The journey toward self-mastery is full of obstacles. Unblock your path by recognizing and eliminating these common enemies to spiritual progress. Hint: mind matters most.

The pinnacle of Buddha’s doctrine is unshakable deliverance of the mind. This is an early and important distinction that’s made on the journey towards enlightenment—our focus should be on the mind, not the body, if we aim to transcend our limitations and eliminate our suffering.

The practice of yoga is similarly aligned. One of the very first entries written in the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali—an organized collection of the most ancient yoga tradition and theory—defines yoga as the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind. Yoga is decidedly not the pursuit of perfect posture in the poses. In fact, throughout the 195 sutras Patañjali lists, there’s only one pose referenced and it’s the seated meditation. Even further, it’s the quality of the pose that he highlights, not the shape.

Are you recognizing the theme here? It’s truly what's on the inside that counts. The mind always matters most.

It makes sense that the call to action made by Buddha, Patañjali and various sages since, is to sit with oneself regularly and to do it mindfully. In doing so, we awaken our inner healer and gain the power to cleanse our minds of illusion and delusion on the deepest possible level. The self-observation turns into self-purification and we suffer less and less as a result, regardless of whether our experience during the process is positive or negative, comfortable or uncomfortable.

Do not get ahead of yourself. Sitting with the intention of purifying the mind is never a simple task. Obstacles are endless and you know this fiercely if you’ve spent any time at all alone in solitude. Our mental bonds and fetters are often ugly and they tie us to the great wheel of suffering, which spins quickly and viciously. It takes an understanding of the nature behind these frequent obstacles in order to observe them with tranquility and come away with insight.

In his own self-study, Buddha recognized the common enemies to spiritual progress that we all face and named them The Five Hindrances. In any kind of mindfulness practice, knowing what to watch out for alerts our powers of attention to harmful influences; it helps us stay the course no matter what.

The Five Hindrances:

1. Sensual desire: This enemy is deeply tied to craving as we seek pleasure through the five senses—sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. We pine for things we aren’t actually feeling. Mastery in any form of mindfulness—yoga, meditation, etc.—and in life wholly depends on us embracing the truth of what we’re really experiencing.

2. Ill-will: This enemy is a very steep and dangerous slope of aversion that carries low vibrational feelings of hostility, resentment, hatred and bitterness towards ourselves or others. The more we fight it, the more it radiates. When we spin in this direction, our aura and our energies become very dark and harmful.

3. Sloth and torpor: This enemy is half-hearted action with little or no concentration. On the outside, it looks like laziness. (Example: You take a yoga class but just go through the motions without breathing deeply or feeling your body.) On the inside, it’s disinterest or disengagement. (Example: You sit down to meditate but allow your mind to sleep or dream or wander.)

4. Restlessness and remorse: This enemy is agitation and the inability to calm the mind. In our modern, digital world, this has widely become the most prominent enemy and prevents many of us from even pursuing a mindfulness practice to begin with. We feel like we can’t spare the time or energy to be still or quiet. Or, if we’re finally convinced to try, our mind is too reactive to pay attention to any one thing.

5. Doubt: This enemy is lack of conviction or trust in our inner or outer worlds. This can be debilitating and very difficult to experience as it feels like a threat to our safety and sanity. Not trusting the universe and its intentions is scary; not trusting oneself is even scarier.

Understanding that growth of any kind comes from self-study and inner fortitude is key to our success both on the mat and off. The moment this understanding gets lost, The Five Hindrances run wild and prevent us from both reaching and exceeding our potential in all areas of our life.

Take a yoga class this week or sit down to meditate with the enemies in mind to become more familiar with these barriers to spiritual progress and how they show up. The path to clarity is a long journey but it’s worth it. Plus, I’m always here to help.

Metta,

Drewsome.