Obstacles in Yoga - Part 2

In Part 1 I explained how overeating can cause obstacles in Yoga. Let's see few more obstacles in this part.

Hard work

In order to perform hard physical labor we need to spend lot of energy. A Yogi should focus on spending his energy only in his sadhana. A tired body and mind can not remain concentrated resulting in poor quality of practice. Of course one must perform daily duties.

Talking too much

We come across many people who are talkative or rather talk too much. Talking too much not only wastes energy but also causes mind to scatter. A sadhaka must avoid discussing gossips and useless chatting. Practicing Mauna Vrata is helpful in stabilizing your mind.

Mixing with common people

A sadhaka should avoid mixing with common people. It is often said - "Do not engage with fools They first drag you at their level and then beat you with their experience." The same thing happens when you mix with ordinary people. Unknowingly they infect you with their worldly desires and expectations. Keeping that in mind one should give more emphasis on Satsanga.

Observances of severe vows

A sadhaka needs to observe strict disciplines in daily life. However, he should not follow severe vows such as fasting and bathing with ice cold water. By torturing one's own body one can not become Yogi. A careful judgment is necessary while applying any such rules.

Unsteadiness

A common man possesses very unsteady body and mind. In order to succeed in Yoga one must have steady body (Kaya Sthairyam) and one pointed mind. Yogi should be able to sit in place for hours. That's why Hatha Yoga gives so much emphasis on Asanas. One must also learn to control the mind that is otherwise unsteady like wind.

That's it for today. In my next post I will explain obstacles from Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. A word of caution here. Many so called modern Gurus and Yoga teachers ignore these obstacles. They say you need not follow them strictly in the modern world. They also claim that without changing your life style you can become a Yogi. But if you want to hasten your progress on the path of self-realization then following them as much as possible proves to be very beneficial.

Bipin Joshi is an independent software consultant and trainer by profession specializing in Microsoft web development technologies. Having embraced the Yoga way of life he is also a yoga mentor, meditation teacher, and spiritual guide to his students. He is a prolific author and writes regularly about software development and yoga on his websites. He is programming, meditating, writing, and teaching for over 27 years. To read more about him go here. More details about his Kriya and Meditation online course are available here.