Patañjali's Yoga Sutras

Patañjali was, so the story goes, a great sage, or maybe a number of sages, or maybe a lineage using the name as a title … the actual history is shrouded in the mists of time, and the subject of many a scholarly debate

Regardless of the exact origin, Patañjali was the first to write down the teachings of yoga, c500bce approx
The work is a compilation of accumulated Vedic wisdom previously taught orally, on a teacher-student one-to-one basis, by means of chanting
The primary reference was the ancient Vedic science-philosophy “Samkhya”
The Yoga Sutras are applied Samkhya

All modern yoga practice, and indeed many other systems of spirituality, recognise and acknowledge the work of Patañjali for the critical influence it has had, and continues to have, in the world of spiritual practice and philosophy

Composed of 196 succinct verses which are dense with wisdom/information they are widely considered to be the core text from which modern yoga practice is derived
There are a great many commentaries and translations, ancient and modern, from disciples, scholars and students all over the world

Patañjali defines yoga, what it is for, what it does and what principles are required to practice it
It contains no recommendations for specific techniques, but lays out the foundational precepts on which so many systems of yoga are built
In order to truly benefit from the practice of yoga, and of great utility on any spiritual path, a working knowledge of these axioms is of tremendous value, empowering the practitioner with greater competency and understanding
It is the original self-help manual

The verse/sutra below is the very first in the work
Patañjali declares his subject and his authority over it

yoga sutras 1:01
atha yoga-anu-śāsanam
Herein follow the teachings of yoga