Transforming Unhelpful Core Beliefs

by Beth

Egg by Melina Meza

Oh, the crazy things we believed as children. My friend Laurie fell off a swing while hanging upside down. She fractured her sternum, spent weeks with a taped chest, and for years believed she would never grow breasts. I believed that in order to get married, I would have to go door to door in my neighborhood to find a husband. One of my son’s childhood friends would not eat bread crusts because a neighbor told her they were baked worms.

Beliefs can be defined as thoughts we hold to be true even though we don’t have proof. When proof appears, beliefs become knowledge. Fortunately for Laurie, my son’s friend, and me, time and knowledge proved our childhood beliefs false. Even so, the emotional attachments to some beliefs defy knowledge and can have an impact on our lives as we age. Laurie did grow breasts but the emotional attachment to that accident left her uncomfortable inverting or hanging upside down in aerial yoga class.

Some core beliefs we hold are helpful and productive but others are not. For example, I believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness. I know this is not true but the emotional attachment to that belief results in responses like "Thanks, I got this," when unsolicited offers of help come my way. I can trace it back to watching the women in my family seemingly "do it all," alone. The key word here, as you may have guessed, is “seemingly.” The women in my family could have used help but I never saw them ask for it. Why? I can guess but I don’t know. They’ve passed on and I can’t ask them. But I’m left dealing with an emotional attachment to that belief (fear of dependency), which still impacts my behavior and quite possibly my emotional health.

It’s our emotional attachments to these core beliefs and our reactions to them that cause distress and discomfort. However, once we become aware of a counter-productive core belief and recognize the emotional attachment, we can take steps to transform it.

One helpful way of promoting healthy thinking comes from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: pratipaksha bhavanam. Joseph LePage, Director, Integrative Yoga Therapy, says that pratipaksha bhavanam is the “redirection of negative thoughts to positive ones.” Another interpretation comes from Gary Kraftsow’s American Viniyoga Institute:

Patanjali says if you have negative thinking that comes from anger, greed, or delusion, whether you’re actively in it or just thinking about it, the fruit will be unending suffering and ignorance. Therefore, “Pratipaksha bhavanam:” Take another view, reframe your perspective on the situation. Sutra [2.34]

To practice pratipaksha bhavanam, we need to recognize that one or more core beliefs may be impacting the balance of our lives in a counter-productive way. Next we can select a positive thought, intention, or resolve, and find ways to use it. We can write it down and tape it to the fridge or bathroom mirror so it’s visible every day. We can repeat it often, silently or out loud, as we move through our yoga practice, and we can keep it mentally handy every time we find that counter-productive core belief rising in the mind. Over time and with practice, the emotional attachment will gradually lose its charge and its power, enabling us to transform an unhealthy reaction into a positive, productive response.

Here are a few counter-productive core beliefs and suggested bhavanas to transform them:

Core Belief/Bhavana (Positive Resolve)

1. I can’t trust anybody/I trust myself
2. I’ll never be happy/I enjoy my life; I’m content
3. I’m too different/I am unique – how cool is that!
4. I don’t belong/I attract the right friends
5. I’m too old to (add your words here)/ I’m young at heart and I can (add your words here)
6. I’m too (fat, skinny, ugly etc.)/I love and accept my body

In my case, I need two bhavanas.

1. I ask for help when I need it.
2. I accept help when it is offered.

This practice requires discipline, patience, and consistency but the juice will be worth the squeeze because as we reduce emotional attachments to counter-productive core beliefs, we can better manage our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. 

Do you have a core belief that needs to be transformed?

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Thoughts about Quieting the Mind

by Nina

Number 48 by Jackson Pollock*

The first time I read the definition of yoga in Patajanli’s Yoga Sutras, I have to admit my eyes glazed over a bit. Okay, a lot. 

1.2 Yoga cittavritti nirodha
1.2 Yoga is the cessation of the movements in the consciousness. — Iyengar  

It seemed so abstract! What are the movements in the consciousness? And why do you want them to cease? And what did all that have to do with what I’d been learning in my yoga classes? 

It wasn’t until I heard Patricia Walden discussing the meaning of the compound word “cittavrtti” (translated above as “movements in the consciousness” with “citta” being “consciousness” and “vrtti” being “movements”) that I had my little epiphany. Patricia described the vrttis as being “revolutions” of the mind and connected the word “vrtti” to the “revolved” poses we do in our asana practice, such as Parivrtta Trikonasana, Parivrtta Arda Chandrasana, and Parivrtta Janusirsasana. 

The Whirls of Consciousness

Once I learned that vrttis could be thought of as “revolutions” of the mind, I started to think about the way our minds tend to cycle over and over with the same thoughts. When we are depressed or anxious or mentally stressed out, aren’t we tormented by negative thoughts and emotions that go round and round? What if I miss my deadline? What if the plane crashes? What if I can’t fall asleep tonight? Or, if only my lover hadn’t left me. If only I wasn’t so helpless/afraid/overwhelmed. If only my parents had loved me more. (See Yoga Sutra 1.2: Restricting the Whirls of Consciousness). Later Baxter added to my understanding of this by pointing out that in addition to fears about the future and regrets about the past, our vrttis can include judgments about the present, such as “I suck at meditating,” or “I hate that person.” 

