The Sutras

"Now, the teachings of yoga are presented.

Yoga is the stilling of the changing states of mind.

When that is accomplished, the seer abides in its own true nature.

Otherwise, at other times, the seer is absorbed in the changing states of the mind."

   These are the four beginning sutras fromThe Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. They were out introduction to the yoga class and a quick explanation about what is meant to be accomplished through yoga. During yoga, we stop our constant thinking over the past, present, and future, calm our desires and stress. As a college student, I'm always worrying over things that have happened and things that might happen, so that was one of the reasons I decided to take yoga. I wanted to find a way to take a breath, relax, and focus on doing something good for me. With yoga, all the stressful, distracting, or unhappy "changing states" are stilled as you "abide in [your] own true nature".

   As we continued reading about the sutras, we learned more about what yoga involved and about the various states within ourselves and around us that we needed to learn to control in order to focus on yoga and improve ourselves. The five vrttis that we learn about initially are sleep, imagination, memory, error, and knowledge. Sleep, of course, is something that you want a healthy amount of but not in excess. Sleeping too little, too much, or in a weird schedule can prove detrimental to your health, your focus, and your practice of yoga. I've had problems with being a light and sometimes unrestful sleeper and not feeling tired until early in the morning (which obviously doesn't work with everyday class and work schedules), so I have to resort to sleeping pills and have even tried using some relaxation poses lately in an effort to ensure I don't stay up too late and actually get a good sleep. Imagination is dreams, aspirations, the creative spark behind so many books, movies, games, and more. Even then, there's the kind of imagination that you can get stuck in to the point of being deluded about yourself, others, and situations. Delusional imagination is harmful and distracts you from reality and self-awareness (the kind that yoga should help you with). Error is false and biased thoughts, with knowledge being its better opposite. Ignorance can distract us and keep us from knowledge and the truth about ourselves and the things around us.

   We then learn in further sutras that practice and dispassion are two really important aspects of yoga and connecting with the inner self. You have to become determined and devote yourself to yoga practice in order to receive its long-term benefits. Even from only this semester so far, me practicing yoga had resulted in me feeling physically and emotionally better. Even though it was a little hard at first, yoga practice is meant to be "cultivated", so you should keep trying and concentrating. Even through the harder poses that definitely make you want to drop and give in. I'm still working on my laziness, but even trying to change myself just a little in that aspect gives me a great feeling when I start to notice the changes. Dispassion has been and still is the hardest for me for some things, such as abstaining from unhealthy foods and from spending too much time at home on my laptop. Emotional attachments and physical desires are hard to fight off once they've become a secure part of your life, even if they aren't good for you in the long-run.

   We later read sutras discussing ignorance, ego, attachment, and aversion, and how they can prove to be detrimental to you and your practice of yoga. Ignorance is called the "breeding ground" of the others, since it is what causes false and harmful thoughts, actions, and other bad things throughout the world. Even worse sometimes is willful ignorance, refusing to accept the truth or try to better yourself or your situation because you prefer the way you think and are in the moment. It's easy to want to accept ignorance if the truth might hurt for a while or if recognizing your bias or error means you were the wrong one all along. However, along with potentially hurting others with ignorance, you're inner self will be the one to suffer for it as well. Luckily, you are always able to bring yourself out of this kind of thinking.

   Attachment and aversion can also be particularly hard to keep under control. Aversion is hard simply because nobody wants to do things that might be irritating, painful, or scary at first. It's just easier to run away or avoid the situation, but that won't help you in the long-run. Don't be afraid to take chances, don't avoid a phobia because it is scary at first, don't avoid yoga poses because they're hard, etc. For attachment, being around and doing certain things or people make you really happy, and it's only human nature to want to be happy. However, depending too much on something or someone else for your happiness negatively affects other parts of your life and makes you feel worse when you're deprived of whatever you're clinging to. You lose focus of yourself and you lose self-reliance. You forget to focus inward and realize that, most of all, you can find happiness in yourself. I myself have had to learn the hard way that there honestly isn't a way for material things to give me the happiness and self-esteem I really need, even when I feel like I'm too dissatisfied with myself to be happy. Close friends are great support and do brighten your day, but in the end they're not going to be able to make you feel at peace and content with yourself, so it isn't a good idea to start trying to depend on them for that. It's not fair to you or to them.

   In the end, all of the things that the sutras warn you about are all human tendencies, and that is exactly why they're so hard to fight and control. Most of these are things that come naturally to you, whether they're actually good or bad for you. They're all things that only you yourself can cause and that only you are responsible for. Even normally fine things like sleep, memory, attachment, and imagination, when left unchecked and allowed to negatively influence you and consume your life, can prove harmful to you in numerous ways throughout life. That's why so many people say that you are your own worst enemy. There have been times in the past where some of these things have led to me damaging my inner self that I work so hard to take care of and build up into something that I can love and respect, which is hard enough on its own. The sutras just help you to become all the more aware of them and more aware of your Self, regardless of whether you even want to follow the sutras religiously or not. Whether you practice yoga alongside the sutras or not, at the very least they can help teach you the various ways you can work towards making your life and internal state better, in a way that works best for you.