Who is Patanjali?
Patanjali, often called the father of yoga, lived in India around 150 BC or 2nd c. BC ). He is the compiler of of the Yoga Sutras, a major work containing aphorisms on the philosophical aspects of mind and consciousness.
Desiring to teach yoga to the world, he is said to have fallen (pat-) from heaven into the open palms (-añjali) of a woman, hence the name Patañjali. He compiled yoga knowledge, making it both more understandable and practical. Some of his views departed from what was understood at the time.
Read about what he called the “eight limbs of yoga” here:
Lesson 149 - The eight limbs of yoga and samyama – Melting the darkness
At the forum:
Patanjali’s Sutras