1.3 & 1.4 Seeing Clearly

1.3 तदा द्रष्टुः स्वरूपेऽवस्थानम्
Tada Drashtuh Svaroope Avasthanam
Then the Seer dwells in its essential nature.

1.4 वृत्तिसारूप्यमितरत्र
Vrittisaroopyam Itaratra
Otherwise the movements of the mind are regarded as the Seer.

From the moment we are born, we attach meaning to the things we see. We associate our mother with love and nurturing and relate our milk bottle to a feeling of satiety.

There is a very good reason why we attach meaning to things. We would not have survived very long as a species, had we not learned early on to associate fire with pain and become fearful when faced with an angry bear.

The problem arises when we apply these instinctual associations to our day to day life in a way that does not serve us. We all carry trauma around with us. Perhaps your heart starts to pound in crowds, because you recall losing your parents in a crowd when you were little. Perhaps you avoid social gatherings because of a humiliating experience you had as a teenager. Or perhaps, like me, you have trouble controlling yourself around food, because it acts as an emotional comfort blanket.

Again, there is a good reason why your minds have made these associations. Your mind simply wants to protect you from getting hurt, at whatever cost to your sanity.

Letting go of all judgments towards people, things and situations is virtually impossible and not necessarily desirable. Nevertheless, we can benefit from practicing separation between what we see and the information we attach to that visual.

Next time you catch yourself going down the rabbit hole, stop, take a breath and focus on truly seeing what is going on. Instead of reading into a situation or worrying about what may be, just focus on what is right in front you.

Learning to let go of our judgments is a challenging practice and I will go into it more in the next blog post. In the meantime, I invite you to elaborate on your mindfulness exercises by practicing observation without judgement.

Let's say, for example, you step out of the office and are hit by a blast of cold air. Instead of attaching a story to the cold and how miserable it is making you, shift your attention to the physical sensations you are experiencing. You might feel goosebumps on your skin or experience numbness in your cheeks. Don't attach a judgement to the sensations, just observe them.

Happy mindfulness practice and see you next time for some more information on non-judgement!

1.2 Becoming Still

1.2 योगश्चित्तवृत्तिनिरोधः
Yogas Citta Vrtti Nirodhah
Yoga is establishing the mind in stillness.


In this hectic world we live in, we have become very good at multi-tasking. And stereotypically women are better at this than men. But to what end?

From the moment we get up in the morning, to the moment we fall asleep, our minds are constantly churning. In the shower, we are thinking about what present to get mum for her birthday. During breakfast, we are preparing notes for a work meeting. We eat lunch in front of the computer and on our commute home we are thinking about how to make dinner, put the kids to bed and still get to sleep at a reasonable hour.

Is this endless mind chatter serving you? Or do you feel like you are stuck on a hamster wheel, at risk of falling if you drop the ball for even one second?

If this sounds like you, I invite you to try an experiment. What if, for one day, everything you did during your day was carried out mindfully? That is, every activity, however mundane, receives your complete, devoted attention. If you are brushing your teeth, all of your attention is focused on brushing your teeth. When you are sitting on the bus, you are simply sitting on the bus. Not checking your phone, not planning the rest of your day, just observing.

If you are new to this practice, you will quickly notice your mind wandering. Do not get frustrated. Your mind is just doing what it has been trained to do. It will take some "un-training" for your mind to realize that it is allowed to let go from time to time.

Whenever you become aware of your mind wandering, gently bring it back to the present moment. It can be really hard for your mind to surrender control, especially in the beginning. If this is the case for you, you might like to make use of some training wheels, such as listening to relaxing music and focusing on your breath.

You can also carry around a little notebook to jot down important reminders. This way, you can write down your thought and let go of it, safe in the knowledge that it will still be there waiting for you when you need it. But before you commit your thought to paper, I suggest you ask yourself honestly how important this reminder is to your health and happiness.

So what if you forget one of the ingredients for your dinner party tonight? It could spark an outburst of creativity in the kitchen and provide a talking point for your guests. So what if you forget to iron your favorite blouse? Will wearing a different top affect your productivity at work? Only you can answer these questions and the answer will be different for everyone.

The point of this exercise is not to create added pressure in your life and give you extra material to beat yourself up about. You can not succeed or fail at the exercise. It is simply an invitation to become more aware of the wanderings of your mind and find moments in your day where you could benefit from cultivating a little more stillness.

If a whole day of practicing mindfulness sounds like an insurmountable hurdle at this time, why not pick one activity every day to focus your full attention on. It could be anything from drinking a cup of tea to emptying the dishwasher, or even going to the toilet! Whatever works for you and your schedule.

I look forward to hearing about your experiments!

1.1 Becoming Present

1.1 अथ मोगानशसनभ 
Atha Yoga Anushasanam
Here, now, is the teaching of yoga.

The first of Patanjali's yoga sutras sets the scene for the subsequent sutras and thus for the purpose of this blog. 

Through this blog, I will explore the path to inner peace and harmony, as set out in the oldest text on yogic philosophy.

It is my hope that you, the reader, will come on this journey with me. The best part about the journey is that you don't have to do a single thing, other than pack an open heart and an open mind.

We are so used to working hard to achieve goals, that my invitation might seem too good to be true. Where is the multi-step program? Where are the agenda items?, you might ask. 

The truth is that all the tools we need to find inner peace are already inside of us. We have merely forgotten how to use them.

This is where the sutras come in. The word "sutra" literally means "string" in Sanskrit. Thus, Patanjali's yoga sutras represent individual threads that, when woven together, spell out the key to inner peace.

The first of the sutras is vitally important, because it reminds us that yoga is not just something that we practice on our mats. Physical poses, meditation and breath work are wonderful aids to calming the mind. However, these activities are all a dress rehearsal for day to day life.

When we can bring peace and equanimity to all areas of our lives, then we have truly reached enlightenment. Most of us will not reach that point within our lifetime and that is ok. But every moment that we remember to breathe and let go, we are one step closer to making our journey through this life a lot more enjoyable. In this way, we can not only change our own lives, but we create a positive ripple effect that spreads to everyone around us.

If this sounds at all like something you would like to experiment with, please stick around for my take on sutra number 1.2!

About this Blog

I am writing this blog to document my journey through the "Yoga Sutras of Patanjali", specifically the 2009 translation by Ravi Ravindra. The sutras are the guiding principles of the yogic tradition and their conception has been dated as far back as 300 BC. Despite their age, they have lost none of their relevance. In fact, they have a wealth of wisdom to offer for the modern woman, in regards to living a more peaceful and fulfilling life. 

In each blog post, I will cover one sutra (or a number of related sutras) and will share my interpretation of the text. My interpretation is just that - my way of applying the sutras to my own life. This blog is by no means an exhaustive study of the sutras, or even necessarily a correct interpretation. Instead, I hope that "Sutras for Goddesses" will act as a platform to help my fellow divine feminine beings navigate this crazy life. Enjoy your stay here and I look forward to hearing from you in the comments!