Pantanjali Yogasutra I.12

"Through practice and equanimity, the movements of the mind should be restrained and stopped."  (according to AG Mohan)

This sutra gives a practical answer as to how we can manage to step out of our carousel of thoughts of wanting and not wanting, of fears and worries. The practice of yoga is the active part. By practicing regularly and sticking to it, we not only feel the beneficial effects on our body and our ability to breathe, but we also notice that we calm down more quickly and are able to focus more and more on the breath-centered practice during the practice. Equanimity (vairagya can also be translated as detachment) prevents us from approaching the exercises with too much ambition and determination. 

Serenity and equanimity are states of mind that protect us from wanting to control everything and slipping into a worrisome negative spiral. 

What applies to our yoga path also applies to our lives and the challenges we face. Abhyasa and Vairagya are the ingredients we need for all endeavors. Without our commitment and constant effort, we will not become masters. However, we would do well not to wear ourselves out in our efforts, be they exams, professional challenges, or personal projects. Because there is always a part of it that is beyond our control. In the simple example of an exam, this would be the sympathy and mood of the examiner, which can have a not inconsiderable influence on the result. 

And we would also do well not to let the success of our efforts go to our heads, precisely because not everything is under our control, other variables also lead to an undertaking achieving an expected goal.

The background to Pantanjali's recommendations is the clear goal of yoga, which is to calm our mind in such a way that we can achieve the highest and most sustained concentration of all our mental powers for the purpose of self-knowledge and, ultimately, transcendence. With this in mind, the sutras aim to clarify again and again what disturbs our mind and what helps us to find our way back to, or maintain and deepen, a calm and clear state of mind. 

No matter how distant Patanjali's goal may seem to us, we should not be deterred and look at what we can use in our lives. Because every small step we can take in our daily lives, with a reasonable amount of effort and a serene attitude, is a great success for our inner peace and can be felt in an increase in well-being and contentment.

Om Shanti