Book 2 - Sadhana-Padah

Continuing the project of working with the Yoga Sutras via painting them, as well as translating the Sanskrit, Book Two, Sadhana Padah, “On Practice,” is probably the most well-known of the 4 books comprising the Yoga Sutras.

Book 2 introduces the 8 limbs of practice, and contains the sutras about the yamas, niyamas, asana and pranayama.

As with the first book, this book, Book Two, Sadhana Pādah, On Practice is both a traditional, well-informed, translation with commentary, and it is sophisticated art book, with full color, full page reproductions of the beautiful and evocative paintings, one for each sutra, created as meditative guides in response to the author’s years of work, studying, working with, and translating the Yoga Sutras.

The sutras themselves are in the original Devanagari, with transliteration, translation and succinct, accessible, grounded commentary, which draws upon author and artist Melissa Townsend’s 35+ years of spiritual practice.

The work of Sanskrit and of the Yoga Sutras is to push one along the path towards Enlightenment. To this end, the Yoga Sutras “mean” both exactly what they “say,” and each one means infinitely more. That, “infinitely more,” is expressed through the remarkable artwork in this book.