In fact, the Yoga Sutras identifies five afflictions that basically sum up all the negative thoughts we tend to experience.  

2.3 avidya asmita raga dvesha abhinevesha klesah


The five afflictions (klesas) which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignorance or lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense of ‘I,’ attachment to pleasure, aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life. —Edwin Bryant 

Now the idea of being able to quiet those thoughts—to cease their movements—seemed quite appealing! (Not all the vrttis are negative thought patterns, by the way; those are just my example of some vrttis I’d really like to restrict. Edwin Bryant defines the vrttis as “any sequence of thought, ideas, mental imaging, or cognitive acts performed by the mind, intellect, or ego.”)  

So that’s why I started to prefer a different translation of the same sutra, one that translated “vritti” as “whirls” rather than movements or fluctuations.

1.2 Yoga is the restriction of the whirls of consciousness. —Georg Feuerstein 

That's very evocative, isn't it? It made me think of a Jackson Pollock painting....
 
Quieting the Mind  

In yoga philosophy, the whirls of consciousness not only cause suffering by disturbing our equanimity, but they also prevent us from being present and realizing the truth. Patanjali states the aim of quieting the mind in very next sutra:

1. 3 When that is accomplished, the seer abides in his own true nature. —Edwin Bryant  

So how do we quiet the mind? Yoga was initially developed (or perhaps “evolved” is a better word) for that purpose. Thousands of years of different kinds of yoga practice have resulted in a lot of different methods for quieting the mind, including meditation, breath practices, and chanting. But traditionally the recommended practice is meditation (see Samyama: The Trinity of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi ). As the Yoga Sutras says: 

2.11. The states of mind produced by these klesas are eliminated by meditation. — Edwin Bryant 

Interestingly, Desikachar has a completely different and very straightforward translation of sutra 1.2, which essentially defines meditation in a nutshell. In his definition, the moment of quieting the mind through meditation IS yoga.  

1.2 Yoga cittavritti nirodha
1.2 Yoga is the ability to direct the mind exclusively toward and object and sustain that direction without any distractions. —Desikachar 

Whether or not the aim of your practice is to achieve union with the divine or simply cultivate contentment, the concept of quieting the mind is useful because restricting the whirls of consciousness fosters equanimity. It also teaches you about how your mind works. When you start to become aware of the vrttis—of the way your mind gets caught up in them—they start to lose some of their power over you and you can begin the process of separating yourself from them.

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Practice

by Baxter

Leslie Greinstein, Age 62, Practicing Mayurasana with a Prop

When my friends inform me that they have started to “practice” yoga, I am always pleased to know it. But the part of me that knows the true benefit of practicing regularly—what we here at YFHA refer to as “home practice”—always has to ask them how often they are doing yoga. Almost invariably, they are taking one, sometimes two, asana classes each week at a yoga studio. This is a great start, and I want to encourage those of you out there at this stage of practice to keep it going. At the same time, we know from the oldest of yoga philosophy texts that the fruits of yoga come partly from consistent, daily practice. 

The Sanskrit term for practice is abhyasa, which means, its simplest definition, “diligent, focused practice.” In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, about 2000 years old and one the most relied upon texts on the philosophical and practical basis of yoga, several passages are devoted to describing abhyasa and its relationship to other key concepts on yoga, such as vairagya, or detachment. The ancient yogis saw the negative effect an undisciplined mind can have on our overall happiness and contentment. Their solution was to train the mind and quiet the overly active thought processes that create so much suffering.

The Yoga Sutras tells us that regular practice (abhyasa), done with the right attitude (detachment, or vairagya), is what will quiet our minds:

1.12 Practice and detachment are the means to still the movements of consciousness.
1.13 Practice is the steadfast effort to still these fluctuations.
1.14 Long, uninterrupted, alert practice is the firm foundation for restraining the fluctuations —translation by B.K.S. Iyengar

Nicolai Bachman, one of my favorite contemporary translators of the Yoga Sutras, has a slightly different take:

1.12 The stilling of the mental fluctuations (i.e. quieting of the mind) is due to diligent practice and unattached awareness (vairagya).
1.13 Abhyasa is the effort put forth to maintain a point of focus.
1.14 Abhyasa becomes firmly established when pursued with eagerness, sincerity, and continuity for a long time.

So, the Yoga Sutras tell us what the goal of yoga is, as well as what the practical tools are to achieve the goal of a mind established in equanimity. I can’t help but recall the old joke about the concert-goer who stops a cabbie in New York City to ask, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” and the cabbie responds, “Practice, practice, practice.” Patanjali adds in certain important qualities of practice that increase our chances of success, whether our goals are purely physical, such as improved balance, are mental/emotional, such as resolving anxiety, or are loftier spiritual goals. Those are stated above as "eagerness, sincerity, and continuity" by Nicolai, and "long, continuous practice, with a quality of alertness" by Iyengar.

