About
HYP Yoga is a free, open platform for studying the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. Built with reverence. No ads. Ever.
The Story
Joshua Judd — Loveland, Colorado, USA
I stayed with 90-minute classes for years, and I still have a soft spot for the "original hot yoga" — the 26 & 2 of the Bikram series. Those poses, their names, that sequence of asana and pranayama combined with the heat and stillness of a packed studio is like nothing else I've experienced.
I practiced casually for years, then chose to deepen my practice around 2018. I began exploring yoga philosophy and other lineages and styles. I practiced at a handful of studios across Arizona, where I'm from, and Colorado, where I live now. During that time, I learned from modern yogis via podcasts about texts like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.
When I started reading the HYP, I was struck by how different in tone and intention it is from the Yoga Sutras, which I had already thumbed through a few times before. With its intense focus on hatha yoga specifically, the HYP resonated with many of the practices and learnings I was already familiar with from hot yoga. As I move to deepen my practice again, I've turned back to this text. Reading its verses inspires me to improve my mind and body — not only through asana, but through a comprehensive framework of yoga philosophy.
Why This Exists
HYP Yoga exists to share authoritative yoga texts with the world. Despite being in the public domain, it's easier said than done to find a good copy and an enjoyable reading experience. I began by building something that would amuse myself, just to experiment with the technology. It grew into something genuinely useful for me, and I thought others might appreciate the resources — so I kept going and built it into something for the world.
The ignorant work for their own profit, Arjuna. The wise work for the welfare of the world.
Sri Krishna to Arjuna — Bhagavad Gita
I'm inspired by these words. Hopefully, making the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other classical texts available in this way will benefit more than just myself. That's what I want.
About Josh
I'm Joshua Judd. I have no development background — I built HYP Yoga from the ground up, fueled by my passion for yoga and technology, and with assistance from Anthropic's Claude and today's other modern AI tools. I hold a Bachelor's degree from Colorado State University in the Philosophy of Science and Technology, and I'm currently a graduate student at Arizona State University in the Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management program.
My professional path has taken me through community work as an LGBTQ community center coordinator, finance as a stockbroker at Charles Schwab, and insurance as a home claims adjuster at State Farm. None of that is neatly tied to building a yoga study platform — but HYP Yoga aligns more closely with the purpose of my life, my dharma, and my passions than anything else I've ever done.
What You'll Find Here
The complete texts are free and open to everyone. A free Starter account provides a full study toolkit — journal, glossary, Sparkmarks, and limited access to AI Companions. Paid tiers are for practitioners who want to go deeper. Aspirants unlock Smart Journal powered by TapasAI, and Teachers accelerate their practice by creating Voice Sparks and illuminate their study with AI Sparks.
Upcoming texts to be added include the Yoga Yajnavalkya, additional commentary on the HYP, and more.
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The Texts
The complete Hatha Yoga Pradipika (all 4 chapters, every verse) and Patanjali's Yoga Sūtras (all 4 Pādas) — with Sanskrit, IAST transliteration, and English translation. Free to read, always.
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Glossary
A 170+ term glossary of Sanskrit terms with Devanagari script, detailed definitions, and cross-references to the verses and sūtras where each term appears.
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Journal
Reflect on specific verses, sūtras, and terms, or start with a blank entry. Use markdown, add tags, embed quote blocks from the texts, and share your insights with the community or keep them private. Engage with fellow yogis by using Journal's social features like Subscribe and Karma Sparks.
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Sparkmarks
Bookmark and react to verses, sūtras, and glossary terms with emoji. A personal way to mark what resonates, track what you're studying, and build your own collection. Sort and export your Sparkmarked entries any time from hyp.yoga/sparks.
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AI Companions
SwamiGPT and DharmaGPT are AI study companions grounded in the classical texts. TapasAI is your AI journal companion — it reads your reflections, tracks your growth, and connects your practice to the tradition. HYP Yoga AI companions are accessible from the Sparkbar.
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Smart Journal
Your journal, amplified by TapasAI. Generate personalized reflection prompts, view your reflections through three temporal yoga lenses — Smṛti, Sthiti, and Saṅkalpa — and receive a daily contemplation seed drawn from a verse or sūtra you haven't reflected on yet. The more you journal, the more TapasAI learns your voice.
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Voice Sparks
Save or create 20-second audio reflections on your Journal entries with an emoji vibe. Aspirants can save Voice Sparks to their entries. Teachers can create new Voice Sparks with AI transcription — your spoken reflections become searchable text.
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Hero Images
Add a cover image to your Journal reflections. Set the tone for your entry with a photo, illustration, or anything that captures the moment.
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Text & Term Audio
Listen to text and term audio of HYP verses, Yoga Sūtras, and glossary terms — produced with Google's highest-quality studio voices, Charon and Kore.
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AI Sparks
AI-powered annotations across HYP Yoga — in Text, Journal, and Glossary. Color-coded highlights link your words to the text, surface insights from 22 wisdom traditions, and pose deeper questions. Save and export them alongside your reflections.
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Font Accessibility
Choose from 15 carefully selected typefaces for comfortable, extended reading — including Atkinson Hyperlegible and Lexend. Set a global preference or experiment per-page.
