Letter 6: At All Other Times: The First Four Yoga Sutras and the Lens You See Through

अथ योगानुशासनम् - Atha yoga-anushasanam
योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः - Yogas chitta-vritti-nirodhah
तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम् - Tada drashtuh svarupe vasthanam
वृत्ति सारूप्यमितरतत्र - Vritti sarupyam itaratra

Here and now is where the Yoga practice begins
Yoga (the definition and the goal) is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.
When the mind is still we (as the witness) abide in our true nature.
At all other times, we mistake ourselves, others, the world, for our thoughts.

The first four Yoga Sutras have been a source of grounded perspective for me for many years. No matter how long it’s been or how many other amazing verses there are (196 in total!), it’s these first four that provide the most clarity of mind when I need it.

First a little background on the Yoga Sutras in case you aren't familiar with them. The Yoga Sutras (Sutra = thread) are 196 verses on Yoga that were compiled by the sage, Patanjali somewhere between roughly 400 BC/BCE and 400 AD/CE* (scholars debate the date). These were teachings that were brought together as a continuation of pre-existing teachings found in the even more ancient Upanishads (800 - 100 BC/BCE) and the Mahabharata (400 BC/BCE - 400 AD/CE - which contains the Bhagavad Gita). Some say Patanjali wasn't one person but several over time using the same name (almost like a title). There are other theories as well (as if often the case with an oral tradition spanning thousands of years) but something you might find interesting is that in these nearly 200 teachings on Yoga, only 1-2 speak about Asana (or the physical practice that we focus on so much). Most of these teachings are on the Yoga of the Mind. 

Although these first four verses might seem so simple, they are speaking of perspective which, like the connective tissue in our bodies, is fascia-like web that weaves itself through every moment of our lives largely unnoticed until something isn't working like it used to.

I have a silly running conversation with my Mom. Whenever she pays me a compliment, I always joke with her that she is biased. She argues that she isn’t, but I find it funny (and always say so) that the nature of a bias is that you really can’t tell if you are.

Bias, just like perspective, refers to a set of experiences, beliefs, and circumstances that have created the lens we see through. The mic-dropping power of these verses in the Sutras is that they ask to step back to view the lens itself. They have the audacity to ask us to drop the sense of certainty and to ask if our eyes are seeing what is actually there or just our personal preferences. The willingness to take that one step back might feel more like the effort of a marathon distance sometimes. It almost certainly feels unsafe, and maybe even impossible. 

It’s as if life, family, the culture we grew up in, our own experiences, challenges, desires, and preferences have each colored the clear glass window we are looking through and we’ve stepped back to see that we’ve been looking through stained glass all along.

This is what we can see when we have the courage to step back and look, but the feelings of danger originate in another deeper layer. In our earliest years we develop what will become our foundational subconscious beliefs for much of our lives (but there are ways to heal and change this).

This initial sense imprints on the Nervous System signaling to us what is safe and unsafe. You can reprogram these subconscious beliefs, but just like a bias you can’t necessarily identify them unless you make a practice of bringing them to the light.

As we gain more experience living, our logical minds might recognize some of these limitations, patterns, and habits that seem to be running the show even when we recognize they aren’t really helping. For instance when I am sitting on the couch mindlessly eating popcorn and watching someone build yet, another Tiny House on Youtube, I often point out to myself that I am numbing out and most likely avoiding something I don't want to do involving spreadsheets. It doesn't always change the behavior but it does shift the mood from feeling guilty and ashamed to amusedly teasing myself as I would someone I see and love (like I do with my Mom). This small change does often give me the levity to face some of the harder and less-loved tasks that have to be done. 

The logical conscious mind tries to make sense and stay in control, but the subconscious is still running the show. The subconscious is what is determining what we believe we (and others) deserve, directing our relationships, and running our lives through trying to keep us safe which translates to staying with the familiar and out of the uncomfortable. 

The great news is that Neuroscience and the connection to mental and physical health have been given a much larger platform and studies, conversations, and tools to heal and re-program are available now more than ever.

