Simple Yoga Blog

2.7 & 2.8 Desire and Aversion What are you chasing after and what are you pushing away? Are you in charge of your likes and dislikes, or are they driving your decisions and actions? What is the origin of your wanting and cravings? To what extent do you believe that your likes and dislikes define who you are? Is there any time during your day when you are free from all of your preferences?

Yoga Sutra 2.6 Self-centeredness (asmita) Confusing awareness with the instruments of perception What is your sense of "I"? Is there something in you that is not temporary? Do you entertain misperceptions distorting who you think you are such as “I am not good enough,” “I am not complete,” “I am lacking” and “I do not deserve unconditional love”?

Yoga Sutra 2.5 Confusing permanent and impermanent Avidya leads you to get entangled in endless internal chatter What in you is permanent? What in you is impermanent? What is pure? Wat is impure? How do you know the difference? What motivates you to be fully present in your life?

Yoga Sutras 2.3 and 2.4 The five afflictions and their states Not knowing who we are is the main obstacle Not knowing who you are (avidya), misidentification (asmita), likes (raga), dislikes (dvesha) and fear of daying (abinivesha). Is your identity at your service or are you at the service of your identity? How much energy do you invest in pursuing what you desire and rejecting what you dislike? Is it possible to make peace with the undeniable fact that one day you will die?

Yoga Sutra 2.2 Less afflictions and Greater integration Yogic actions result in dynamic harmony What afflictions take you away from your natural harmony and balance? Is it true that acting with enthusiasm, intelligence and humility helps you remove the tensions that disrupt the integrated harmony between body, mind and emotion? Are you aware of the significant difference between uncovering existing afflictions and creating new ones?

Yoga Sutra 2.1 Yogic action Act with enthusiasm, intelligence and humility To engage in any worthwhile action, you need enthusiasm. Tapas, enthusiasm can best be synthesized as: Do the best that you can. Svadhyaya is embodied intelligence that can be applied by ensuring that you know why you are doing what you are doing, and by confirming that you are in fact doing what you think you are doing. Ishvara pranidhana can be summed up as sincere intention coupled with wholehearted action.