A central concept in yoga practice is the principle of Abhyasa-Vairagya. Abhyasa means practice, while Vairagya is usually translated as non-attachment or dispassion. Let’s explore these two concepts and, more importantly, how they work together.
As we all know, it’s good to be active and make a bit of effort, we usually call this exercise. But when we turn that effort into a habit and do it regularly, it becomes a practice. When we sustain that practice over a long period of time, without interruption and with dedication, it becomes what we might call *deep practice* or training. This is Abhyasa.
The key is that every time we step onto our yoga mat, we aim to refine our practice and make it a little better than the day before. That doesn’t necessarily mean becoming more flexible, learning a new posture, or progressing to a more advanced sequence. In yoga, it means becoming more skilled.
So what does skill actually mean?
For me, skill is revealed when a movement becomes mastered: steady, controlled, and mindful. Eventually, the person doing it makes it look almost effortless. The process involves two stages: first, making the impossible possible; then, making the possible graceful.
Skill involves a continual process of refining and refinement: pruning away unnecessary movements, correcting unhelpful patterns, and working from deeper within while listening to ever more subtle sensations. The practitioner shines a light of mindfulness and awareness onto the practice, and gradually that awareness begins to radiate from within, as if the person were lit from the inside.
Every movement on our yoga mat can then become a dance with the movements of the breath, subtle currents of energy, and the light of the mind.
Abhyasa teaches us to become deeply present to each moment as it unfolds.
But there is a potential pitfall. When we invest a lot of time and energy in an activity, we can easily become identified with it. Our practice can become a crutch for the ego. It becomes “my” practice, through which “I”** derive a sense of validation from achieving a certain posture, performing at a certain level, or becoming better than I was before.
In this way, our yoga practice can ironically become another thread in the spider web of our delusion—another way of reinforcing the very patterns that yoga invites us to see through.
Hence, Patanjali invites us to practice with dispassion: Vairagya.
The first step is to cultivate a sense of equanimity. Of course, we all have preferences. Some postures feel wonderful; others feel challenging, uncomfortable, or downright annoying! But we are invited to meet each pose with the same quality of presence as the one before and the one after.
We show up. We do our best. And then we release it and move on—to the next asana, the next breath, the next moment, and so on.
The second step of Vairagya is to shift our attention from the achievement of postures towards the process itself.
There is a beautiful metaphor in the classical tradition: yoga is like a pearl necklace. The asanas are the pearls, but what gives the necklace its meaning is the thread running through them. In Ashtanga, we can experience this thread through the interweaving of breath and movement (Vinyasa), the breath itself (Ujjayi), the energetic integration of the body (Bandhas), and the direction of attention (Drishti).
The postures become less important than the quality of presence that connects them.
As we mature in our practice of non-attachment, we may begin to realize that we don’t practice simply because yoga makes us feel better. We practice because it helps us become better human beings - more calm, resourceful, available, compassionate, and capable of meeting life as it is.
And ultimately, perhaps the deepest level of non-attachment is to let go even of the idea that “I” am the one who is practicing.
We can offer our practice to something greater than ourselves, a higher power, God, the Divine, Universal Intelligence, or simply the mystery of life. Whatever language resonates, the invitation is to become increasingly transparent to the outcomes.
We cultivate the witness consciousness, and learn to rest in the vast spaciousness of the Self (Drashtu), rather than continually identifying with the changing experiences of body and mind.
This is the dance between Abhyasa and Vairagya:
Give yourself fully to the practice.
And then let go of the result.
Best of luck as you explore these principles on your yoga mat.
And most importantly, don’t forget to smile while doing it. 😄
Damien de Bastier
