Yoga Sutra - 1.2 Yogas Citta Vrittis Nirodha
What is a sutra, who is Patanjali and what has he got to do with my yoga practice? Amelia helps us explore…
If you have been to class you will likely have heard me use these words. If you have a good memory you might even remember what they mean.
In my yoga classes, I do my best to keep explanations short, precise and relevant.
In a 60-minute class, where you have come prepared mentally and physically for a yoga movement practice you likely don’t want a 15 or even 5-minute talk about the yoga sutras. It is my own feeling and my own preference to encounter these topics practically in a yoga space with the option for students to do they own study (svadhyaya) after class if this resonates. As I know some students to come to practice simply for the health benefits of practicing yoga (which is great!) where as others will be intrugied to look a little deeper.
So, any broader yoga topics aside from yoga poses in my classes I will always try and keep practical and relevant and hold space for students after class should they wish to know more. I hope in many ways that is what this blog can also become, as space to share deeper resources for those inquisitive students.
The past few months we have been exploring ‘Yogas Chitta Vrittis Nirodha’ and you have probably heard me say this is the second ‘sutra’ written by Patanjali but you might be wondering –
What is a sutra, who is Patanjali and what has he got to do with my yoga practice?
Patanjali was born in India and lived his life there (they think - very little is actually known about him!) He was a yogi and a sage and he is often considered ‘The Father of Yoga’ it is important to note he was not the creator of yoga, as yoga pre-dates Patanjali but he has been given this title as he organised and brought all of the knowledge and teachings of yoga together into four texts which are called the Sutras. Sutra is a sanskirt word which means ‘thread’. I have heard it beautifully put that these are the threads, and it is up to the practitioner to weave these threads into their own ‘cloth’.
The exact date he did this is unknown but it was sometime between 500 BCE and 400 CE ! A very long time ago. In total there is 196 sutras written across four books. This second sutra is the most well known and in the commentary of the yoga sutras I own the writer, Sri Swami Satchidananda, explains that the following sutras in book 1 explain this one.
“‘Yogas Chitta Vrittis Nirodha’”
Often simply translated as ‘Yoga is calming or stilling the mind chatter or mind-stuff’. However, my favourite translation is from Susuaana Bakaratis new book ‘Embrace Yogas Roots’:
““Yoga is the calming of the fluctuations of the mind in order to find unity within. When we are able to calm our own mental talk and find a sense of ease, we begin to unite our small ‘s’ self with our large ‘S’ self. This unity comes by bringing mind, body and heart into harmony. Yoga is both the result of this practice and the mind training that brings us into the joy of being fully present in this moment.””
I love this explanation as it takes us deeper. It connects us to that concept of unity between mind body and heart. It reminds us that a lot of suffering happens in our own minds and yoga can liberate us from that. This is why I think yoga sutras are as relevant and profound today as they were when Patanjali wrote them. There is enough suffering and separation in the world we do not need to create more in our minds.
We can notice when the mind chatter comes in it can say things like ‘I hate this yoga pose, I hope we aren’t here long’ and you can focus on all the reasons you don’t want to be there, now. Or you can take a breath and come back to the present moment reminding yourself that no situation lasts forever all you need to do is be here, now. You may still be in the challenging yoga pose but the mental suffering will subside, maybe briefly or maybe for the duration of the yoga pose. I have used a yoga example here – but actually it applies to our general life too! Pay attention to your mind chatter the next time you are doing something like washing up, or hoovering maybe you hear that mental chatter causing disturbance. Maybe you can pause take a breath and let those thoughts pass on by.
In yoga perhaps the mind chatter comes in the stillness of the pose, perhaps it comes as we approach challenges in our yoga practice either way yoga can help us listen, and allow these fluctuations of mind chatter to pass as we come back to the here and now.
Patanjali is teaching us students that through practicing this stilling of the mind chatter we can create less suffering, more mental peace, stillness. From here we can connect to our heart centre.
What I’m saying here is simple in principle – harder in action. Observe, let it go. Much like I remind you all in Shavasana, thoughts will always come but we do not need to follow them we can allow them to pass on by and not disturb our internal stillness. Remember we are human and our minds natural tendancy is to think so thoughts will disturb our internal stillness from time to time. Be kind, notice when they take you our of the present and let it go.
The following Sutra 1.3 is simply and beautifully:
“1.3 Then the seer abides in their own true nature”
Which I feel perfectly illustrates what happens when we begin to peel back those layers become the watcher of the mind.
Lastly, with all this emphasis on the second sutra you may be wondering - what is the first sutra? The first sutra is simply ‘Now the instruction of yoga is being made’ In the Satchindadana translation of this sutra he explains this means that this states Patanjali is about to instruct how to practice yoga. As yoga is a practice not a theory and so without practice nothing will be achieved. He also explains that Yoga is not just a philosophy it is an action. Therefore by coming to class you are already putting the first sutra into action.
- Written by Amelia Eady
Resources:
Embrace Yoga’s Roots - Courageous ways to deepen your practice. Susanna Barkataki
The Yogas Sutras of Patanjali – Translation and commentary by Sri Swami Satchidananda
Yoga Chitta Vritti Nirodha II 1.2 II - YouTube