tat-pratishedhartham eka-tattvabhyasah (1:32)
Spiritual one-pointedness is the best way to remove the obstacles.
IN YOGA, we talk about cultivating one-pointedness. It’s the exact opposite of multitasking and the antidote to our distractions. It’s creating a singular focus for our mind to concentrate on—our breath, an intention, the sound of OM. Over time, this consistent practice or discipline strengthens our ability to hold a pose or meditate for extended periods. Over the next few sutras Patanjali offers several options that could act as points of focus. In addition to journal prompts, we provide exercises to help you follow Patanjali’s advice and evaluate how you feel before and after. This is designed to help you find the methods and techniques that serve you best.
maitri-karuna-muditopekshanam sukha-duhkha-punyapunya-vishayanam bhavanatas chitta-prasadanam (1:33)
Or the mind remains steady and calm when we respond with the appropriate attitude for the situation.
In a perfect world, we would be surrounded by kind, considerate, generous people. They would get our jokes and we would belly laugh at theirs. We would celebrate their successes and they would toast ours. In reality, people can be prickly, grumpy; they can just really drive us nuts—even the shiny, happy Pollyannas. This sutra gives us a tangible and simple—though not easy—way to approach others so we stay clear and calm.
At any given time, there are four attitudes that color a moment: happiness or unhappiness, virtuousness or wickedness. We can keep our own calm and peace by responding with friendliness, compassion, joy, and restraint.
Be happy for those who are happy. It may seem simple, but often our reaction to good news—a friend’s engagement, a coworker’s promotion—is jealousy or self-doubt. Other people’s happiness can trigger our own frustration and disappointment. When we can truly share in another person’s joy or good fortune, we give our own happiness a boost. One way to practice this is to intentionally surround ourselves with those who are happy so we cultivate that same happiness.
Find compassion for those who are unhappy. It’s easy to wonder if someone’s misfortune is the result of bad choices, to feel imposed upon by someone else’s needs, or to be swept up into someone’s unhappiness. When someone is hurting, no matter the grounds, the first thing they need is compassion. That can be hard to give, so flip it around: What do you need when you’re unhappy? Can you give that to someone else? Can you give it to yourself?
Have joy for the virtuous. It’s important to understand that here virtuous doesn’t mean righteous or pious. At its simplest, it’s doing the right thing. It’s the combination of a person’s good qualities—integrity, humility, generosity—and the work they put in for their accomplishments.
Sometimes we try to pull others down to build ourselves up. For example, when our coworker gets a promotion and we think, why them or, she got lucky, we’re belittling their achievement to make ourselves feel better. But Patanjali says we should acknowledge and respect the focus and discipline that went into their efforts. We should recognize and celebrate in their achievements. When we can do that, when we can find joy and delight in others’ goodness, we cultivate those same good qualities in ourselves. The fog of jealousy can clear and we can be inspired by the successes of those around us.
Exercise restraint toward the wicked. When someone’s behavior goes against our values or beliefs, it’s natural to defend them, easy to judge, preach, and even become angry. Often this just creates further conflict. Classically, this sutra is translated as indifference or disregard, but that could imply we ignore injustice, corruption, and dishonesty. This sutra isn’t suggesting we don’t take action but tells us how to act—with restraint and equanimity. It’s reminding us to engage in a way that is nonviolent, non-harmful. It’s reminding us to respond from a place of love and shared divinity.
It’s important to recognize that we must begin with ourselves. When we can celebrate personal victories, be compassionate with ourselves, feel joy in our achievements, and forgive our shortcomings, life becomes easier and happier.
REFLECTION
Call to mind someone you’re struggling with and identify which of the four categories they fit into. Are they happy, unhappy, more virtuous than you, or just plain negative? How do you normally respond to them? How can you approach them following Patanjali’s advice? Go and do it. Journal about the experience and how it feels.
prachchardana-vidharanabhyam va pranasya (1:34)
Or the mind becomes clear through controlled breathing, specifically exhaling and retaining the breath.
Think about how the breath changes when we’re happy, relaxed, angry, sad, or stressed. When we’re happy and relaxed, our breath is long and smooth. When we’re angry, we breathe rapidly. When we’re afraid, our breath is shallow. Sometimes we hold our breath. Sometimes it’s erratic. One way to stay calm, explains Patanjali, is to regulate the breath.
