Yoga Sutras 1.1 | Atha Yoga Anushasanam and the Discipline of Yoga

Atha yoga anushasanam.

The Yoga Sutras open with a statement of timing and method. This is not an introduction to philosophy. It is the declaration of instruction.

Atha means now, but not in a casual sense. It indicates readiness. Classical commentators explain that the student has reached a point where inquiry is no longer theoretical. Conditions are sufficient for disciplined study. Attention is available. The system can receive training.

Yoga here does not refer to posture or lifestyle practice. In the classical tradition, yoga is a method for regulating the mind and resolving misidentification. Swami Rama describes it as a practical science of consciousness, concerned with direct observation and internal discipline.

Anushasanam means systematic instruction. The term implies order, continuity, and transmission. This is not personal interpretation or inspiration. It refers to a structured method refined through sustained application. Swami Sivananda emphasizes that the teaching is prescriptive rather than speculative.

Together, the sutra establishes three conditions: readiness, method, and discipline. Nothing else is implied. There is no promise, no motivation, no reassurance. Only the statement that instruction begins.

This verse defines the orientation of the entire text. The Yoga Sutras are not designed to improve personality or optimize lifestyle. They describe a process for stabilizing perception and disentangling awareness from conditioned patterns.

In practical terms, atha yoga anushasanam marks the point at which seeking gives way to training. The mind is no longer experimenting. It is prepared to be regulated.

This is where yoga begins.

References

Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Swami Rama, The Art of Joyful Living
Swami Sivananda, Fourteen Lessons on Raja Yoga