Frequently Asked Questions

A free, open platform for studying two foundational yoga texts: the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras. Both texts are presented in Sanskrit, IAST transliteration, and English translation — alongside a 172-term glossary, a personal practice journal, and AI study companions. Built with reverence for the tradition. No ads. Ever.

Joshua Judd — a yoga practitioner since 2014, not a professional developer. The entire platform was built using modern AI tools, guided by a deep love for the classical texts and the conviction that they should be freely available to everyone. There are no investors, no board, no team — just one person following his dharma. You can read more on the about page.

Anyone drawn to the classical texts of yoga — whether you’re encountering them for the first time or returning after years of practice. HYP Yoga is designed for self-directed study, not instruction. It’s a place to read, reflect, and illuminate your entire practice, with the classical texts as an anchor.

The complete texts — all 389 verses of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and all 196 sūtras of the Yoga Sūtras — are free to read, always. A free Starter account adds the glossary, journal, Sparkmarks, AI Companions, audio on every text page, 15 accessibility fonts, and more. Paid tiers add deeper study tools — see the membership page for the full picture.

No. There are no ads on HYP Yoga, and there never will be.

Create a free Starter account — no credit card required. Once you sign in, you’ll have the glossary, journal, Sparkmarks, QuickTerms, AI Companions, audio, font accessibility, and more.

Four levels, each building on the one before it. Public — the complete texts, no account needed. Starter (free) — journal, Sparkmarks, Sparklights, glossary, QuickTerms, audio, AI Companions (10/day), profiles, sharing, font accessibility, and export. Aspirant ($5/mo or $55/yr) — TapasAI, Hero Images, unlimited AI Companions, Temporal Lenses, personalized journal prompts, Daily Verse Reflection, Voice Spark saving, and journal subscriptions. Teacher ($10/mo or $110/yr) — AI Sparks across 22 wisdom traditions, Link AI Sparks, Voice Spark creation with AI transcription, enhanced TapasAI, and early access to new features. Full comparison at /signup.

Open Settings → Apple ID → Subscriptions on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and tap HYP Yoga — or visit apps.apple.com/account/subscriptions. Change your plan or cancel anytime, with no hoops and no guilt. Subscriptions are processed by Apple as in-app purchases; we do not handle billing directly.

The complete Hatha Yoga Pradipika (4 chapters, 389 verses) and Patañjali’s Yoga Sūtras (4 Pādas, 196 sūtras). Every verse and sūtra appears with the original Devanagari, IAST transliteration, and English translation. Free to read, always — no account required.

Highlighted Sanskrit terms on verse and sūtra pages. Tap one and a concise definition appears inline — no need to leave the text you’re studying. Also accessible in chat with SwamiGPT, DharmaGPT, and TapasAI. Available with a free Starter account.

A searchable collection of 172 Sanskrit terms — with Devanagari script, detailed definitions, and cross-references throughout the texts. Each term connects to the full suite of study tools available at your tier. The glossary is available with a free Starter account.

The study toolbar that appears on every verse, sūtra, term, and journal entry page. It keeps your tools within reach: the flame for Sparkmarks, the lightning bolt for AI Sparks, the pencil for journaling, the speaker for audio, and the share button. Which tools appear depends on your tier and the page — but the Sparkbar is always there.

Yes. Audio is available on every text page with a free Starter account — produced with Google’s highest-quality studio voices. The full audio library, including Yoga Sūtra recitations and glossary term pronunciation, is coming for Teacher members.

A personal space for reflections linked to specific verses, sūtras, or glossary terms. Compose from any text page and the source passage is embedded as a blockquote. Entries support markdown, tags, and a public/private toggle — private by default. Your journal is where study becomes practice.

Emoji bookmarks on any verse, sūtra, or glossary term. Tap the flame on the Sparkbar, choose up to three emoji, and mark what resonates — use whatever system feels natural to you. Your Sparkmarks are collected on a dedicated page where you can filter by emoji or content type.

Color highlights you can apply to verses, sūtras, and glossary terms — a quick visual way to mark what stands out as you read. Available with a free Starter account.

Cover images for your journal entries — a photo, illustration, or anything that captures the moment. Upload a JPEG, PNG, or WebP (up to 5MB). Available to Aspirant and Teacher members.

Short audio reflections (up to 20 seconds) you can attach to journal entries, each tagged with an emoji to capture the mood. Aspirant members can save text, term, and reflection audio to their entries. Teacher members can also create new Voice Sparks with AI transcription — turning spoken reflections into searchable text.

