Yoga Diary: Yoga in Driving
While you’re driving, someone cuts over at the last minute or tries to sneak in around the exit or shoulder. Suddenly you react. You become angry and you don’t let the other person in. Or, you take a deep breath and just let it go.
But then, how is yoga connected to this scenario?
Sage Patanjali defines yoga as follows:
योग: चित्त वृत्ति निरोध: | yoga: citta vṛtti nirodha: Mastery over the mind or controlling thought waves in the mind
Citta is made up of Manas, Buddhi, and Ahamkara
- Manas– Called as the mind. It is the recording faculty that receives impressions through senses from the outside world.
- Buddhi– Called as an Intellect. It is the discriminative faculty that classifies the intellect and reacts to them
- Ahamkara – Called as an Ego. It is the ego-sense that claims these impressions as its own and stores them as an individual knowledge
As someone cuts you off, your Manas records the event or impressions. If the Buddhi is overpowering the Ahamkara (though the impressions are not pleasant, you know how to control them), you take a deep breath and let it go. However, if the Ahamkara is overpowering the Buddhi (Since impressions are not pleasant, you’re not happy and you just react), you get angry and don’t let the other person sneak in.
How do you program your Buddhi to overpower your Ahamkara?
Knowledge or perception is a thought-wave (vritti) in the mind. Through consistent practice of Pranayama and Meditation, you can control thought waves in the mind
So next time you come across this situation, take a deep breath, remember yoga in driving and just let it go.
