Sanskrit: Language of Yoga
Yoga’s Language of Consciousness
When yogis want to talk about awareness, they use the ‘integrated’(sam+krta) language of Sanskrit – the language in which the ancient yogis preserved their experiences. To participate fully in their continuing enterprise of yoga, it is therefore essential to master the fundamentals of Sanskrit thought.
Our workshops help every yoga student and teacher gain just this mastery – but without spending years in classrooms or libraries. Instead, our Sanskrit programs escort you into the world of yoga thought through its revolutionary concepts – expanding the mind and enhancing your practice in ways you may have never imagined.
Learn Sanskrit through its Revolutionary Concepts
Yoga Sciences Institute does not teach Sanskrit through the exercise grids and grammar models that make traditional ways of learning Sanskrit unpleasant and ineffective (Sanskrit boasts a 90% drop-out rate in old-style college programs). Instead, we present Sanskrit through its revolutionary concepts – its ‘vocabulary of yoga’ – first.
Revolution and Sanskrit
To see how Sanskrit wisdom works, let’s take a simple but powerful example: the idea of ‘revolution’ itself. The word in Sanskrit is para-vrtti. It is not any external revolution that might take place in the empirical, historical, external world. Instead, this term designates specifically an inner revolution, where you clearly perceive precisely what is taking place at the present moment – the point of infinite possibility. Buddhist yogis also used the term para-vrtti to refer to the experience of waking up in the ‘external’ world just as you might in a lucid dream – an exceedingly powerful idea that the ingenious movie Inception has recently introduced to large audiences.
Sanskrit for Yoga Workshops
BHUR- Level One
- Sanskrit: Yoga’s Language of Consciousness
- Learn Sanskrit through the Yoga Postures
- Learn Sanskrit through the Yoga Chants
BHUVAH- Level Two
- The Devanagari Script – Through Sanskrit Texts
- The Grammar Grids – Through Sanskrit Texts
- Sanskrit Thought – through Key Wisdom Phrases
SVAR- Level Three
- Explore the Sanskrit of the Yoga Sutras
- Discover the Sanskrit of the Bhagavad Gita
- Master the Sanskrit of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika
- Workshops are offered in group and private settings; please consult our Services and Rates Page for pricing. For for more information on scheduling, please see our Events Page.