Abhyasa applied to asana practice could be simply directing our mind and attention to the breath, a particular body part, or even where the gaze is directed. Applied to meditation practice, it is the effort exerted to maintain a point of focus. The act of applying effort to maintain a point of focus could also extend to things not normally thought of as “yoga,” such as playing a musical instrument or even riding a bike.

When we consciously choose to “practice” in this way, we are also choosing to establish new habits that become stronger with time and consistency. We do this to overcome our old, unhelpful habits, or undesirable samskaras, and replace them with more desirable samskaras that move us closer to our goals (see Changing the Brain's Stressful Habits).

And although Patanjali describes other tools to help us achieve our goals, such as pranayama and cultivating the yamas and niyamas, abhyasa can be applied to all of them as the base practice to amplify all others. So let’s get cracking!

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Ignorance About Ignorance (Avidya)

by Nina

A boy blowing on an ember to light a candle by El Greco

2.4 Lack of true knowledge is the source of all pains and sorrows whether dormant, attenuated, interrupted or fully active. —translated by B.K.S. Iyengar

I’ve been thinking a lot about the yoga concept of avidya, which can be defined as lack of knowledge or ignorance. That’s because Baxter and I are working on a list of essential yoga concepts that we want to teach. And when he suggested avidya, or ignorance, as being one of his essential concepts, I was surprised. It honestly wasn’t something I had thought much about and it certainly didn’t make my top 10 or even my top 25. But because it was important to him, I decided to study a bit about avidya and also to talk with him in person about it. When we got together yesterday, we talked both about why ignorance causes suffering and what you can do about it, but even after our philosophical luncheon, I still felt uncertain, and unprepared to write about ignorance. It wasn’t until I did some further reading and found the following yoga sutra that I reached some clarity:

2.28 By dedicated practice of the various aspects of yoga impurities are destroyed: the crown of wisdom radiates in glory. —translated by B.K.S. Ieyngar

I’ll write a bit more about sutra 2.28 later, but I thought that first—since I’ve had a little epiphany about how ignorance caused tremendous suffering in my own life—I’d tell you that story as a way of illustrating the general concept. During the 90s when I was working at a small software startup company at the same time as I was raising—with Brad, who was a professor at a university—two small children, I had a serious nervous breakdown, which was eventually diagnosed as agitated depression. I can easily say that this was the worst experience of my life. And in retrospect I can now see how ignorance was what led me to that low point.

• I had no idea that the chronic stress I was enduring at my high-pressure job could lead to a breakdown like that. So I was “ignorant” about the problems associated with chronic stress.
• I believed that since I was working in a very stressful environment, it was natural and inevitable for me to feel very stressed out, suffer from insomnia, nausea, and so on. Here I was under the “misapprehension” that being stressed out was natural and could not be avoided, which is a form of ignorance.
• I didn’t have the tools to help myself deal with chronic stress. Those would come later, when I set out to acquire solutions to my tendency to get too stressed out and got serious about yoga. But at the time, my “lack of knowledge” about how to manage stress certainly caused me a lot of suffering.

As you can see from my story, ignorance not only includes just plain lack of knowledge, such as my ignorance about the dangers of chronic stress, but misapprehension, which is a mistaken belief. I mention this because I found it interesting that that Desikachar—who translates the Yoga Sutras using very different language that most other translations—translated “avidya” in sutras 2.4 and 2.5 as misapprehension follows:

2.4 Misapprehension is the source of all the other obstacles. They need not appear simultaneously and their impact varies. Sometimes they are obscure and barely visible; at other times they are exposed and dominant.

2.5 Misapprehension leads to errors in comprehension of the character, origin, and effects of the objects perceived.

Of course, I’m sure we can all think of problems in our own lives or our friend’s lives that were caused by misapprehension of one kind of another (financial success didn’t bring happiness after all, your lover wasn’t who you thought they were, the plan you had for your life fell apart, and so on). But mainly I want to say that it wasn’t until I read Desikachar’s translation of sutra 2.28 in which he refers to avidya as “misapprehension” that I had my little epiphany. 

