The Yoga Sūtras of Patajali I

The Yoga Stras by Indian sage Patajali-the most authoritative and widely-read text on yoga-offers the reader a set of practical instructions for living a deeply meaningful life. A collection of 196 terse statements, or "sutras" (literally "thread"), sewn together into four distinct chapters, the Yoga Stras has had vast influence on the Indian philosophical traditions for several millennia, especially on yoga philosophy and its practices. Its relevance today is indicated by the sheer popularity of the text with yoga students worldwide. In fact, every yoga teacher training course in the United States and Europe, as well as India, must include an overview of the text for new teachers.

The idea of creating a coloring book series from Patajali's popular Yoga Stras is a thoroughly novel approach to this ancient text. It is a lively and contemporary exploration of the Yoga Stras that encourages different ways of learning and knowing-the reader reflects meditatively on each sutra as it is being colored, practicing mindfulness during the act of coloring; and at the same time, enjoying the stress-reducing potential that "purposeful coloring" offers. The distinguishing feature of this coloring book series is that it is a new approach to an ancient yet often-studied text, where the student is not overly burdened with weighty scholarship but is instead offered a transliterated sutra and its translation with the lightness of as-yet-to-be-colored flora, fauna, and fonts. The simple art of coloring turns the Yoga Stras into a truly transformative text!

The outline of this four-volume coloring book series is based upon the four chapters of the Yoga Stras of Patajali: 1) the Samdhi Pda, the chapter on integration (or meditation); 2) the Sdhana Pda, the chapter on practice; 3) the Vibhti Pda, the chapter on special powers; and 4) the Kaivalya Pada, the chapter on liberation. Although each volume is a self-contained book capable of standing alone in its own right, each book is designed to be an integral part of the series that covers all four chapters of the Yoga Sutras of Patajali. There are approximately 50 sutras in each chapter.

Each page of the coloring book presents one stra in transliterated Sanskrit (Roman script) with an interpretation of that stra in lively hand-drawn font embedded in striking illustrations. The stras herein have been interpreted by Rebecca Polack, a yoga scholar who holds a PhD in South Asia Philosophy and Religion, and who has studied Sanskrit for over 20 years. The artwork has been created especially for this coloring book series by Dr. Polack, and inspired by Madhubani, folk art of northern India, as well as the nature of Northern California-especially Sa...