The advice to “take a deep breath” may seem trite, dismissive, annoying, or cliché, but there’s some solid science behind it. When our exhale is even a few counts longer than our inhale, the vagus nerve (a winding nerve that runs from the neck through the diaphragm) tells the nervous system to chill out. Our heart rate drops, blood pressure lowers, the blood vessels relax, and our whole body physically calms down.
REFLECTION
On a scale of one to five, with one being Zen-like and five being off-the-rails scattered, rate how calm, clear, and focused you feel.
Make yourself comfortable and, without altering the breath, notice its rhythm, depth, and any irregularities. After a few minutes, practice what we call the ha breath, which supports diaphragmatic breathing. Inhale slowly and smoothly through your nose. Open your mouth and exhale with a whispered haaaaaaaaa sound, until completely empty. Pause and stay empty for three counts. Repeat for ten rounds with resting breaths as needed. When you’re finished, let your breath return to normal and notice any differences.
Now, on a scale of one to five, rate how calm, clear, and focused you feel. Journal about your experience. Did it help? Do you feel different? In what way?
vishayavati va pravrttir utpanna manasah sthiti-nibandhani (1:35)
Or cultivating awareness can give us a deeper sense of calm and presence.
So many of us live in our head—letting our mind turn things over, narrating the situation, planning the next thing. It’s easy to get stuck in our thoughts, to not live in the moment, to be so busy telling ourselves the story of our life that we’re not actually living it in a fully attentive and present way. Another way to stay calm, says Patanjali, is to actually get out of our head and focus through our senses.
What does that mean? One modern-day example is through forest bathing, a Japanese mindfulness practice that involves soaking up nature with all of your senses. Kelly was working on a story about the trend. At the end of a long day, with dishes still in the sink, she was stressed about having to add something to her to-do list even if it was sitting in nature. When she did, her internal monologue yammered on, distracting her. In an effort to focus, she catalogued everything around her through her different senses. She saw the pale blue sky. She heard birds singing the end-of-the-day call-and-response. She felt the grass between her toes, the breeze on her arms. She smelled the faint smell of charcoal. She was so involved in noticing the world around her that she became calm and fully engaged in the moment, and her inner voice reminding her of her to-do list had been shushed.
Our senses are usually on autopilot. We use our senses to take in tons of information continuously—the hum of a car driving by, the pale blue color of the office walls—but our mind filters most of it out until it’s potentially important or useful. Fully tuning in to the senses helps us come into the present moment and deepen our experience.
REFLECTION
On a scale of one to five, with one being Zen-like and five being off-the-rails scattered, rate how calm, clear, and focused you feel.
The beauty of cultivating awareness is that it can happen anywhere. So, wherever you are, make yourself comfortable, set a timer for at least five minutes, and in your mind, catalog everything you see, smell, hear, and feel. If there’s still time, begin the inventory again.
Now, on a scale of one to five, rate how calm, clear, and focused you feel. Journal about your experience. Did it help? Do you feel different? In what way?
vishoka va jyotishmati (1:36)
Or by cultivating awareness of our inner divinity we create a peaceful and calm mind.
What you think, you become. If we direct our attention to the dark corners—anger, frustration, cynicism, doubt, disappointment, or fear—then we remain unsettled, uneasy. But we can calm our minds by focusing on our inner light, our innate goodness. At its simplest, this reminds us that we already possess good and valuable qualities.
REFLECTION
When we fall in love, we are easily and naturally filled with admiration, gratitude, appreciation, and kindness toward our love. We see the best in them. It can be more difficult to recognize that same spark within us or feel that love for ourselves. So, today, write a love letter to yourself.
vita-raga-vishayam va chittam (1:37)
Or we steady the mind by focusing upon someone who is peaceful and virtuous.
Since the beginning of our lives, we have learned from, modeled our behavior on, and been inspired by other people—our parents, friends, celebrities, teachers. It’s one of the ways we learn about the world and how to interact with it successfully. And here, Patanjali says we can calm our minds by focusing on someone who embodies the characteristics or traits we’re trying to achieve. Think of this as the positive alternative to mom telling us she didn’t want us hanging out with those kids. This sutra says mom was right—we become like the people we surround ourselves with. By surrounding ourselves with good people who already embody the qualities we want, we learn to cultivate those same qualities.
