Mostly we are introduced to the teachings of the Yoga Sūtra through a group class situation, or by coming across a book. This is fine as a starting point, however longer term we need to engage a Sādhana that can facilitate its wisdom teachings radiating from the inside out rather than just permeating from the outside in.
A good starting point for initiating this psychic process is to learn how to chant as a practice in itself and then how to chant the Yoga Sūtra specifically. As well as offering a deepening of contact with those special Bhāvana that arise from chanting, this can also be extremely helpful for the memory processes involved.
These two steps in the embracing chant as a Sādhana ideally require a personal teacher, especially one who can listen and identify our individual nuances in how we repeat what we think we hear. From there they can offer a Vinyāsa Krama for cultivating our vocal potential and refining our skills in terms of self-listening and thus facilitating our abilities in terms of self-correction.
However accepting that for some this may not be a possibility at this point in time, three suggestions are offered below as progressive options for starting a self-learning process, ere to accessing a teacher. A note of caution here to progress slowly and diligently as vocal errors embedded early in the learning remain ever ready to emerge, as with all early memory processes.
Each of the three self-learning suggestions below are arranged as a progression in complexity of material. Each is shown with a link to a PDF chant sheet and an MP3 sound file, recorded at various summer retreats, all to help train your ear and tongue and as an aid to honing your repetitive listening and vocal skills.
The first offered below is a Yoga Sūtra chant arranged in a developmental sequence that offers a progressive recitation of the first 11 verses in Chapter one. The sequencing arrangement now requires nearly 80 lines of chanting to complete what would normally be done in 12 lines.
Yoga Sūtra Chapter One Krama with verses 1-11 PDF
Yoga Sūtra Chapter One Krama with verses 1-11 MP3
The second offered below is a Yoga Sūtra chant offering an introduction to the first four verses in each of the four chapters. The chanting here is arranged in a developmental sequence that offers a progressive review of these 16 verses and now requires over 60 lines of chanting to complete what would normally be done in 20 lines.
Yoga Sūtra Chapters One to Four Krama with verses 1-4 PDF
Yoga Sūtra Chapters One to Four Krama with verses 1-4 MP3
The third offered below is a straight through Yoga Sūtra chant offering an introduction to all 55 verses in Chapter Two of the Yoga Sūtra as a single chant process.
Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verses 1-55 PDF
Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verses 1-55 MP3