2.28 The practice and inquiry into different components of Yoga gradually reduce the obstacles such as misapprehension. Then the lamp of perception brightens and the distinction between what perceives and what is perceived becomes more and more evident. Now everything can be understood without error. —translated by T.K.V. Desikachar

Now I realize that understanding avidya is so important because it one of the main reasons why we should practice all eight branches of yoga, not just asana. Notice that Desikachar says “practice and inquiry into different components of Yoga” and that Iyengar translates the same phrases as “By dedicated practice of the various aspects of yoga.” And, of course, these different components of yoga are the eight branches of yoga (the very next sutra after 2.28, is the sutra that outlines the eight-fold path). See Ram’s series on the eight-fold path, starting with The First Branch of Yoga: The Yamas and ending with Samyama, for information. But the first step is to acknowledge our ignorance:

2.27 The attainment of clarity is a gradual process.

The first step is to recognize that certain tendencies of our mind are responsible for producing painful effects. —translated by T.K.V. Desikachar

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Samyama: The Trinity of Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi

by Ram

Misty Morning on the Seine, Sunrise by Claude Monet

In earlier posts I discussed the first five of the eight-fold path or eight rungs/limbs/steps of Yoga as described in the Raja Yoga section of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali. Each step or limb prepares us for the next higher step. Thus, the first three limbs (yama, niyama, and asana help to prepare the body and enable practitioners to become more flexible, stable, and grounded. The fourth limb, pranayama, consists of breath practice and is designed to allow you to gain mastery over the respiratory process while building a connection between the breath, the mind, and the intellect. The fifth limb, pratyahara, helps us to discriminate between the harmonious and disharmonious impressions that we draw in through the five senses.

Pratyahara serves as a fulcrum regulating external practices like asana and pranayama to internal observances like dharana (focus), dhyana (meditation) and samadhi (deep absorption). The three internal observances that also constitute the last three limbs in the Yoga philosophy have been described as “trayam ekatra samyama” and translates as “the three processes of dharana, dhyana, and samadhi, when taken together on the same object, place or point is called samyama”. While the first five limbs help us develop our power of focus and concentration, we continue to get distracted by our actions and our attention travels as well. Our focus constantly shifts as we try to become more adept at a particular posture or breathing technique. With a balanced breath, it becomes easy for the mind to focus on a single object or thought process while avoiding other mental dramas.

Dharana

Think about dharana or focus as the preparatory step towards attaining a deeper meditative stance. Dharana helps to reduce the chattering of the mind and filters out all irrelevant thought processes. To attain mastery over dharana, start out by focusing on any sound or a mantra (the silent repetition of a sound), or practice with an image or an object in mind. The most important thing to remember is that the goal is in the practice. If your mind wanders, just gently bring it back to focus without any judgment. Bringing the mind back to the object or the mantra—as many times as it takes—is what dharana is all about. The practice of dharana is not concentrating on the object rather it is the awareness with which you redirect the mind, again and again. This very practice—the mind running or getting distracted, you bringing it back—in essence is dharana.

Dharana does not have to happen only when we sit down to meditate. You can practice dharana when you are on your mat as well. Notice how your senses are acting during a pose: are you inundated with lot of thoughts, action, and dramas about the specific pose or are you intimidated by your neighbor’s perfect pose? Notice if your mind is very busy, constantly judging yourself or your neighbors. Can you gently practice pratyahara, let go of your sensory impressions, and start focusing on the pose itself? To “be in the pose” requires practice of dharana, letting go of the ego and focusing just on the pose so as to find your true self. Dharana gets easier as you practice it. When you get familiar with dharana, the mind becomes a much less restless place to be. Notice the joy, the pleasure, and bliss when you are able to successfully focus on something.

Dhyana

Since Dhyana (meditation) is a progression of dharana, the same techniques of dharana can lead you to dhyana. An extended period of focus prepares the path for dhyana. When the mind stops wandering and maintains a continuous period of stillness, at that point you are in dhyana. Dhyana or meditation is a state of being in which you are keenly aware without a need for focus and with the mind at its quietest. In that state of mind you no longer possess bodily awareness, the sense organs are not distracted, and the stillness produces few or no thoughts at all. In this state there is nothing else you can think about.

We can experience this state on the yoga mat as well. As you come back to a pose again and again, you are now able to do it smoothly and hold the pose without any distress or chattering mind, and you then become so overwhelmed by the pose that it becomes everything that you can think about. You are not distracted and you don’t want anything else as you feel transformed in that pose—you have achieved a complete state of satisfaction—this is dhyana. It comes when a process turns into something totally natural and there is nothing else you want to think about. It is not easy to reach the state of dhyana; one has to work towards it by means of dharana. It is for this reason that in the Yoga Sutras, dharana, dhyana, and samadhi are described as a three-staged process called samyama.

Samadhi

 As you start to focus on an object or a mantra or some task, and as you naturally gravitate towards it and become one with it, you experience samadhi, “the insight.” Patanjali describes this eighth and final stage or limb as insight, rapture, or a state of ecstasy—a state in which the individual merges with his or her point of focus and transcends the self altogether.

Having a continuous practice of meditation helps the individual to achieve the state of samadhi. As you sit to meditate, both mind and body relax into a state of deep and profound restfulness. Any dramas in the mind or emotional upheavals get dissolved without effort, and a personal experience of complete peace, joy, and creativity unfolds. Anyone can learn this, and it does not require concentration or mental effort. The benefits are immediate, tangible, and cumulative, and the practice itself is relaxing and enjoyable. Seasoned meditators can naturally and effortlessly go into this state of insight. In this meditative state there is no separation between self and the world around; the individual experiences complete oneness and in that state there is only peace. One can get a similar experience on the mat as well.