Yes. Download selected entries as a formatted PDF or Markdown file. AI Sparks annotations are preserved when present. Your data is yours.

Three study companions, each with a distinct voice and area of depth. You can reach them from the Sparkbar on any verse, sūtra, or term page, or from the AI study page. Starter accounts get 10 messages per day with SwamiGPT and DharmaGPT; Aspirant and Teacher have no limit.

The ancient wisdom keeper. SwamiGPT is grounded in the classical commentary traditions — the HYP, the Yoga Sūtras, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Upaniṣads, and Vyāsa’s Bhāṣya. Calm, precise, occasionally gruff. Ask about what a verse means, how Sanskrit terms connect across texts, or what the commentators say.

The modern yoga teacher. DharmaGPT draws on the classical texts and 100+ episodes from modern yoga teachers. Warm, practical, encouraging. Ask about sequencing, alignment, prāṇāyāma technique, or how to bring a verse into your daily practice.

Your persistent journal companion. TapasAI remembers every conversation. It reads your journal, tracks the threads of your practice, and meets you where you are — whether that’s a verse you’re wrestling with or a life decision that won’t let go. Unlike SwamiGPT and DharmaGPT, every session builds on the last. The yoga is the root, but TapasAI draws on practical wisdom for career, relationships, creativity, and more — always connecting back to practice. Available to Aspirant and Teacher members.

Your journal, amplified by TapasAI. The Smart Journal includes personalized reflection prompts on verse, sūtra, and term pages (grounded in the text and your journal history), a Daily Verse Reflection that picks a passage you haven’t journaled about yet, and Temporal Lenses — three reflection modes on your entries. Available to Aspirant and Teacher members.

Three lenses on one reflection. Smṛti looks back — memories, struggles, what brought you here. Sthiti sits with what’s alive right now. Saṅkalpa looks forward — intentions, what you’re becoming. Each lens generates personalized journal prompts grounded in the entry you’re reading. Accessed from the TapasAI button on the Sparkbar.

AI Sparks illuminate connections you might miss — between a verse and the Upaniṣads, between a Sanskrit root and its echoes across traditions, between your own words and the classical texts. There are several types: Text AI Sparks annotate verses and sūtras with connections across 22 wisdom traditions. Term AI Sparks offer a Topical Guide and Tension Analysis on glossary terms. Journal AI Sparks annotate your reflections with color-coded notes linking them to the tradition. Link AI Sparks weave threads between the text you’re studying and annotations saved across your journal. All AI Sparks features are available to Teacher members.

Yes. AI Sparks draw from a curated index of 2,294 real passages across 23 source texts. When an annotation cites the Yoga Vāsiṣṭha or the Pāli Canon, there’s an actual passage behind it. Each source includes a link to find the text.

If you have a free Starter account, yes. Your profile page shows your display name, bio, and any journal entries you’ve chosen to make public. Only logged-in practitioners can view profiles and public reflections.

Yes. Journal subscriptions let you follow practitioners whose reflections inspire you. Their public entries appear in a dedicated feed. Subscribe from any practitioner’s profile page. Available to Aspirant and Teacher members.

Yes. The share button on the Sparkbar lets you copy a link, share as an image (with aspect ratios for social media), or share directly to Threads and Facebook. Shared links include a proper preview with the verse text or entry title. Available with a free Starter account.

Only you, unless you choose otherwise. Entries are private by default. Even entries you make public are only visible to logged-in practitioners.

When you use AI Companions or AI Sparks, your messages are processed by OpenAI or Anthropic to generate responses. HYP Yoga does not use your data for advertising or tracking. On your first AI interaction, a clear notice explains which services process your messages, with links to their privacy policies and ours.

Yes. Block from any practitioner’s profile page. Blocking is bidirectional — they won’t see your entries and you won’t see theirs.

Yes. From your account settings, you can permanently delete your account and all associated data — journal entries, Sparkmarks, Voice Sparks, AI Sparks, conversations, and profile. You can export your journal first. Deletion is immediate and cannot be undone.

Yes. Choose from 15 typefaces, each selected for proven legibility — including Atkinson Hyperlegible (designed by the Braille Institute) and Lexend (designed for reading fluency). Set a global preference in your settings, or use the per-page “Aa” selector on verse, sūtra, and term pages. Available with a free Starter account.

It’s a priority, not a checkbox. The evidence-based font options, Voice Sparks for practitioners who can’t type, TapasAI’s persistent conversations for those using assistive input, self-hosted fonts for privacy — these are design choices, not afterthoughts. There’s always more to do.