From the first chapter of Patanjali we learned what the purpose of Yoga is : creating a state where all where all modifications off the mind are stopping.

 

The second chapter of the Yoga Sutras is all about how to bring Yoga into our day-to-day life.

 

Here are some of the concepts introduced in the second chapter.

Kriya Yoga – Yoga in practice.

The second chapter starts with the concept of Kriya Yoga – Yoga in practice.

Patanjali continues to explain that the practice of Kriya Yoga helps to minimise the obstacles and helps us to obtain samadhi.

Our obstacles which are called kleshas in Sanskrit are an important concept of the Yoga Sutras.

There are five obstacles in our way of obtaining the state of yoga (Samadhi – which is experienced when all movements that arise in our consciousness are stilled) ignorance egoism, attachment, hatred, and clinging to bodily life are the 5 obstacles.

1. Avidya, which translates as ignorance, is the most important obstacle to grasp.

   The word ignorance might be confusing. We can see it more as the inability of our mind to see itself in the proper relationship with the universal Self (Atman). There is a lack of awareness of the universal Self which in turn leads our body-mind (Ahamkara) to assume that its limited perspective of our experiences is all that is (Finger, A. pg 43).

   This confusion or mistake is the base for all the other obstacles.

2. Asmita, translated as egoism. It is a direct result of the above-mentioned mistake which creates a sense of a being separate individual rather than being connected to Atman the universal Self. This separation leads to the identification of ‘I’, I am.

3. Raga, attachment with what we like. We strive toward repeating an experience that we enjoyed. This tendency can lead us to avoid making new experiences, focusing all our energy to re-create a pleasurable experience.

4. Dvesa, aversion is the opposite. Rejecting and avoiding repeating experiences that we don't enjoy. Aversion as well keeps us from creating new experiences because we are focusing on avoiding a certain experience.

5. Abhinivesha, fear or clinging to life is built in. Naturally, fear sharpens our instincts and helps us to survive. But it gets perverted and influences what we do or what we don't do in our daily, i.e. we are afraid of the dark, so we avoid going out and the evening or night. We are afraid of spiders; we avoid going into the room where we have seen one.

   We all can relate to the kleshas and see their potential to influence our live considerably.

Avoiding future pain

This is one of the most important and empowering concepts for us to understand, Yoga or no Yoga.

Whatever we have experienced in the past is gone, we are not able to change these experiences any longer.

However, we are able to influence our future experiences with the decisions that we make now.

An easy example, you are suffering from acidity and eat sour or spicy food, the acidity gets worse, right?

• Before you eat you can make a decision that will affect the acidity. You can opt for eating something mild and cooling which helps to reduce and soothe the acidity.

• You can opt for eating something spicy with will make it worse and if repeated might lead to a stomach ulcer, which is more painful, you might need to take sick leave, can’t participate in life as you wish etc.

Situations can be more complex than the above, and we might feel that to have no choice, but we always have a choice, we might not like the journey or the outcome, but the choice is always there.

It is up to us to decide whether we want to experience pain, hurt, or suffering in future or not.

The eight limbs of Yoga – Ashtanga Yoga

 This is surely the most well-known concept of the Yoga Sutras. To avoid the suffering previously explained, and to help overcome the kleshas or obstacles Patanjali laid out a clear path help is to advance to the goal.

These limbs are

1. Yama (outer disciplines)

2. Niyama (inner disciplines)

3. Asana (posture)

4. Pranayama (breath control)

5. Pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses)

6. Dharana (concentration)

7. Dhyana (meditation)

8. Samadhi (absorption, contemplation)

 

The Yama and Niyama help us navigate our interactions with ourselves and others and keep the mind calm.

Yama

Aspects of Yama are

• Ahimsa (non-violence) being kind to us and others helps to end hostility.

• Satya (truthfulness) is being truthful with us and others. Being truthful with us in accepting what we are truly able to do during a Yoga session, some days we are happy to go upside down other days we might not feel strong enough, this acknowledgement keeps us both calm and safe.