“Neuroplasticity” is a widely recognized word describing the resilience of the brain and Nervous System to create new pathways. I have found reprogramming tools like EMDR therapy, specific types of Breathwork, Somatic movement (like Yoga), plant medicine, binaural beats, and BodyTalk incredibly helpful and effective. 

These tools can help break the links between memories and responses, taking us out of the loops of repeated habits that aren’t doing the root healing work or moving the needle in our lives. It isn't that your memories have been wiped away (like the movie, "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind") but that you do remember and don't have the same emotion or responses as you used to. It feels magical, expansive, and incredibly freeing. 

This work can be very powerful and sometimes painful, but it really doesn’t have to be. Although talk therapy can be an incredibly healing tool, many of these methods work around the thinking brain (due to its lens and tendency to keep certain things hidden) and go straight to where this consciousness is being held in the wisdom of the body.

This is where the larger consciousness contained in the body comes in. When life is too much to digest all at once and we don’t have the time and space to digest it all (and really, when is it not like this these days?) what can’t be digested may get stored in our tissues, as many older systems of medicine describe. 

We need to be present and feel safe in order for the shadows that are holding us back to even come to light and help us clarify the view of what we are seeing. (in the last Letter, Lokah Samastah l wrote about how trust is a Nervous System state that requires safety.) In order to do this, we have to be in the mode of the Nervous System that allows us to digest all we haven’t been able to digest before. It can take time to unravel and go to the depths, and that is if we feel safe (and want to). The physical practice of Yoga is one tool that helps to support this through breathing, movement, and stillness.

Just as we need space to digest food, we need space to digest experiences and information. In the Digestive system the whole premise behind fasting is that it takes several hours to break down our last meal and then additional time for the body to clean itself beyond that (autophagy).

The Digestive system isn’t the only system in our bodies that works this way. When our lives are full or an event is too much to process at once, we don’t have the ability to digest. What doesn’t get digested may be stored in our bodies and can, over time, keep us in the Sympathetic mode of the Nervous System, take away our clarity, and become dis-ease.

At all other times……If the fluctuations in our mind (like waves on a pond) are keeping us from seeing our depths and distorting our vision, we are not seeing clearly. I don’t know about you but the time I spend with a quiet and still mind is a very small amount of time while the time my mind and life are full is well, MOST.

If most of the time is the “at ALL other times” the Sutras mention then I am seeing the world through a stained glass windown and not living the quality of life and connection with the Divine and others that I was created for. Maybe you are like me and we are all missing out.

“You are the sky. Everything else – it’s just the weather.”
-Pema Chodron

This is part of what keeps me in practice, seeking out things that support me, and sharing what I’ve found so far. We each have a unique design and don’t have to all be doing the same things, but I do encourage you to find some small things that support you in clearing your lens. The great news is that we don’t have to do a complete overhaul of our lives in order to make progress.

Jenna Zoe, one of my Human Design teachers talks about the 0.1 (she is British so says, “Naught Point One,” which I love). The 0.1 is the amount of effort required to take toward a goal, a practice, or a mind with a clearer lens. When done in faith, alignment, and authenticity this 0.1 amount of effort will be met and supported by the Divine in a way that clears a path in front of us. This is the Divine Grace that is accessible to all of us in everyday life. I can personally testify to the magical power of putting the 0.1 into daily practice and highly recommend it if (like me) you would like “at all other times,” to be a little less of the time.

“You will be free, once you realize the cage was made of thoughts.”
-unknown

*You may be well familiar already but a paragraph with a lot of letters makes for a tough read and I want to be inclusive. BC (before Christ) or BCE (before the Common Era) refer to the same time period but use different language based on your beliefs. Also true for AD (Anno Domini- “The year of our Lord”) or CE (Common Era).

For More Reading:
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk
The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton                                                                                                Sweat Your Prayers- Gabrielle Roth
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali- various translations
“The Path of the Yoga Sutras” by Nicolai Bachman

If you’d like to learn more about your unique design and have some support in practices that support your clearest lens and highest good please reach out to me for a Human Design 1:1 session or come to my next group workshop where we learn how our living unique designs support the highest good for ourselves and the world!