Why are the Yama and Niyama so important? And why are they are placed first in Aṣṭanga Yoga of Pātañjali? And what are the implications of practicing āsana without adopting these behavioural recommendations?

The lecture branches also, into a discussion about the fundamental difference between Hatha Yoga and Pātañjali’s Yoga Sutras: one starts with the body; the other the mind, and how these two schools of thought adopt differing positions about “effortlessness” when practicing āsana and prāṇāyāma.

Swamiji talks about how this difference informed Swami Kuvalayananda’s recommendations about āsana, and what constitutes an āsana practice.

Other lectures in this series include:

Lecture 1/6. Spain, Vilanova i la Geltrú, 2014.

Lecture 2/6. Spain, Vilanova i la Geltrú, 2014.

Lecture 3/6. Spain, Vilanova i la Geltrú, 2014.

Lecture 5/6. Spain, Vilanova i la Geltrú, 2014.