• Asteya (non-stealing). Acknowledging what is ours and others. Right now, i.e. intellectual property becomes more relevant. We acknowledge the original author when sharing a quote or an idea. Acknowledging that we have learnt something from someone.

• Brahmacharya (energy management) to obtain vigour. Notice where we lose or waste our energy and what we can do to keep it so we get strong. This aspect of Yama has often been reduced to sexual abstinence but it is much more about all in moderation.

• Aparigraha (non-greed). What we have is enough, we are complete the way we are, and appreciating what we have is important.

Niyama

Aspects of Niyama are

• Sauca (cleanliness) keeps our bodies clean and healthy. Keeping our environment clean keeps us calm and healthy, and we could think about germ and injury hazards. Cleanliness or purity creates a cheerful mind, helps to focus, and helps us to master our senses which in return helps us to reach our goal.

• Samtosha (contentment) is my absolute favourite. Imagine being content with whatever is! Patanjali says supreme joy is gained by being content, it is independent of what happens in our lives.

• Tapasya (effort) abstaining from something that we like, a bit like lent when we give up something that we like. This challenge for our mind to want something that we decided not to have or to do something, such as practising Surya Namaskar every morning no matter what. The mental process of persevering creates mental strength.

• Svadhyaya (self-study) either by reading spiritual books or studying ourselves, reflecting on our actions, brings us ultimately closer to ourselves as we understand ourselves better.

• Ishvara pranidhana (surrender), surrendering to something or someone. In a religious context, we could surrender to God. We could surrender nature, which is bigger than ourselves or humanity. We consider the entire mankind in our actions to take to main focus away from ourselves to something bigger.

  Once we have established these aspects, we are ready for the next step.

Asana

Posture, Yoga asana, and practising Yoga postures are the third limb.

Our posture/s should be both steady, strong and comfortable with a sense of ease. According to Patanjali, we can see our progress when our tendency to restlessness lessens when we stop fidgeting during meditation and by meditating on the infinite.

This helps us to overcome likes and dislikes.

Pranayama

Learning to control the movement of the in- and exhalation is the next step. Pranayama teaches us to change the length of our breath, how we can direct the breath, to retain our breath, pausing it after the in-breath or the outbreath.

Pranayama brings clarity, it helps us to understand.

If you are a total beginner to Yoga, dealing with the breath in addition to postures might be too much, so Patanjali suggests first getting to grips with the postures before adding working with the breath into the mix.

Pratyahara

This is the last aspect of the second chapter. It brings our senses inward. The senses play an important part in Yoga as they are moving outwards. Naturally, that is their job and purpose to help us navigate the outside world.

However, it is our response to what the senses let inside that is more important as it creates desires based on what we have experienced, as mentioned above with the kleshas. We see something we want it. We smell the food we get hungry and so forth. Or we smell something we dislike, we walk away, fasten our pace or change to the other side of the road.

The senses keep our minds engaged. By practising Pratyahara we learn to direct the senses inward and explore our inner world. This helps the mind to let go of the wanted and create desires which results in being calmer and more content.

Summary

Patanjali is quite something, right?

The second chapter is all about how we can achieve Yoga by living our lives at the same time. We are not reclusive, we have a job, families, and friends. The Yoga philosophy can feel not for us, only for the ones who decided to live in an ashram.

Patanjali offers ways for us to understand how and where we can bring Yoga into our daily lives.

We are all exposed to our likes and dislikes every single day, multiple times. Understanding that most of them result from experiences that we have made a long time ago and how they still dictate our lives, can help us to break these patterns, try something new, make new experiences, and overlay the old ones which don’t serve us any longer with new ones.

Realising the scope of fear and its impact on our decisions every day.

By practising the eight limbs of Yoga, the effect of the kleshas, the obstacles, lessen naturally. Helping us to break through our conditioning is a great gift.