1. Basics of Yoga The universe has both material and spiritual components. The human being has both material and spiritual components.

2. Components of the Universe: Components of the human being  Purusha: Pure consciousness. Immortal, spiritual, always free. Infinite existence, knowledge, & happiness. The true self.  Prakriti: The unconscious world. Mortal, material, determined. The material self of body and mind.

3. The Goal of Yoga  To eliminate suffering by helping us attain discriminative knowledge of the Purusha and the Prakriti. This realization brings contentment, peace, and happiness.

4. Kirya Yoga: Yoga of Action  Austerity, introspection, & ego surrender  Preparing for trance by ridding oneself of afflictions  Ignorance (mistaking the noneternal for the eternal)  Egoism: identifying the seen with the power of seeing  Attachment: intense seeking after pleasure  Repulsion: intense aversion from pain  Fear of death: intense clinging to life

5. Ashtanga Yoga  Yama (5 restraints)  Niyama (5 disciplines)  Asana (physical postures)  Pranayama (regulation of breathing)  Pratyahara (sense organ withdrawal)  Dharana (concentration)  Dhyana (contemplation)  Samadhi (absorption)

6. Yama  Do not engage in violence  Do not lie  Do not steal  Do not crave sexual pleasure  Do not be possessive

7. Niyama  Purity: cleanse one’s body & mind of all pollutants  Contentment: mental & spiritual balance  Austerity  Study of scriptures and lives of saints  Devotion to the Higher Self

8. Other External Steps: Preparatory Stage  Asana (Physical Postures)  Pranayama (regulation of breathing)  Pratyahara: training the mind to withdraw consciousness from external objects, and to direct it instead to the inner contents of the mind

9. Internal Steps: Meditative Stage (Samyama: one-pointedness)  Dharana (concentration): fixing the mind on one idea, letting other images glide by, paying no attention to them  Dhyana (contemplation): sustained focus on an idea, getting to know it in its entirety. The mind remains aware of itself as a subject meditating on an object.  Samadhi (absorption): mystical union with the Purusha