After an hour of asana practice on the mat, your experience of samadhi is heavily dependent on the status of your mind. You experience oneness and complete peace when you are totally unaware of “I” or “mine” with the body, mind and intellect working in complete unison. This experience may be momentary, maybe even a fleeting second, but it is an experience of truth, uncontrollable joy, and peace.

Thus, the ultimate objective of yoga is reigning in the fluctuations of the mind to achieve complete liberation from mental turbulence—seeing things as they truly are and experiencing only peace. This would be the state of samyama, the ultimate step—peace or enlightenment—which can only be experienced individually. As BKS Iyengar aptly put it, “You must do the asana with your soul.” This would mean being in samyama, which requires cultivating the quality of focus, concentration, and letting go of the ego, including your body image, to feel open, grounded, and calm and experience oneness with your true self. In this state, you experience contentment and enjoy a sense of accomplishment. It’s a great positive spiral and it results in improved health and happiness.

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The Fourth Branch of Yoga: Pranayama (Toning down Agitation through Breath Practice)

by Ram

Irises in Monet's Garden by Claude Monet

In the Sadhana Pada of the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali we are introduced to the concept of Ashtanga Yoga (Ashta=eight; Anga=limbs), which refers to the eight-fold path/eight rungs/limbs/steps of yoga as described in the Raja Yoga section of the yoga philosophy. Its practice helps us to discriminate between ignorance and awareness and truth from illusion, which is the means for liberation or enlightenment. The first three limbs namely Yama, Niyama, and Asana, which I discussed in earlier posts help to prepare the body and mind for regulating the breath and achieving stillness.

The fourth limb in the Ashtanga series is Pranayama: Prana =life force, breath, wind, air, respiration, vital energy, and ayama = extend, stretch, draw out, regulate. Pranayama, a formal practice of regulating the breath, consists of techniques designed to gain mastery over the respiratory process while building a connection between the breath, the mind, and the intellect. The technique refers to a particular system of breath control involving three processes namely: puraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention), and rechaka (exhalation). When these three processes are balanced, there is union of the body and mind.

According to the Yoga Sutras, the practices of pranayama and asana are considered to be the highest form of purification and self-discipline for the mind and the body, respectively. Pranayama serves as the gateway to meditation and higher yogic practices, and the practice produces the actual physical sensation of heat, called tapas, or the inner fire of purification. It is believed that this heat is part of the process of purifying the nadis, the subtle nerve channels of the body. This allows a more healthful state to be experienced and allows the mind to become calm. As the yogi follows the proper rhythmic patterns of slow deep breathing, the patterns strengthen the respiratory system, soothe the nervous system, and reduce craving. As desires and cravings diminish, the mind is set free and becomes a fit vehicle for concentration. Thus, any individual who has a regular practice of pranayama is able remove the impurities of the body, the senses, and the mind through the power of breath regulation.

Pranayama not only pacifies and revitalizes a tired body, but it also calms, rejuvenates, and uplifts the mind, leading the individual into deeper state of meditation. There are several different forms of pranayama, however, several teachers caution that pranayama practice needs to be restricted only to experienced practitioners. There is some wisdom in being vigilant about the practice, for if done incorrectly it can lead to problems in the nervous system and psychological disturbances. But there are a few basic pranayama practices that are safe for nearly everyone, and we have discussed a few of them on our blog (see Pranayama for Everyone: Bhramari Breath and Balancing Your Nervous System with Your Breath). You can practice pranayama as an isolated standalone technique or integrate it into your daily yoga asana routine.

Thus, the first three limbs together with pranayama practice refine our personalities, helping us gain mastery over the body and develop an energetic awareness of ourselves, all of which help us to control our senses and our mind, and attain a higher state of consciousness. Several researchers have now reported that pranayama techniques are beneficial in treating a range of disorders, including:

• improving cardio-pulmonary functions 
• increasing autonomic functions 
• balancing the blood pressure 
• relieving symptoms of asthma 
• reducing physical and mental stress 

Additionally, pranayama practitioners report that this breathing practice helps in developing a steady mind, strong willpower, and sound judgment.

I consider pranayama as a “green therapy” because no harm is done to the environment, trees, or animals around us. All it requires is a place to be seated and your willpower, focus and concentration. While the requirements for this practice are minimal, the benefits are immense!

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Attachment (Raga) to Our Ideas About Ourselves

by Nina

Phil and Rita Stuck on Groundhog Day

2.3 avidya asmita raga dvesha abhinevesha klesah

The five afflictions (klesahs) which disturb the equilibrium of consciousness are: ignorance or lack of wisdom, ego, pride of the ego or the sense of ‘I,’ attachment to pleasure, aversion to pain, fear of death and clinging to life. —Yoga Sutras, translation by Edwin Bryant 

Lately I’ve been spending a lot of time talking with a young person who is struggling with depression. Of all the things this person told me, one sentence keeps haunting me. In a voice choked with tears, the person said, “I thought I had my life all figured out—and I thought I knew who I was—but now all that is gone.” 

