Practice of Yoga brings vigor, vitality and higher level of productivity to an individual practitioner in addition to the best possible physical and mental health. To reap such benefits it is always necessary to follow the practice of Yoga continuously for prolonged time with firm dedication without having interruptions in the practice.
But due one or the other reason, the practitioner looses the connectivity of his practice. Maharshi Patanjali in his Yoga sutras calls these reasons of losing the connectivity of the practices as Obstacles in the path of Yoga practices and also he explains their consequences.
These are called as citta viksepa Or the disturbing factors to the peace of mind or towards the concentration.
In the Samadhi Pada, PYS 1.30 explains the list of Obstacles in the Yoga practice as as follows.
These nine Obstacles are
Disease:
The word disease has its experience of DIS-EASE in our mind and body. The disease condition drains energies of the mind and body and this sickness always draws the mind again and again to the point of disturbances so that we are not able to in harmony. The presence of the disease is clear indicator that something in our vehicles is not working properly.
Mental Laziness:
Mental laziness is state in which the persons loose definite and dynamic propose in the life on account of the overpowering of the three primordial natural qualities of the individual Viz: Satwa, Rajas and Tamas. There is an abnormality in the pranamaya Kosha which strongly reflects on the nervous system and vitality.
Doubt:
The success in the practice of yoga is achieved through the firm faith in the principles of Yoga and its practices. Due to fickleness of the mind when a person looses the confidence and faith in the methodologies of Yoga, he is bound slip down from the path as he is not using much of his efforts due to the perceived peculiar conditions of the mind in the opposite direction of the yogic practice.
Carelessness:
Procrastination or carelessness is another obstacle in which the practitioner is not having the strong commitment though he enjoys the good health. This attributes to the lack of the will power and definite goal in the path. Careful attention is always necessary in the practice and progress of Yoga as it is an experiment of the mind and body in which the careless may invite many dangerous situations to the practitioner.
Lethargy:
Laziness is condition in which the individual is always engaged in the best comfort Zone and never wants to put exertions for the hard work. Always the hardworking person can only get the Results. The lazy people cannot maintain the effectiveness in the life and they fail to achieve the goal because of their tendency of laziness.
Sensuality:
Sensuality is another hindrance in the path of Yoga as the mind is always disturbed by continues stimulus supplied through the uncontrolled senses. The senses must be controlled in order to achieve the one pointedness of the mind. The person craving for their senses are not able to achieve the desired goal in the path of Yoga.
Delusion:
Lack of intelligence and discrimination is one of the prominent reasons for the delusion. The deluded condition of the mind will never be able to achieve the success as it gets distracted easily again and again from the path .Definite discriminative knowledge is essential to overcome the delusion.
Inability to attain a stage:
The inability to attain the particular stage is due to the lack of consistency in the entire path of Yoga. The practitioner is always required to carry his efforts continually to gain the success and progress in the Yogic path.
Instability in the attained stage:
Instability is the result of failing to maintain the efforts required to progress in the path. After attaining particular stage if a practitioner fails to maintain his commitments and efforts, he may slip down from that stage. This is called as Instability and it will lose the significance and importance of the whole gamut of the process in the practice of Yoga.
Consequences of obstacles in the path of Yoga practice.
In the last part of the discussion we have been going through the obstacles in the path of Yoga practice. The presence of any of these obstacles are the indicators, that something is wrong in our physical or mental health ,which strongly puts its limitations towards the concentration of our mind .The presence of the obstacles are shown as these symptoms of the disturbed condition of the mind.
Patanjali explains these consequences, In the Samadhi Pada, PYS 1.31 of Yoga sutras as follows.
Pain (Physical or Mental):
The First sign of the presence of the obstacles in the Yogic path is experienced in the form of the pain. This pain may be either in physical or in mental level. The physical pain is the result of the lack of the harmony in our vehicle which is always experienced in the form of a disease. On account of the influences of the Five Kleshas, the mind remains in the zone of inner conflict torn between the pairs of opposites of likes and dislikes leading to the poor state of mental health.
Sadness or Dejection:
The presence of the pain gradually limits the efficiency of the practitioner. This leads to the frustration or dejection due the failure of the fulfillment of the objectives which are resulting through the inefficiency in the practice of Yoga. The equilibrium state of the mind and body are disturbed during the state of dejection.
Tremor in the limbs of the body:
Restlessness or Nervousness in the body takes place, when the disequilibrium of the mind and body reaches certain amount of intensity, they gradually affect the pranic flow of energy in our systems leading to the shakiness or trembling of the limbs of the body.
Irregularity in the breathing pattern:
The irregularity of the inhalation and exhalation takes place due to the disharmony in the pranic body. The absence of the rhythm of the breath is the symptom of the distracted mind. These four symptoms represent the development of the four stages which are undesirable conditions of the mind leading to mental distractions.
Ojashvi
Yoga Teacher Training in Rishikesh helps to learn the means and methodologies to tackle these issues.
