One of the most fascinating ideas in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is the subtle inner transformation that happens as the mind becomes still.
What Is Nirodha?
Patanjali defines yoga as:
“Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ” (Yoga Sutra 1.2) Yoga is the cessation (nirodha) of the fluctuations of the mind.
But how do we actually reach that state? It doesn’t happen all at once — it’s a gradual transformation where the restless patterns of thought are replaced by inner stillness.
The Two Competing Tendencies
In Sutra 3.9, Patanjali describes two forces in the mind:
Vyutthāna Saṁskāra: the tendency toward distraction and mental chatter
Nirodha Saṁskāra: the tendency toward silence and restraint
As we meditate and practice, the nirodha-saṁskāras grow stronger, and the vyutthāna-saṁskāras fade away. This shift is called nirodha-pariṇāma, or the transformation toward inner stillness.
The Inner ShiftThe mind doesn’t go silent all at once. It moves through many moments of stillness, where restraint begins to dominate. Over time, these moments string together into a deep, sustained state of peace.
Understanding nirodha-saṁskāra helps us see that meditation isn’t about forcing the mind, but about training it gently, allowing new patterns of stillness to take root. Every time we sit in awareness, we’re imprinting peace into the mind itself.
Yoga is about replacing mental noise with inner clarity. Patanjali’s wisdom reminds us that transformation comes not from struggle, but from consistent practice and subtle inner change.
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