Continuous Effort YS I - 13, YS I - 14

One can view our life process as that which consists of continuous effort. Effort is defined as exertion of physical or mental power or the use of physical or mental energy to do something; exertion. Continuous is defined as uninterrupted in time; without cessation.

To answer the question how do we control the vrittis (modifications of the mind or thoughts) to have peace of mind, the term continuous effort comes into play to address this issue. In the Yoga Sutras (YS) I-13 - TATRA STHITAU YATNO'BHYASAH - Of these two, effort toward steadiness of mind is practice and YS I-14 -SA TU DIRGHA KALA NAIRANTARYA SATKARASEVITO DRDHABHUMIH - Practice becomes firmly grounded when well attended to for a long time, without break and in all earnestness, the words effort and without break appear.

Continuing with Swami Satchidananda's commentary, he states for YS I - 13 that Pantanjali does not refer to continuous practice for just one or two days. This line means that you become eternally watchful, scrutinizing every thought, word and action. For YS I-14, he elaborates on "the first qualification for the practice is that it should be done for a long time." He further comments on how we want results immediately and that we do a practice for a few days and then state nothing happens and then we want a different practice. Swami Satchidananda's states that the second qualification is "without break" and the third qualification is "in all earnestness." In other words we should be serious in intention, purpose, or effort; sincerely zealous. He ends his comment here by stating "If you are unsettled and anxious to get the result, you are already disturbed; nothing done with that disturbed mind will have quality. So it is not only how long you practice, but with what patience, what earnestness and what quality also."

In "Mystery of the Mind" by Swami Muktananda, he interprets these sutras as seen in the previous post on Practice and Detachment . Swami Muktananda comments that "not everyone's mind is strong enough to maintain the constant awareness of unity." He states "for this reason Pantanjali gives various practices which are suitable for different seekers." He extols mantra repetition at this point.

As you can see, according to your mind, this can be a complex topic. So I will continue to make an effort to simplify it. Some of us may need time to digest it. This is why continuous effort is needed to get to that place of fully digesting material like this so it can help us grow more in awareness. Stay tuned.

Repetition vs. Repetition

A major reason the we are not in the present moment is because of repetitive habits of letting the mind wander here and there. Repetition is The act or process or an instance of repeating or being repeated.

Have you tried to stay in the present moment? You might wonder what does that mean? Think about it.

• Have you attempted to watch and be fully conscious of everything that you do right now without other thoughts of the past or the future? Like right now you are reading this.
• Are you fully present?
• Are you the type of person who cuts off the other person in a conversation? Do you fully listen to what they are saying, or were you thinking about what to say in response to them before they were finished?
• Are you repeatedly unconscious of your everyday actions like how you sit, breathe, carry your posture?

Let's say for example you are washing the dishes. Are you fully present with the dishes? Are you looking at the dishes, noticing if they are getting clean, feeling the water and the soap . Or are you going through the motions of washing but your mind is someplace else? This process happens through repetition. Or maybe you are at the gym working out on the treadmill. Are you looking at a tv screen, reading a magazine, or listening to your ipod? Are you fully alert on that machine looking at your pace, how you are breathing or noticing your heart rate?

'Yogas citta vritti nirodhah ' sutra 1.2 defines yoga as when one has restrained or stilled the fluctuations of the mind. It is interesting to note that even doing this process of practicing yoga, whether the physical postures, concentration, meditation or chanting requires repetition.

Getting back to being present in the moment, it is paradoxical that repetition can be viewed as a practice to change the unconscious repetition that happens on daily basis. Repetition can be viewed as positive or negative depending on the circumstances. Of course we do need the repetition process for walking, exercising the body, breathing, keeping our hearts beating. But aside from those functions, which repetition are you doing or what repetition is doing you? What type of pattern is being created in your life? What kind of vibration is emanating from you?

Practice as a Tool YS I - 1, YS I - 2

Practice is a tool we all utilize it to some degree everyday of our lives. We might not readily acknowledge or view the word practice as tool .

Some definitions of practice are : 'Frequently repeated or customary action; habitual performance; a succession of acts of a similar kind; usage; habit; custom; as, the practice of rising early; the practice of making regular entries of accounts; the practice of daily exercise.' Another definition is 'Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition'. Other examples of our 'habitual performance' or practice used everyday are brushing our teeth, walking, breathing, thinking, disagreeing, being fearful, arguing, being lazy, being a workaholic, cooking, drawing, playing an instrument etc.

The word practice can pertain to positive and negative habits in our life, or as two sides of the same coin. So in this post I am focusing on practice as a tool of yoga. So now I will refer to the word sutra : (Sanskrit) "Thread." An aphoristic verse; the literary style consisting of such maxims. From 500 bce, this style was widely adopted by Indian philosophical systems and eventually employed in works on law, grammar, medicine, poetry, crafts, etc. Each sutra is often accompanied by a commentary called bhashya and sometimes subcommentary called tika, vyakhyana or tippani.

In the Yoga Sutras (YS) of Pantanjali- YS I-1 is ATHA YOGAANUSAASANAM

It means " Now the exposition of Yoga is being made" as translated and commented on by Swami Satchidananda . In his commentary, he says we cannot reach the goal (yoga) by mere words alone. Without practice, nothing can be achieved.

The second YS I-2. YOGAS CITTA VRTTI NIRODHAH

The meaning here is "The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga". Basically what is being said here is if the restraint of the mental chatter is achieved, or if the mind becomes quiet, the goal of yoga would be obtained. In a nutshell, it goes back to the word practice.

So when we are having a "bad "day, when things are not going the way we want, instead of letting it sap our energy, or making us unhappy, we need to practice being present. We can start paying attention to our breath. We can stretch our bodies consciously. We can practice mindfulness. We can get in the habit of using this tool day by day, until it becomes automatic and natural. And it is a tool that is accessible all the time.