Patanjali taught that yoga is control of vrittis, the waves of thoughts and feelings. He identified five kinds of ideas (thoughts and feelings) which keep us from knowing our true self. Learn to recognize which type of idea is blocking your attempts to enjoy a clear mind. When meditating, identify and release each blockage. As you shed each one, you begin to live from the soul.
Patanjali wrote that yoga is chitta vritti nirodha, control or direction of the waves of the mind. He called ideas — including both thoughts and feelings — waves of consciousness. They swirl in the mind, keeping us from knowing the true self. Often the strongest vrittis are emotional flows.
Patanjali concluded that it is necessary to first identify these five main kinds of ideas in order to effectively deal with them. Let’s go through them one by one in order to recognize which ones keep us from knowing and dwelling in our true nature.
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