The Yoga Sūtras by Indian sage Patañjali-the most authoritative and widely-read text on yoga-offers the reader a set of practical instructions for living a deeply meaningful life. A collection of 196 terse statements, or "sūtras" (literally "thread"), sewn together into four distinct chapters, the Yoga Sūtras has had vast influence on the Indian philosophical traditions for several millennia, especially on yoga philosophy and its practices. Its relevance today is indicated by the sheer popularity of the text with yoga students worldwide. In fact, every yoga teacher training course in the United States and Europe, as well as India, must include an overview of the text for new teachers.
The idea of creating a coloring book series from Patañjali's popular Yoga Sūtras is a thoroughly novel approach to this ancient text. It is a lively and contemporary exploration of the Yoga Sūtras that encourages different ways of learning and knowing-the reader reflects meditatively on each sutra as it is being colored, practicing mindfulness during the act of coloring; and at the same time, enjoying the stress-reducing potential that "purposeful coloring" offers. The distinguishing feature of this coloring book series is that it is a new approach to an ancient yet often-studied text, where the student is not overly burdened with weighty scholarship but is instead offered a transliterated sutra and its translation with the lightness of as-yet-to-be-colored flora, fauna, and fonts. The simple art of coloring turns the Yoga Sūtras into a truly transformative text!
The outline of this four-volume coloring book series is based upon the four chapters of the Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali: 1) the Samādhi Pāda, the chapter on integration (or meditation); 2) the Sādhana Pāda, the chapter on practice; 3) the Vibhūti Pāda, the chapter on special powers; and 4) the Kaivalya Pada, the chapter on liberation. Although each volume is a self-contained book capable of standing alone in its own right, each book is designed to be an integral part of the series that covers all four chapters of the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. There are approximately 50 sutras in each chapter.
Each page of the coloring book presents one sūtra in transliterated Sanskrit (Roman script) with an interpretation of that sūtra in lively hand-drawn font embedded in striking illustrations. The sūtras herein have been interpreted by Rebecca Polack, a yoga scholar who holds a PhD in South Asia Philosophy and Religion, and who has studied Sanskrit for over 20 years. The artwork has been created especially for this coloring book series by Dr. Polack, and inspired by Madhubani, folk art of northern India, as well as the nature of Northern California-especially San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The first book, the Samādhi Pāda, predominantly features flowers and flora. The second book, the Sādhana Pāda, features animals-the real and imagined fauna of India and North America. The third book, the Vibhūti Pāda, intends artwork of the celestial realms and geometric designs of India, and the fourth book will be a recapitulation of the first three chapters with some variation on their themes.