Some time ago I wrote a post The Pains Which Are to Come about the klesahs, the five afflictions that cause human suffering (interestingly, the word means “poison” in Sanskrit). In that post, I concentrated on aversion to pain and fear of death/clinging to life. Today, I thought I’d consider attachment (raga). Here's the yoga sutra that defines attachment:

2.7 Attachment stems from experience of happiness

Edwin Bryant explains this sutra as:

“Attachment is craving for pleasure by one who remembers past experience of pleasure. Ego is the root of attachment just as ignorance is the root of ego. Ignorance and ego cause the deluded mind to associate the self with the latent impressions of past experience of pleasure.” 

Often attachment is described—as it is above—as attachment to pleasure or to things that give us pleasure. Attachment to pleasure causes suffering because we crave more of the same, and we suffer when we can’t get more. Perhaps it was a material object that gave us pleasure, and we end up acquiring more and more of the same thing until we end up overspending or hoarding or perhaps we just can’t afford more and are tortured by cravings. Or perhaps it was a sensory experience that gave us pleasure, such as eating or having sex, both of which can lead to problems if you go overboard with them. Or, perhaps it was an emotional experience. Remember in the movie "Groundhog Day" (yes, that’s one of my all-time favorite movies), when Phil has his first wonderful evening with Rita, the woman he secretly loves, and then he desperately tries to repeat that same night over and over, always failing?

But it seems to me that, like the young man I described above, we can also have profound attachments to the lives we plan for ourselves or the images we have of who we are. That gives us a different kind of pleasure—a sense of security. And losing that can feel devastating. I’m pretty sure that we, as “aging” people, have either all gone through this ourselves or seen it happen to other people. Maybe a marriage we once thought would last forever ends in a divorce. Maybe years of striving for success in a certain job or profession ends in failure. Maybe someone close to you dies unexpectedly, your house burns down, or you develop a chronic illness, and that one event changes your entire life. Maybe you’ve always been the strong one, but now you need help for the first time. Of course, it is not always a negative experience that alters your ideas about your life and yourself—maybe you meet someone or make a discovery that puts you on an entirely unexpected path, and you wonder: how did I get here?

But as yoga sutra 2.3 says, it is “attachment” that causes the suffering, not the loss of pleasure. So it is only our clinging to the life we imagined we would live or the selves we thought we were that is the real cause of our suffering. Otherwise, we could just let go and move on. 

I actually find this observation about the nature of the human mind to be very helpful on its own. I try to bring awareness to my attachment to my fantasies about what my life should be or my beliefs about who I am. Right now I’m in New Jersey, where I didn’t expect to be this month, helping a family member. I’m not sure how long I’ll be here or what will happen next. And the yoga philosophy I described above—my understanding of my own attachment to what I expected my life to be—is helping me let go of the agenda I once had for this time period (not to mention the feeling—how on earth did I ever end up in New Jersey, where I never, ever wanted to live?). But obviously a young person who is feeling for the first time that his whole life—and self—is being destroyed has a much greater challenge. I see so clearly his desperate wish to return to the way things once were, and his stubborn clinging to his old self image, and I was once in the same position myself, many years ago.

So what does Patanjali have to say about all this? After describing the klesahs, including attachment (raga) in detail, Patanjali simply says the following: 

2.11. The states of mind produced by these klesahs are eliminated by meditation. 

However, it seems to me, before you can move on to that step, you need to be ready to admit that attachment IS an affliction. I sometimes think we cling to our attachments in a form of magical thinking, because we feel as if fervently wishing for what we desire will make some kind of magic that will allow us to return to living the life we always imagined or to the self we once believed we were. (Joan Didion’s book The Year of Magical Thinking described this kind of thinking that she experienced after the sudden death of her husband.) But despite the fact that the movie "Groundhog Day" was magical realism, it was only after Phil truly gave up on escaping the day he kept living over and over in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania and somehow making Rita love him back—beginning to truly live his life in Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day—that he was able to wake up the next morning to a brand new day.

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The First Branch of Yoga: The Yamas

by Ram

Path in the Fog by Claude Monet

The first of the eight rungs or limbs is the yamas, which can be considered as universal morality. The practice of yamas lays the foundation from which to develop all the other subtle practices. Yamas serve as moral, ethical and societal guidelines to lead a conscious, honest, and ethical life. There are five yamas or positive guidelines that help us to behave and relate to our surroundings and environment, and to achieve oneness with it. Patanjali considered the five yamas as universal vows and preached that in order to have a harmonious life they be practiced on all levels: by way of thoughts, actions, and words. The five yamas are: 

• ahimsa=nonviolence
• satya=truthfulness
• aparigraha= noncovetousness/non-possessiveness/non-hoarding
• asteya=nonstealing
• brahmacharya= continence/sexual restraint

For more on the yamas in general, see Nina's post Yama Drama: Considering the First Branch of Yoga. 

