The air is cool and crisp, like my favorite fall apple…mmm...Honeycrisp...and the sun is as brilliant as this beautiful bouquet we found at the Farmer’s Market.
My heart is overflowing with excitement for the change in the seasons and about all the fun things I’m planning for you over the coming months.
Amidst all the joy, though, I’ve somehow managed to develop a toothache.
Not like, “Oh, my teeth feel a little sensitive when I drink cold water.”
More like, “I didn’t do anything, and I feel like my head is going to explode it hurts so much.”
The pain comes in waves, and wracks my entire lower left jaw, into my left ear, even sometimes down my neck and up to my temple. Sometimes I get nauseated and feel like I’m going to pass out.
I want to crawl out of my skin, all because of this little thing that, in yoga, we call Dvesha (Aversion to Pain).
It’s one of the five Kleshas (Afflictions) that the ancient texts tell us cause suffering and prevent us from finding union and liberation. They’re a super important part of understanding your ability to change your life through yoga.
According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the five afflictions are Avidya (Spiritual Ignorance), Asmita (Egoism), Raga (Attachment to Pleasure), Dvesha (Aversion to Pain), and Abhinivesha (Fear of Death). (1 and 2)
Avidya (Spiritual Ignorance). Avidya happens when you forget that everything except the Seer or the Soul is temporary. All of nature is transient. The leaves turn and fall off the trees. Temperatures cool down and then in a few months rise again. Skin loses collagen and sags. Hair turns grey or white. The change in the seasons and our bodies show that everything transforms over time.
In Yoga Sutra 2.5, Patanjali says that Avidya also occurs when you mistake the impure as the pure, pain for pleasure, and that which is not the self for the self. So every time you say something like, “I am tall, I am short, I am heavy, I am light, I am smart, or I am not the brightest candle on the cake,” you are mistaking your body and mind for who you are. You are not your body. You are not your mind. Who you truly are is a Seer or Soul that HAS a body and a mind. When you realize this truth, you can unplug from the suffering that comes from identifying as something you’re not, and keep moving along the yogic path towards union between body, mind, and spirit.
Asmita (Egoism). According to Yoga Sutra 2.6, Asmita happens when you mistake the Seer or Soul for the part of you that is doing the seeing. The ego is a necessary part of consciousness. It helps you judge the information that comes in via the senses and what’s going on in the world around you, but it’s not who you truly are.
When you forget the distinction between the ego and the Seer or Soul, the ego can take over and make you believe it runs the show. You get hurt by what other people say. You compare yourself to others. You begin to believe that you aren’t good enough or that you’re better than everyone else. Either way, suffering will come. But the Soul knows differently. The Soul knows you are enough and doesn’t get caught up in all the judging.
Raga (Attachment to Pleasure). There’s nothing at all wrong with enjoying something pleasurable. Yoga Sutra 2.7 tells us that when enjoyment leads to desire and attachment, then you can end up suffering. An example might be an addict who hurts themselves and others to satisfy that desire for pleasure at all costs. External pleasure is temporary, and when you get attached to having it, then when it leaves, you suffer. Instead, pleasure is in the Seer or Soul already.
Dvesha (Aversion to Pain). When something is painful, we usually try to avoid it. According to Yoga Sutra 2.8, you can become angry, bitter, and resentful as a result of the pain. An example might be a scorned lover, unable to open her heart again because she fears that she’ll again feel the pain of the loss of the pleasure of love. We forget that external pain, like external happiness, is temporary, and that true joy is available at any time if you turn inward to the Seer or Soul.
Abhinivesha (Fear of Death). Yoga Sutra 2.9 says that fear of death can be subtle, and it is rooted in the lack of understanding that you are the Seer or Soul, not your body. While your beliefs around what happens after your body dies influence your feelings around death, the ancient texts tell us that the Seer or Soul does not die. (Sutra 2.9)
If you’re thinking, “Oh no, Tami! I do all of these things!” then you’re not alone. These afflictions are part of the human experience.
The wonderful thing about yoga is it gives you the tools to transcend this suffering. In fact, Sutra 2.16 tells us that future pains can and are to be avoided, and the Sutras describe just how to do so.
By looking at how your suffering comes from one of the five Kleshas or afflictions, you can hear the message of your suffering, and turn to your practice to move beyond it.
For me, the message was, "Don't procrastinate. Call the endodontist and get this problem taken care of before it becomes something bigger." Prior to that message, I'd been procrastinating, not wanting to go through a big procedure.
By avoiding the anticipated pain of a root canal, I suffered the pain of the toothache. By listening to the pain of the toothache, I'm committing to preventing the future problems (like losing the tooth) that could arise if I were to keep avoiding the pain.
In the meantime, I just keep breathing through it, knowing that it's temporary, and that the joy of the Seer or Soul is available at any time.
The same is true for you, my friend. So if you're suffering, know that you've got this. Just keep breathing, listening, looking within, and taking one step at a time. It all starts with a breath.
Speak Your Truth
If you’re suffering right now, which of these Kleshas (Afflictions) is behind it? What’s your suffering trying to tell you? What’s your biggest challenge to living a happier, healthier, more inspired life right now? Let me know in the comments!
In wellness, joy, and inspiration,
Tami