REFLECTION
As we discussed in sutra 1:20, faith is one of the keys to a successful attitude. To be inspired is a lesson in faith. We’ve all been inspired by someone who has overcome an incredible obstacle or who demonstrates a quality we admire and are working to possess. When we see possibility, it deepens faith. Name three people you feel inspired by or admire. What is it about those people that gives you faith? What makes them both divine and human?
svapna-nidra-jnanalambanam va (1:38)
Or the mind can become calm when it is supported by sleep and the knowledge of enlightening dreams.
Culturally, we’ve flip-flopped on sleep. Short sleep schedules used to be a badge of honor with corporate titans, presidents, and leaders crediting their successes to needing less sleep. Now, companies such as Accenture and Uber are working on anti-burnout programs that focus heavily on the importance of sleep. Others, such as Aetna, offer sleep bonuses. And there’s a growing number of sleep classes, apps, and other gadgets meant to help us fall asleep faster, sleep better and longer, or take a time-out to nap. We are finally recognizing that sleep is one of the most effective ways to reset our brains and bodies.
It turns out the ancient yogis were thousands of years ahead of their time. They described four states of consciousness: our ordinary waking state; an active dreaming state; deep sleep, where our mind is steady and quiet; and an awake but meditative state in which our mind is deeply engaged in the present moment. By encouraging restful, uninterrupted, deep sleep, we can bring this meditative state into our daily lives. By resting and resetting, we encourage greater presence and awareness in our everyday life.
REFLECTION
Most of us start our morning with routines and rituals that can set the tone for the day—brushing teeth, making coffee, exercising. In the same way, we should create evening rituals that prepare us for restorative sleep. Amy’s bedtime rituals include sharing three gratitudes with her partner, setting an intention for the next day, and taking a few restorative yoga postures or sitting quietly in meditation. Kelly adds lavender or Thieves oil to her humidifier and reads a non-work-related book.
Write yourself a bedtime prescription that incorporates relaxing and calming rituals. Keep in mind that there’s no one-size-fits-all practice. What’s important is that you write a prescription that eliminates stimulation and triggers relaxation. Practice it for the next week and spend a few minutes each morning journaling how you slept the night before. At the end of the week, how has your sleep changed? How do you feel?
yathabhimata-dhyanad va (1:39)
Or we can calm the mind by placing our attention on a specific object that uplifts us.
After sharing a variety of techniques to calm and stabilize the mind, Patanjali tells us to just find something. That something should be carefully chosen so it supports and enriches our practice.
Mandalas, rosary beads, or a statue of Buddha are a few traditional options. We can also use prayer, mantra, peaceful music, or nature. Whatever we choose, it’s important we spend some time choosing it—looking for something that leaves us happy or inspired.
The first time Amy went to India, she went without any jewelry. When she arrived at the ashram, the guru noticed and asked why. She explained that she wanted to make traveling safer and easier. He responded by telling her it’s important to wear symbols of our spiritual practice. These are touchstones that remind us of our path, the same way people wear a cross around their neck, a mala around their wrist, or keep a crystal in their pocket.
REFLECTION
When do you feel uplifted? Describe a few situations in detail. Identify the patterns and marks of each of these experiences. Find a word or two that sums it all up. With that word in mind, choose an object you can keep with or near you that symbolizes that quality. Throughout the week, when you feel unsteady, anxious, or down, turn to your object and reflect upon the qualities it represents. Journal about your experience.
For example, Kelly feels uplifted when there is nothing pressing on her to-do list and she feels like she can actually choose how to spend her time, whether it’s reading the paper or hiking with her family. She feels free and unrestricted. Hanging in Kelly’s office are two different maps of Paris and an antique soda water bottle she bought at a flea market there. They are touchstones to a time when she could meander through the streets unrestricted. These objects hold those same qualities and leave her uplifted.
REFLECTION
In the last six sutras (1:34 to 1:39), we explored different methods to clear and calm the mind. Reflect on your experiences with each and journal about those that were most effective and why.