Sādhana Pāda: The Discipline of Practice

Mapping the Path

Sādhana Pāda introduces the discipline required to support this journey inward.

Here, yoga is presented not as posture alone, but as kriyā yoga, which is a process of purification and preparation involving:

• disciplined effort

• self-study

• alignment with truth

Before one is entrusted with subtle capacities of mind or perception, ethical and perceptual clarity must be established. This is why the yamas appear before advanced techniques. They are not moral rules imposed from outside, but safeguards that protect both practitioners and others from the misuse of power, whether intentional or unconscious.

History and lived experience show us what happens when insight arises without purification: gifts are misused, identity inflates, and harm occurs… even when intentions seem good.

The first yama (ethical guidelines or principles in yoga that govern how individuals relate to themselves and others), ahimsa (non-violence), exists for a reason.

Without understanding how quickly the ego can appropriate insight, one may mistake capacity for realization. The presence of power does not indicate truth. True realization does not create harm.

Sādhana Pāda reminds us that purification of mind, body, and perception is not optional… it is foundational.