The first two sections of Yoga Sutra are discussed below for a better understanding on Yoga Sutra.
Samadhi Pada: Humans suffer from pain and agony because they are connected to their mind and disconnected from the soul within. There are two things than can control us, one is the mind and the other is the soul. As we are born, it is our soul that leads our way because then our mind is more or less inactive. Over a period of our existence as the mind develops, it tells us what to do and what not to do. At this stage, very often we get distorted by things that don’t exists and make our life miserable.
Samadhi Pada is all about learning to connect with the soul through Samadhi. For this first we need to accept the fact that we are far from truth and then go seek it. The literal meaning of Samadhi would be to concentrate on the Divine, to make the inner self powerful than the mind.
Sadhana Pada: After realization of this truth, comes the physical activity to help us connect with our soul. Sadhana, which actually means diligent practice in Sanskrit, is the activities one needs to do to achieve Samadhi. Sadhana Pada explains the importance of Ashtanga Yoga.
Ashtanga means eight limbs, and in practice it is the eight exercises namely Yam (moral conduct), Niyama (Rules for self purification), Asana (posture), Pranayama (breathing exercise), Pratyahara (sense withdrawal from mind), Dharana (concentration), Dhyana (meditation), and Samadhi (Connecting with the Divine). The Sadhana Pada covers till the top five limbs of Ashtanga, which is till Pratyahara.