vyadhi styana samsaya pramada alasya avirati bhrantidarsana alabdha bhumikatva anavasthitatvani citta viksepha te antarayah
There are a variety of distractions that can appear on our path to yoga.
Vyadhi - Disease
Styana - Apathy
Samsaya - Doubt
Pramada - Neglect
Alasya - Sloth
Avirati - Desire
Bhrantidarsana - Blind Opinion
Anavasthitatvani - Instability
Citta - Mind
Viksepah - Distractions
Te - These
Antarayah - Obstacles
I had been living in Bali for 1.5 years when one day, me and my assistant in Bali, Intan, went down to Denpasar, the city, to get new custom yoga props for the Mindful Life Practice Retreat Centre. We were having the best day ever, until I suddenly got hit by a car on my motorbike and had to go to the emergency room. Thank god I had been wearing a helmet and I didn’t have any injuries other than a fractured wrist. My ankle was in pain as well.
When they heard about this injury, a lot of people were worried that I wouldn’t be able to practice yoga. Alot of people were worried I wouldn’t be able to keep running the community. But I saw this as an opportunity to really stand in my spirituality and carry on my practice. My practice just might look different and might include more rest. Sutra 1.30 is all about this: that we have a tendency to give up in the face of obstacles and distractions.
No matter how committed you are to your yoga practice, obstacles will arise on your path. You will get sick. You will procrastinate your practice. You will doubt yourself and wonder, “what’s the point?” You will lose focus. You will get lazy. You will crave alcohol. Your judgements of yourself and others will come to the surface again. You will lose sight of the goal of yoga and think its about doing a headstand. Or your ego will get super big and you’ll think you’re the guru.
In Sutra 1.30, Pantanjali wrote out these obstacles, one by one, in a list. He offers nine obstacles that naturally arise on the path. They are:
Physical illness
Procrastination
Doubt
Inability to focus
Laziness
Cravings/Desire/Materialism
Incorrect Assumptions
Failing to understand the point of yoga
Inability to remain grounded
The next sutra will explain the results of these obstacles.
Interested in learning more about Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras? I teach an online Yoga Sutra Study course. Join the next cohort here! https://www.themindfullifepractice.com/yoga-sutra-study