Yoga in the heart of the city

Patanjali holds a unique position in the line of great Indian sages and benefactors of mankind. He is venerated in Indian tradition as the author of classical treatises on medicine, grammar and Yoga. These three sciences effect the purification of the human body, speech and mind.

He is said to be an incarnation of the serpent Ananta (meaning "the Infinite One") on whom Lord Vishnu, the preserver of the world, rests in slumber before the beginning of creation.

Patanjali was born to a saintly woman called Gonika who had spent her life in spiritual pursuits.He fell into her cupped hands in the form of a tiny snake as she was offering an oblation of water to the Sun.Hence he was named Patanjali, from pata, meaning snake of fallen, and anjalli, meaning hands folded in prayer. He is depicted iconographically with a man's torso and the coiled tail of a serpent.

Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, also known as the Yoga of Eight Limbs (Astanga Yoga) is the authoritative text, recognized by all schools of Yoga and is the source for all subsequent works. His composition is in principle a systematic treatise concerned with defining the most important elements of Yoga theory and practice.