10/28/2025
Integration of the Yoga Sūtras In the Practice of Stillness
In the Yoga Sūtras, Patañjali writes,“Yogaḥ Citta-Vṛtti Nirodhaḥ,” translated as, “Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.” Though written more than 2,000 years ago, this idea remains profoundly relevant to how we understand mental health and healing today.
At its core, this sutra describes a process of inner regulation, learning to notice the movements of the mind without being carried away by them. In Sanskrit, citta refers to the field of the mind (thoughts, emotions, memories), vṛtti to its constant movements, and nirodhaḥ to stilling or regulating those movements (Bryant, 2009).
In life, those fluctuations might look like racing thoughts, emotional reactivity, or the persistent self-deprecating internal dialogue. The sutra doesn’t suggest we silence these experiences, but that we relate to them differently; with steadiness, awareness, and curiosity.
Mindfulness, Therapy, and the Regulation of the Mind
Modern psychology echoes this wisdom. Mindfulness-based interventions such as Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teach to observe their inner experiences without judgment, cultivating a stable awareness that supports emotional balance (Kabat-Zinn, 1990).
Similarly, many forms of psychotherapy, from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), guide the development to what researchers call metacognitive awareness: the ability to notice thoughts and feelings as events in the mind rather than absolute truths (Hayes et al., 2011). When one learns to pause, observe, and breathe before reacting, the fluctuations of the mind begin to settle.
Neuroscience supports this, showing that mindfulness practice enhances prefrontal regulation of emotion and reduces stress-related activation in the amygdala, the brain’s alarm system (Davidson & McEwen, 2012). In this way, Patañjali’s teaching can be viewed not as a spiritual abstraction but as an early observation of self-regulation. What contemporary psychology now recognizes as essential for mental health (Siegel, 2012).
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