Ahimsa: Himsa in Sanskrit means violence, which  is defined as the intentional use of force or power on self or against a person or a group that results in a physical/psychological harm, mental disturbance, injury or death. Going by this definition, himsa can mean both physical and mental violence perpetrated on self or others. Thus, there is no difference between a person who is harboring severe judgment and negativity towards self or others and a person who walks with a gun into a classroom and randomly shoots at the students. Both have committed himsa or violence, albeit to different degrees. Ahimsa (non-violence), is the opposite of himsa and refers to non-harming or non-injury, that is, physical, mental, and emotional non-violence towards self and others. Individuals who always experience natural inner peace and a non-harming attitude and who have given up on their hostilities, ill will, or aggression are practicing ahimsa. For more on ahimsa/nonviolence, see my post Ahimsa: Non Violence and Healthy Aging. 

Satya: Satya is defined in Sanskrit as "sate hitam satyam," which translates to “The path to truth is ultimate truth itself.” Thus, one who is always truthful in actions, speech, and thoughts, his or her will is naturally fulfilled since such a behavior allows a natural flow of goodness or positive feelings. Truth is considered divine and truth connotes purity. If we start living in truth, we are free from all kinds of emotional turmoil. For more on satya and its effects on healthy aging, check out my post Satya: The Truth about Lies and Healthy Aging. 

Aparigraha: Aparigraha means to limit possessions to what is necessary or important and taking what is truly necessary and no more. Hoarding is not just about accumulating material possessions but also about hoarding/holding thoughts and emotions that affect our normal mindset and thinking process. We tend to fill our minds with fear, worry, anxiety, grief, anger, rage, jealousy, judgments among others and we do not let go of these emotions. Over time, these emotions build up and accumulate as unexpressed or suppressed emotions that can trigger mental and/or physical pathological conditions. For more on this topic, see my post Aparigraha: Non-Hoarding and Healthy Aging.

Asteya: Desire or greed for material possessions can cause an individual to steal, overspend or even going into debt that is not only stressful for the individual but can ruin the family as well. The desire for material possession simply means that the individual is dissatisfied with what he/she possesses and is constantly looking to acquire more. Since the fundamental cause of acquiring more is desire, we should try to overcome our desires gradually through the regular practice of yoga.

Brahmacharya: This is a complex topic for our culture. While the original meaning in the Yoga Sutras certainly meant no sex at all for an individual on his/her path, I am not sure if this is how Patanjali would have truly interpreted. Sanskrit terms can have different contextual meanings and I like to interpret brahmacharya in two ways. First, I interpret brahmacarya as sexual responsibility. Recklessness in one’s sexual conduct can also lead to lies, violence, jealousy and pain, which leads the individual astray from the path of yoga. Second, brahma=divine/superior/heavenly and acharaya=routines/practices/tasks. So brahmacharya could also be interpreted as heavenly practices or simply put “good living practices”(GLP).  GLP is being honest, respectful, forgiving, kind, and selfless. People practicing GLP live a fulfilling life as they do not have any personal or selfish interest. Because of these virtues or positive character traits, an individual is committed to doing the right thing no matter what the personal cost, and does not bend to impulses, urges or desires, but acts according to values and principles. GLP helps us to attain wisdom, and when there is wisdom, there is no conflict. GLP helps individuals to turn into agents of social change.

In conclusion, the yamas may seem obscure and impenetrable, but I believe the principles of yamas are worth investigating. Yamas contain essential advice for daily/good living. As they offer a map or guidance that allows us to have enhanced emotional and mental wellbeing and a more fulfilling and meaningful life, yamas serve as the GPS for our lives. Practicing the yamas leads to greater happiness and spiritual fulfillment not only for the individual but also to those around him/her. 

And that is the ultimate truth!

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Pratyahara and Healthy Aging

by Ram

Fern by Melina Meza

In the Yoga Sutras by Patanjali we are introduced to the eight rungs/limbs/steps of yoga whose practice helps us to develop attention as a tool to discriminate between ignorance and awareness and between truth and illusion, which is the means for liberation or enlightenment. Pratyahara is rung five of the eight rungs. Verse 2.54 in the Yoga Sutras describes Pratyahara as:

sva vishaya asamprayoge chittasya svarupe anukarah iva indriyanam pratyaharah

When the mental organs of senses and actions (indriyas) cease to be engaged with the corresponding objects in their mental realm, and assimilate or turn back into the mind-field from which they arose, this is called pratyahara. —trans. by Swami Jnaneshvara.


