Vrittis
/On the 7th Day of Practice, I seized the moment.
Are you waiting for the right time to practice?
Are you waiting till you have a decent amount of time to practice?
Are you waiting to attend a class to practice?
If this is the case your practice is possibly sporadic, irregular and unsatisfying.
The mind deceives us. We lie to ourselves and are quick to blame others or circumstances for our lack of discipline. But really we are just making excuses.
Maintaining a home yoga practice is hard.
Understanding the citta vrittis (the Five Modifications of Consciousness) can be helpful in changing our mindset.
The citta vrittis are
Correct knowledge (pramana)
Wrong knowledge (viparyaya)
Imagination or fantasy (vikalpa)
Sleep (nidra)
Memory (smrti)
“Their misuse when they are defective can lead to endless trouble”
BKS Iyengar pg 154 Light on Life.
For example
Right or wrong knowledge can lead us to misperception.
Daydreams can lead us to fantasy.
Lack of sleep makes us dull.
Memory can work to our detriment.
“Their study can help us to follow a certain way of life and adopt a right way of thinking. They show us a direction and enable us to channel the thinking process”
BKS Iyengar pg 154 Light On Life.
Correct knowledge brings awareness.
Discrimination steers us from wrong knowledge.
With imagination we have creativity.
With sleep, our mind functions well.
Memory helps us see the consequences.
The Five Modifications of Consciousness are natural psychological states that occur in everyone.
They affect what we do and as a result the quality of our life.
“The consequences of our actions endure. The implications are karmic. As you sow, so shall you reap”
BKS Iyengar pg 154 Light on Life.
CONSIDERATION
Recall a time that the citta vrittis deceived you from practice. This should be easy as it happens almost every day when we are faced with a decision, in this case, the choice to practice or not. Identify which citta vrittis led you astray. Was it lack of sleep and a dull mind? Was it fantasy that you would do it later in the day instead?
Recall a time that the citta vrittis aided you in your practice. Identify which citta vrittis served you and how. Was it the power of imagination that made the practice particularly creative and engaging? Was it a good night’s sleep that made your mind sharp. Was it the memory of the previous day’s practice and how you felt that gave you the power of discrimination to choose to practice?
PRACTICE
Don’t make the same mistakes. Don’t repeat the actions that are not serving you.
Write them down so they are clear in your mind so that next time you come to practice you do the practice.
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