Philosophy
What's tested
Philosophy questions cluster around three texts. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali supply the eight limbs (yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, dharana, dhyana, samadhi), the five yamas (ahimsa, satya, asteya, brahmacharya, aparigraha), the five niyamas (saucha, santosha, tapas, svadhyaya, ishvara pranidhana), the kleshas, and the paired ideas of abhyasa (steady practice) and vairagya (non-attachment). The Bhagavad Gita gives the paths of karma, bhakti, and jnana yoga. The Hatha Yoga Pradipika covers hatha technique - asana, pranayama, mudra, bandha, and cleansing.
Know also the koshas (five sheaths), the gunas (sattva, rajas, tamas), and the classical framing of yoga as a discipline of the mind rather than a fitness method.
Traps: attributing the eight limbs to the Gita; placing asana before the yamas; treating ahimsa as passivity rather than active non-harming; confusing vairagya with indifference or apathy. Questions often present a teaching scenario and ask which yama or niyama applies.
Rule of thumb: Sutras = map, Gita = motivation, Pradipika = method. Worked example: a student pushes into pain to keep up with the room - the relevant principle is ahimsa, supported by tapas rightly understood as disciplined effort rather than force.