Check any commentary or text on this topic and the term “pratyahara” would be defined as “withdrawal of senses.” However, the concept of withdrawal of senses may be difficult to comprehend for I have witnessed a few teachers in some of the yoga teacher’s training gently brushing off this topic. During the course of her blog interview with Nina and Shari when asked about how she adapted her yoga practice through peri-menopause and menopause, Judith Laster remarked, “As I entered peri-menopause, I noticed a definite shift of my interest. It was as if a natural pratyahara was taking place.” Ever wondered what Judith meant by that statement?

Personally speaking, “withdrawal of senses” does not appeal to me. In this present world, staying with a family, raising kids and paying college tuitions, doing our jobs and facing challenges at work, etc. all require the coordinated usage of the five senses. One cannot withdraw the senses from our daily life’s duties unless we give up on everything and retire to the mountains. So I like to define pratyahara as “using our senses with total/complete awareness.” Our five senses serve as portals or gateways into our body, mind and consciousness. We are what we eat, smell, see, hear and touch. It is through these senses that we absorb the world around us. If we take in harmonious impressions through our senses, we will in turn be healthier. If we take in that which is unhealthy, the mind and body suffers. If we are not aware about what we draw in through our senses, it can lead to physical and mental instability. The human body and mind can survive on low-quality sensory impressions but it cannot thrive. In order to maximize life potential, each person must learn to live harmoniously with their environment through the five senses.

Most of us are familiar with one of the main tenets of the Yoga philosophy:

Yogas chitta vritii nirodhah
[yoga =union, to join; chitta = mutable thoughts of the mind-field; vritti = mental fluctuations/modifications, nirodhah = coordination, regulation, integration, channeling]

Yoga is the coordinated channeling of the gross and subtle thought patterns of the mind. —trans. by Swami Jnaneshvara

A human being as a whole is a combination of body, mind and spirit—physical, mental (psychological) and spiritual dimension. When we just think of ourselves as a physical body, we lose this awareness and through our five senses we get attracted to material possessions and surround ourselves with them. As we continue to build more material desires, we start making wrong choices. As a result, frustration and stress builds up and we lose our connection with the mind and spirit. This leads to mental imbalance/fluctuations (vrittis) leading to physical instability. Healing is the process of regulating the impressions that we draw in with total awareness through the five senses and returning to harmony. Once back in harmony, the body and the mind have no reason to communicate the imbalances. It is only through experience and awareness that we gradually awaken to the true role of our senses. Enlightenment is when we have a control over our senses and perform only those activities that not only empower us but the society as well. Such beneficial activities do not disturb the natural balance of the body or the society. The body is at ease; the mind attains peace.

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Non-Holding (Aparigraha)

by Nina

"Holding on to one's thoughts is also a form of possessiveness…." —BKS Iyengar

Untitled Drawing by Milton Zolotow, one of hundreds

Ram's recent post on aparigraha (non-hoarding) left a strong impression on me. In it, he mentioned several meanings for aparigraha, including "non-possessiveness, non-holding, non-indulgence, non-acquistiveness." Recently I've been thinking a lot about the "non-holding" aspect of aparigraha.

Non-holding has been on my mind because I've started to feel weighed down with possessions. That's partly because in the last few years, both my parents and Brad's parents died, and we ended up with a lot of their stuff. Some of the things were useful, like the beautiful dining room table we inherited from my parents. We are using that table now and gave our old table to our daughter who started her own household, so a kind of balance has been established. A lot of the other stuff isn't at all "useful" but still has a tremendous emotional power over me. For example, we inherited a couple of boxes of samples of my father's graphic design work, scrapbooks that Brad's mother created during the high school, college and the early years of her marriage, and some of my chic mother's favorite clothes that I'll never wear because they don't fit. It has been surprisingly hard to even consider getting rid of these things, and yet….

This is on my mind today because I just got back from a trip where I visited two longtime friends, each of whom happened to be in the same position, having things, either in her house or in a storage facility, that there was no real use for but to which she had strong emotional attachments. We all agreed that it was material we would need to part with at some point, and yet we all shared that it was surprisingly painful to even consider doing.

About a year ago, I started a practice of getting rid of at least one thing every day. I kept it up for a few months—in the beginning it was easy because every time I opened a cabinet I saw something of my own that I really didn't need—but then it became harder and harder. I would open a box of my parent's stuff, feel overwhelmed with emotion, and then close it up again. And I eventually gave up the daily practice. There's something about fall for me, though, that feels like the time to get back to business. My conversations with those two friends this weekend motivated me even more. So I returned from my summer vacation and decided to resume my getting-rid-of-one-thing-a-day practice. Today I went back and read Ram's post and a bit of the Yoga Sutras. This time I was struck by concept of "non-holding" as being about not holding on to thoughts (as Iyengar wrote) and emotions (as Ram wrote). Of course, with our parents' things that we three women are holding on to, it is not the objects themselves that we are having such a hard time letting go of, but rather the thoughts and emotions that the objects evoke.

I feel that this new understanding of "non-holding" will help make it easier for me to keep up with my letting-go practice this year and start to move from the easy tasks to the harder ones.

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