~Post by Nancy
I don’t actually remember when I first started memorizing the Sutras. I do remember thinking it was something I was supposed to do. I allowed myself about a month to memorize each aphorism, and every morning before sitting practice I chant them as far as I have them memorized. Last year in the fall I finished memorizing the first pada. Now I think about yoga, Ācārya, the Great Light, and the Sutras all the time.
The Sutras are always popping up in relation to the things that happen day to day. It seems like there’s always one that’s applicable. Certain aphorisms, the 12th, the 23rd, the 32nd and 33rd, and the 38th have become particularly meaningful to me. I chant them when I drive, when I hike, when I kayak, when I garden, when I wish to still my thoughts, and sometimes in the night when I wake, and I always fall asleep when I’m finished. I have derived huge benefits as a result of memorizing that first pada, more than I ever thought when I started doing it just as an exercise, so I want to continue. I’m starting the second pada in 2020, and I look forward to becoming more familiar with this great work.