Sutra 1.30: The 9 Obstacles on the Yogic Path: Dis-Ease

Sutra 1.30: vyādhi styāna saṁśaya pramāda-ālasya-avirati bhrāntidarśana-alabdha-bhūmikatva-anavasthitatvāni citta-vikṣepāḥ te antarāyāḥ

The obstacles arising on the yogic path are: disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, fatigue, sensory attachment, wrong perspective, non-achievement, and non-steadiness.

Yoga Sutra 1.30 presents us with nine different obstacles of the mind on our journey towards samadhi. These obstacles are disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, fatigue, sensory attachment, wrong perspective, non-achievement, and non-steadiness.

Rather than allowing these obstacles to over-whelm us, let us use this potent information to feel more under-stood. So next time we experience one of these obstacles, we get to stand in grace, knowing that they are to be expected. We are not less than or defected or abnormal because we feel depressed, or tired, or unenthusiastic, we are experiencing the exact challenges that were put here for us to overcome and better learn how to manage the tool of our mind in the context of our life space so that we get to multiply the amounts of joy and love and peace that we feel regularly.

Lets begin with disease or a feeling of non-ease. There are so many different ways that this can show up wether it be in our physical body, in our emotional body, or in our mental body. And each one effects the other. Your thoughts can poison your body and the way that you feel, your body and what you put in it can poison your thoughts and your emotions, your habitual emotional responses can poison the clarity of your mind and the way that you experience your body almost as if it’s a chicken or the egg scenario. Rather than waste our time figuring out which came first, let’s worship our time blessing ourselves with the attitude that our life depends on it, because it does.

We get to choose to stop at McDonalds or drive right on by and cruise into the produce aisle of the grocery store, we get to choose if we are referring to ourself as stupid or stupendous, we get to choose what FB posts we read or don’t read, we get to choose to spend our money on yoga and meditation or the bar, booze and 16 plus different tv/movie subscriptions.

Decide today that you are and will always be, the decider of your physical/mental/and emotional well-being. Decide the obstacles you encounter are here to propel you right onto that yellow brick road leading to Oz or Om or home.

Muchas Gracias Amigo/a,

I am so grateful for your attention to yoga and for diving into the philosophy with me. This sutra covers a lot and so instead of fast forwarding we are going to take the next 8 weeks to explore in more depth each one of these obstacles. It feels helpful for me to really be aware of what is going to come up and to be prepared with tools in my toolbox of how to best navigate these obstacles when they do arise. Identifying dis-ease or non ease in our physical, mental, and emotional bodies is a skill and the more expert we are at recognizing the signs and symptoms, the faster we can make our way back into ease.

So much love and blessings to you,

Andrea Dawn