
“The original essence of the Yoga Sūtra was passed on by oral tradition. First, you learn the rhythm of the Sūtra. This was in Saṃskṛta, first learning the words or Sūtra, then the meanings. By learning to recite the Sūtra perfectly it was clear that you were earnest in wanting to learn their meanings.
The scheme would be to repeat it twice, in exactly the same tone used by the teacher. This would take many years. Thus these days it’s difficult to expect to understand the Sūtra from a book or a course.
A Sūtra Class began with a dedication. It had the effect of orienting the mind to the class and subject and could also be a dedication to a god, if accepted, to remove obstacles, or if none, not to put any i.e. Gaṇeśa.