Kleshas and antarayas in yoga practice

The five kleshas

Patanjali names avidya, or ignorance, asmita, identification with the sense of self, raga, attraction, dvesha, aversion, and abhinivesha, clinging to life. The categories describe ways experience shapes what we seek and avoid. A memory of pleasure may strengthen the urge to repeat an experience. An unpleasant memory may make us want to avoid it.

Recognizing an obstacle

Sutra I.30 lists nine obstacles, including illness, dullness, doubt, carelessness, mistaken understanding, and difficulty maintaining a stage one has reached. The list puts bodily conditions alongside problems of judgment and consistency. They call for different responses. The categories belong to yoga philosophy. Health concerns call for professional assessment.

Putting the distinctions to work

One event can have several aspects. A memory that arises is a vritti. Doubt that leads someone to postpone practice is an obstacle. Wanting to recapture a pleasant sensation may illustrate raga. Sutra I.32 links work with obstacles to practice focused on one principle.

Why the list begins with avidya

Patanjali gives avidya a special place among the kleshas. It provides the ground in which the other four can take hold. Here ignorance has the sense of misunderstanding what we are dealing with. If someone takes a passing feeling to be a permanent condition, that reading can shape what they cling to or avoid. Iyengar places this account within a broader discussion of the impressions left by experience and the way those impressions can influence later reactions.

Starting and staying with a practice

Some obstacles affect the decision to begin, while others become visible only after a person has started. Doubt might lead someone to postpone choosing a practice. A failure to stabilize what has already been learned presents a different problem. For example, someone can recognize when they are applying too much effort in a familiar posture with a teacher present, then lose track of the same cues when practicing alone. Learning to recognize a cue and using it consistently are separate accomplishments.

Choosing a question small enough to answer

Patanjali’s proposal to work with one principle provides a way to narrow the task. Suppose a student leaves each session with a different explanation for what felt difficult. The next useful step may be to examine one feature consistently, such as whether they can recognize a stable point of support. If discomfort or illness is the obstacle, choosing a smaller practice may mean setting it aside for the day. The specific difficulty guides the response.

What to take away

Giving a difficulty a more precise name can help you ask what is interfering today and where your attention might be most useful.

Related articles

• Chitta and vritti in the Yoga Sutras
• Abhyasa and vairagya in a steady yoga practice