The Five Kleshas in Yoga Philosophy

The Five Kleshas in Yoga philosophy are the mental obstacles we encounter in our lives.  They are the causes of suffering that can keep us stuck in negative patterns.

They are: ignorance (Avidya), ego (Asmita), attachment (Raga), aversion (Dvesha), and fear of death (Abhinivesha).

The root Klesha is Avidya, ignorance or wrong seeing and it is at the core of all the others.  When we learn to see things more clearly and don’t’ make assumptions it can lead us to feeling more at peace and able to connect with our own true selves.

Yoga often clarifies our perception of things.  Moving on your mat creates more open-heartedness and creates essential space that allows us to see things as they truly are.

Practice asanas as you are in the truest way you can, without preconceptions or worries of how it should look. We know how a pose looks does not define your yoga practice. Rather it is how the pose feels that is the true measure of success in your practice.

It is in the rest of Savasana that sometimes the biggest epiphanies of right-seeing appear.  As  your mind and body rest in your final relaxation pose, notice what subtle messages appear. Notice what truths are revealed. To see clearly, you must look from your heart.

Adapted from Teaching Beyond the Poses by Sage Rountree and Alexandra Desiato

There is a parable about the blind men and the elephant. When encountering an elephant for the very first time, each of them are given a limited understanding of what an elephant is depending on the part of its body they touch. An elephant could seem like a tree if you are touching only leg, or a snake if you're touching only its tail or trunk, or a wall if you're touching only its flank, or a spear if you're touching only its tusk. Each of these is a limited picture of the whole. These individual perceptions are actually misperceptions, and to extrapolate from one part creates a misunderstanding of the whole picture. That's Avidya.

Adapted from Yoga off the Mat by Adapted from Teaching Beyond the Poses by Sage Rountree and Alexandra Desiato