The classic saying that, “Life is a state of mind”, is short, sweet and pretty accurate.
Learning to understand the mind and how it shapes our experience can be truly transformational. What’s important to me as a teacher is that I can relate my own experience of applying what I continue to learn from Yoga and share it with you. If some of it speaks to you and you can relate, then fantastic. If parts or some of it doesn’t speak to you, also, fantastic. Both are equally important to the receiver. Take what does, leave the rest.
So, a brief recap of what we covered in class these past few weeks.
The Ancient Yoga texts talk about two things that shape our experience:
- Kleśas – the root causes of our own suffering
- Vṛttis – the constant waves or fluctuations of the mind.
Think of the kleśas as old habits or fears that keep us stuck in habitual patterns, and the vṛttis as the mental chatter that distracts us from the present moment. Together, they can pull us away from peace.
But the beauty of Yoga is this: every time we step on the mat, we get to notice these patterns – and we get to choose something different.
The 5 Kleśas in brief
- Avidya – Think of the mind as a garden. Avidya is the soil in which all of the other klesas grow. It is the root of all of the others. Avidya is like a filter over the mind that makes us misperceive reality, mistaking temporary for permanent, defining ourselves by our bodies, jobs, possessions. We cling to what inevitably changes. It’s like wearing foggy glasses, everything we see is slightly distorted.Question: How often do we misinterpret situations, assume stories, judge too quickly, if at all?This is Avidya in action. Cloudy vision of the truth.
- Asmita – Often described as the Ego or as I like to call it our “Fake ID”. When we mistake ourselves as the role that we do, the thoughts we have, the labels we give ourselves, we forget the deeper, bigger self. Asmita makes us cling to identities that are not our true unchanging self. Asmita is like wearing a mask and believing you are the mask, forgetting the face underneath.
- Raga – Makes us chase after what we think will make us happy because it has made us happy in the past but often brings us dissatisfaction when life changes. It’s like chasing the sunset. You keep running after it, but it keeps moving further away.
- Dvesha – Is the flip side to Raga. Raga clings to pleasure while Dvesha pushes away pain. It’s our instinct to avoid discomfort. Maybe unpleasant people or situations that hurt us in the past. It sounds reasonable to avoid these things, however when we resist life’s challenges we can often suffer more because be become stuck in that past. Dvesha makes us run away from what feels uncomfortable even when facing it could bring healing or growth. It’s like running from your shadow. You exhaust yourself, but it never truly goes away.
- Abhinivesha – Is the deep-rooted fear of loss/endings, especially fear of losing the self (death), the body, or control. It is a survival instinct but when it’s exaggerated it causes anxiety, overprotection and resistance to change. We can cling tightly to life and control, instead of perhaps trusting life’s flow and it’s natural cycles.
As we all move through life, we will inevitably face all of the above. Our Yoga practice teaches us to recognise our own patterns, how our mind is working and how to meet all of that with awareness rather than reacting unconsciously.
Each breath, each movement, and each moment of stillness offers us an opportunity to choose clarity over illusion, presence over distraction, and peace over suffering.
I hope you have found or are finding moments of stillness on and of your mat.
Questions for you
- Which Klesa do you resonate with the most right now?
- How can you work with it both on and off the mat?
Favourite Quote from this practice
“Freedom comes when we stop fighting change and start flowing with it”.
And as always, thank you for coming to class.
K xxx