I recently had a chat with a parent, and they said something that got me thinking: “Kids these days can’t finish what they start.” I agree. One big problem for us nowadays is sticking with the things we begin with.
Think about New Year’s resolutions. How many times do we set goals with good intentions, but then give up? It’s not just you — this happens to almost everyone.
Here at our Yoga Teacher Training program, we see this too. Every year, new groups of students join our program. Unlike most other programs that take 28 days, ours is a longer journey — 5 months. We’ve designed it this way to ensure a real transformation from student to teacher.
However, when students first hear about the 5-month commitment, including Hatha, Ashtanga, Pranayama, Meditation, Yoga Nidra, Acupressure, Ayurveda, and a 6-day Rishikesh retreat, they get excited and enroll in the course, but the real challenge starts after about 10 days.
As students encounter unexpected difficulties, some (around 10–15%) drop out, thinking they can’t do it. But the truth is, everyone faces obstacles.
To overcome this hurdle, we need to understand it better. Thankfully, the wisdom of our sages offers valuable insights.
Remember, this discussion applies not just to yoga, but to any pursuit in life. We will all face obstacles on the path to our goals.
Here is what Patanjali Yoga Sutra lists 9 obstacles that everyone faces on the path to success.
व्याधिस्त्यानसंशयप्रमादालस्याविरतिभ्रान्तिदर्शनालब्धभूमिकत्वानवस्थितत्वानि चित्तविक्षेपास्तेऽन्तरायाः॥३०॥
vyaadhi-styaana-saMshaya-pramaada-alasya-avirati-bhraantidarshana-aalabdhabhUmikatva-anavasthitatvaani chittavikShepAH te’ntaraayaaH (Sutra 1.30)
“Disease, dullness, doubt, carelessness, laziness, sensuality, false perception, failure to reach the firm ground and slipping from ground gained — these distractions of the mind-stuff are the obstacles.” (translation by Swami Satchidananda)
- vyAdhi (disease): Disease is an obvious obstacle in the pursuit of any journey. Whenever we start something new the first resistance is shown by the body in the form of diseases. But when we become aware that this is common and also we try to maintain good health with the right lifestyle then we can slowly come out of this obstacle easily.
- styAna (dullness): Despite being in good physical health, and often having the best of intentions, many people just don’t have the mental drive to pursue any worthwhile activity. They just want to “sit like a potato” and watch TV. This is a big obstacle as it completely stops our desire to work towards our GOAL.
- samshaya (doubt): When there is dullness at the level of the mind, it gives rise to something called samshaya (doubt). Can I do it or not? is it worth doing? Did I make the right decision? Is this path meant for me? Have I been cheated? Etc. When this doubt arises we are unlikely to put our best foot forward to complete the activity.
My teacher always says that the best way to remove such doubts is “satsang” or being in the company of learned and equal-minded people. This will help you to restart your journey even after many falls and also develop a sense of faith or “shraddha” in our approach. - pramAda (carelessness): Carelessness is the next step of Samshaya. When we develop doubt on the path which we have to walk then we start ignoring things that were supposed to be taken sincerely. This can lead us towards a tragedy carelessness by a doctor can lead to the loss of a patient’s life; by a builder can result in the collapse of a building causing death and destruction; by a woman in the kitchen can lead to fire, etc. are just a few samples.
- Alasya (laziness): When carelessness becomes our nature that is when ego takes over us and doesn’t allow our intellect to act at the right time and it is called Laziness. This will lead us away from a disciplined life and put us into a loop of suffering.
- avirati (sense gratification): Constantly running after gratification of the five senses is avirati. For the most part, all our actions are driven by a desire for sensual pleasure. But sometimes overindulging in these sensual pleasures can distract us completely from the path which we have to walk. Also, too much sensual pleasure can result in sickness at the physical and mental levels.
- bhranti-darshana (false perception): Essentially, delusion or false perception is to have a belief that is clearly false. Some examples — a person may falsely believe:
- that some external force is controlling his/her thoughts
- That teaching is giving special attention to others
- I have been ignored by everyone
- that he/she has committed a crime and deserves punishment
- that someone is after them to hurt/kill them
- that they have supernatural powers and can achieve anything in life
8. alabdha-bhumikatva (failure to reach firm ground): Here, we can’t come to a conclusion and we will be always in a dilemma and it happens because of a lack of proper knowledge or training, a wrong approach, or simply unrealistic goals and expectations.
9. anavasthitatva (instability): You might have observed that some people will be over-enthusiastic and on high energy some days and the very next day they will be dull and very ignorant this is a clear indication of instability where we are not able to put the consistent effort required to complete the task.
If you look at your journey, did you face any of these obstacles and how did you overcome them?
I would love to hear from you.
In upcoming articles, we will see what can be done if anyone has to overcome these obstacles and continue the path that they have decided to take.