The Yoga Sutras as an ancient Psychotherapy

The longer I am familiar with the Yoga Sutras, the more I feel their relevance, especially in our present times. This ancient text is a truly effective, practical, poignant, and important manual for mental health – a timeless handbook for psycho therapy. It contains clear descriptions about our human psyche and its potential as well as how to reach it. At least, how to maintain a good, if not optimal state of mental health without any suffering. It contains descriptions of therapeutic methods for trauma and stress release and easy steps and practices that anyone can do to reach a state of flow and well-being.
When I first started out with Yoga, I was confused as to what this text should have to do with the kind of Yoga that we do on our mats, which is not much more than exercise, even if it is enhanced with a little bit of breathing and mental focus. Now I understand that what we do on the mat is just a means to an end, and that they are many more means to the same end and that we can all make use of all of it.

Doing Yoga only on the mat to me is like buying a mansion and only ever spending time in one of its rooms.
But especially since I have been training in dance movement therapy and creative therapies and since I’m learning a lot about psychotherapy (my final exam will be this year – please keep your fingers crossed for me!) I understand even more, how important this text really is for mental health.
I use it as a base for my Vedic counseling practice.
Why?
Let me explain a little bit, by using just the first six lines of the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras:

1.1 Atha yoga-anu-śāsanam
(Now begins the discourse on yoga.)

1.2 Yogaḥ citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ
(Yoga is the harmonizing of the fluctuating psychic frequencies)

3.Tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpe-avasthānam
(So that we can see things clearly as they are)

4.Vṛtti-sārūpyam-itaratra
(Because otherwise, we see things distorted, filtered through the lens of these fluctuations)

5.Vṛttayaḥ pañcatayyaḥ kliṣṭa-akliṣṭāḥ
(Of these fluctuating psychic frequencies there are five, which can be both helpful and harmful)

6.Pramāṇa-viparyaya-vikalpa-nidrā-smṛtayaḥ
(Those five are :

  • Clear, objective understanding
  • Unclear, conditioned understanding
  • imagination
  • Deep sleep
  • Memory)

Also, in modern science, quite similarly, we distinguish five main types of psychic frequencies that are measurable in the brain:

DELTA is a very low frequency of 0,5 – 4 Herz, which our brain emits during deep sleep.
THETA is a slightly higher frequency, we emit during dreaming or daydreaming. Memories are stored here too.
ALPHA frequencies are between 8-14 Hz. We go through Alpha frequencies each day when we are just waking up we’re just about to fall asleep. In this state, we are awake, but relaxed and have access to our unconscious mind.
BETA frequencies occur at 14 to 38 Hz, when we are awake and active or focusing on a task.
GAMMA frequencies of 38 to 80 Hz occur when we are highly focused or meditating.

All of these frequencies are of course important and, like Patanjali (The author of the Yoga Sutras) states, quite helpful. We need deep sleep to heal and recover. We also need to access our imagination and memories and reaching to the content of our unconscious mind. But when these frequencies are fluctuating uncontrollably, it is as if our psyche is disturbed by too many interfering activities. In these circumstances they become harmful.
At the wrong moments, our imagination might spark off irrational fears, or judgments. At the wrong moment, a low frequency might make us feel heavy, unfocussed, or depressed. At the wrong moment, the content of our unconscious, conditioned mind could involuntarily guide our actions, as it does, especially in cases of past trauma and stress.
The only moments, when these frequencies are vibrating in real harmony are when we are completely present and in a state of flow. Patanjali calls this flow-state Samadhi. The lower levels of Samadhi can be experienced by anyone. It happens every time when we can be absolutely ourselves, without any fear or the need to pretend. When we are open, trusting and aware. It happens, when we are absolutely and utterly accepting of ourselves and of the present moment as it is. And when that happens, we feel a sense of real well-being and blissful joy.
We all know such moments, however brief. Usually, they happen when the outer circumstances are just right – the sun shines, we lie on the beach with a cocktail in our hand, a wonderful man says “You are so beautiful, I love you” and a cute little kitten comes along and purrs on your lap…… well.. you get the point. These moments make it easy for us to accept reality as it is, without fear and with an open heart. That’s what causes the happiness. Our fearless presence and open heart – not the man, the cocktail or the kitten.
In any case, we can’t always lie in the sun on the beach, or can we?


In our society, sometimes we speak about taking off the pink colored glasses to see reality as it is. But what if it was the other way around? What if we take off the stained, gray colored glasses to see the world as it truly is: colorful, bright and absolutely beautiful?
Enter the Yoga Sutras.

After these first six lines that describe the gist of what Yoga actually is and why we do it, or what we hope to achieve from it, Patanjali will go on to explain to us exactly how we will feel, when we have achieved this flow state. And this flow state – Samadhi – comes in different levels, from a simple feeling of being one with the body and feeling great with ones Self, to being completely free from any old restricting beliefs, childhood or other trauma and conditionings that keep us from feeling great. Or, in other words – enlightenment.
And not only this – Patanjali also gives us a lot of detailed and practical advice on how to do it – how to harmonize those frequencies and how to be authentically present in any circumstance, so that joy becomes not an exception, but our birthright.
Because joy is giving us a clue to our true nature – it is not just a pleasant feeling we get to feel if we are lucky, but a roadmap to our true Self. Just like the core of an atom is always positively charged, so is the core of our Self.

If you would like to learn more about the Yoga Sutras you have the following options:

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