Do you ever set off on a journey not knowing exactly where you’ll end up? Even when you embark on a what you think is a certain path, you still may not arrive at your imagined destination.
That can be a good outcome, a bad one, or simply what is.
When I started interacting with Patanjali on this blog – teasing out each of his tightly packed Sutra – I did it as an exercise in discipline. I made up my mind that at last, after 40-plus years of yoga practice, it was time for me to learn the stuff that underpins it.
Since May 14 of last year, I’ve been sitting down at this keyboard night after night with the Old Sage, studying various translations channeled by a host of yoga luminaries: T.K.V. Desikachar, B.K.S Iyengar, Georg Feuerstein, Satyananda Paramahamsa, and more. People even started donating the Patanjali tomes to me that they’d owned for years, had meant to study one day, but had never gotten around to it.
I found the ‘unpacking’ of some of the Sutra extremely daunting at times and I made myself stay with the process until the pesky threads gave way to unraveling. I’m quite sure my sometimes feeble efforts were like a pre-schooler doing her H.S.C. exams.
Now, in a typical human fashion (unlike a Realised Being), I feel rather sad that I’ve completed my project. I appreciate all the travellers who’ve stayed with me for the whole trip, and also those who just dropped in for a leg along the way.
Here are a few of the unexpected results of my nine months of dedication:

1. A more holistic experience of yoga.
2. The opportunity to share some of what I’ve learned with my students in the Patanjali study course I’m running at the moment.
3. A new blog, aptly named ‘A Sutra a Day’.
4. A book collection of ‘A Sutra a Day’ posts.

There’s a saying, ‘All endings equal new beginnings.’
What’s new for me? A daily pranayama and meditation practice. If there was one message that came through loud and clear from Patanjali, it’s that living a skilful life bubbles up out of the fount of meditation practice.
Please stay tuned for my reports 🙂