and there is what the mind makes of it: disapproval, uncertainty, rejection. Seeing the difference gives the conversation room to unfold.
Vritti — The Forms and Movements of Mind
Vritti names a modification, activity or changing form of mind. “Whirling” is an evocative way to describe how one impression gathers others around itself. It is not limited to unpleasant thinking. Praise can become an identity as quickly as criticism.
A wave has form and movement. When the movement of mind is recognized as movement, it need not become a complete account of being. This is a practical doorway into inquiry, rather than a demand to stop using thought for ordinary purposes.
Nirodha — Cessation and the Ending of Identification
Nirodha is commonly translated as cessation, restraint or stilling. Those terms have a substantial meditative meaning within classical Yoga. James’s rendering highlights the ending of identification through the fluctuations. It is an interpretive emphasis, not a claim that the Sanskrit word literally means identification.
In Being Yoga, trying to overpower a thought can become another turn of the same whirling. The thought “I must succeed at having no thoughts” supplies a new identity to defend. Instead, begin by seeing what is occurring. Thought is present. Sensation is present. Is their presence the whole truth of what you are?
This distinction leaves room for concentration, discipline and a settling mind. It also prevents a moment of blankness from being mistaken for the whole meaning of awakening.
A Simple Inquiry into Identification
Sit or stand comfortably. Let the breath move naturally. Listen to a nearby sound without immediately naming its cause. Then notice a thought that appears.
There is no need to select an elevated thought. “I have something to finish” is enough. Notice its practical content. Then notice any identity added to it: “I am behind,” “I am inadequate,” or “I am the one who must manage everything.”
Allow the identity to be seen as a thought. Ask gently: Does this thought describe something happening, or does it establish what I am? Do not force a verbal answer. Return to the sound, the breath and the actual circumstances.
This is a contemporary reflection illustrating James’s approach. Continue with the Yoga of Listening, self-inquiry: Who am I? or a simple meditation practice.
The Eight Limbs: Giving the Inquiry Expression
The diagram places ethical conduct and personal discipline beneath posture, breath, sensing and attention. Read it as a relationship among limbs, rather than eight achievements that confer a superior identity. Yoga is expressed through how you listen, move, respond and live.
1. Yama — Conduct in Relationship
The five yamas are Ahimsa, Satya, Asteya, Brahmacharya and Aparigraha. In James’s teaching expressions: without violating natural order; truthfulness; honesty; right use of energy; and without clinging. The conventional terms non-harming, non-stealing, continence and non-grasping help locate these expressions within the tradition.
A conversation offers an immediate example. Can you listen without forcing another person into your expectation? Can a truthful response be given without using truth as a weapon? Conduct is part of the inquiry into identification.
2. Niyama — Personal Conduct and Practice
The diagram names Saucha, Santosha, Svadhyaya, Tapas and Ishvara-pranidhana: cleanliness, contentment, self-study, discipline and surrender. Surrender here can be explored as relinquishing the insistence that life conform to personal demand; traditionally, Ishvara-pranidhana refers to devotion or surrender to Ishvara.
Discipline can mean returning to attention when habit carries you away. Contentment need not wait until every circumstance is favourable. Self-study includes noticing the assumptions with which you approach practice.
3. Asana — Posture
Let posture support steadiness and ease. First, the asana guides attention and energy follows attention as the shape is entered. Then, within the pose, allow the switchover: attention follows energy. Listen through the whole form, relaxed yet alert, one with the space around it. The archetypal shape has become an opening into experience.
4. Pranayama — Breath Flow
The diagram uses “Breath Flow.” Begin by sensing the actual breath. Notice whether an idea of how it ought to move obscures how it is moving. Formal breath practices have their own instruction; this reflection begins with listening rather than force.
5. Pratyahara — Sensing Sensing
“Sensing Sensing” is James’s expression in the diagram. Traditionally described as withdrawal of the senses, this limb can be approached here by attending to sensing itself, rather than being carried immediately into naming, pursuit or resistance. Sound can be heard without requiring a story about it.
6. Dharana — Concentration
Attention remains with a chosen focus. When it wanders, return without adding a judgement about the kind of meditator you are. The focus provides a place to observe attention and habit.
7. Dhyana — Meditation
Meditation involves continuity of attention. In practice, notice the difference between repeatedly imposing attention and a listening that becomes less interrupted by commentary.
8. Samadhi — Absorption
Absorption concerns the deepening of meditation. Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi together are called Samyama in Sutra 3.4; James’s diagram describes their relationship as “total attention.” An experience of absorption should be understood in its context rather than used as a certificate of personal attainment.
Ahimsa: Without Violating Natural Order
Ahimsa is commonly translated as “nonviolence.” James Traverse renders it as “without violating natural order.” A lion killing and eating a zebra illustrates the distinction: the encounter is violent from the zebra’s perspective, yet the lion’s feeding does not violate natural order. In human life, this understanding calls for Listening and discernment—sensitivity to the whole situation, rather than using “natural” to justify whatever we wish to do.
In posture, this may mean noticing when ambition is overriding sensation. In conversation, it may mean ending an attempt to dominate. In daily life, it may require a clear boundary or a decisive response. “Natural order” is not a reason to accept harm or to call every personal impulse natural. It asks for discernment and care.
When action is no longer organized around defending an image of oneself, there is room to meet what the situation actually requires. Explore this alongside the Gita’s teaching on Dharma, Yajna and Yoga.
Patanjali and Advaita: A Useful Connection, with a Real Distinction
Classical Yoga distinguishes the seer, Purusha, from Prakriti, the domain of nature that includes mind. Advaita Vedanta teaches the non-duality of Atman and Brahman. These philosophical accounts should not simply be declared identical.
James draws on both while emphasizing recognition and the ending of mistaken identification. Patanjali’s opening helps examine how seeing becomes entangled with mental activity. The Mahavakyas invite inquiry into the identity of Self and Brahman. The Brahma Sutras examine the understanding of that teaching.
In the Advaita language used at Being Yoga, appearances are mithya: neither independently real nor wholly unreal, yet experienced. Recognizing a thought as an appearance does not deny its presence. It questions the independent identity attributed to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Yoga mean having no thoughts?
The classical discussion of nirodha concerns the stilling of mental modifications and requires careful study. James’s focus here is the ending of identification through their movement. Useful thought can serve daily life; the inquiry asks whether its changing forms define your true nature.
Why say “Now Yoga” rather than a longer translation?
It is James’s concise teaching rendering. The fuller Sanskrit announces the teaching of Yoga. His wording emphasizes the immediacy of the invitation while the explanation retains that fuller context.
Are the Eight Limbs eight stages of spiritual awakening?
They are eight limbs of Yoga, not James’s Seven Stages framework. Different presentations of common awakening experiences also use different counts. Keep the purpose of each numbering clear. James’s BREATHE course presents his seven-part approach.
How does this connect with Jnana Yoga?
Seeing mistaken identification makes a natural connection with inquiry into the Self. Raja, Karma, Bhakti and Jnana give attention to meditation, action, devotion and knowledge. Jnana brings particular attention to the question of what we are, explored through global Listening and Knowing via Being.
Continue Reading
Return to the opening paragraph and notice which word raises a real question for you. Then explore awakening in daily life or being okay with not knowing. The value of a sutra is expressed when its inquiry meets life.
For textual study, consult the opening sutras and traditional commentaries, Sutra 2.29 on the Eight Limbs, and Sutra 3.4 on Samyama. Learn more about James Traverse’s background or learning with James.