This text was written for the Booklet of the Yoga Congress of the EUY in Zinal 2025

Cultivating Abhyāsa and Vairāgya

By Gabi Gillessen

Abhyāsa is cultivating the willpower and persistent effort to choose actions, words, and thoughts that lead us towards our goal, while vairāgya is learning to identify and let go of the fears, aversions, and attachments that cloud our perception of who we are.

Patañjali’s yoga sūtras are so rich in information and appealing in its step by step, scientific approach. A sūtra is a thread of information that holds the teachings together; they are hung in a much larger philosophical context. In Sāṁkhya cosmology, the koṡa’s and Patañjali’s 8 limbs of yoga (to name only a few examples) we clearly see the principle of connection, interrelatedness and progression of the different levels of our being. The inner most subtle aspect of our being is the very same substance of the physical body, only in its grossest form. The inverse holds also – that any movement of the physical body has an energetic, emotional, mental and spiritual effect. Movement is not random but intentional. If we can keep this concept of connection and progression close, then we can cultivate the concrete possibility of experiencing or realising oneness in a practical way and not just philosophically.

Samādhi pāda outlines the goal or purpose of yoga, the ultimate aim of yoga: to control the thought waves of the mind so that we may abide in our true nature, unveiling the most subtle aspect within.

1:2 yogaḥ cittavŗtti nirodhaḥ

1:3 tadā draṣṭuḥ svarūpa avasthānam

To achieve this and to allow an opportunity for new internal patterns to emerge, sūtras 1:12 – 1:16 suggest / encourage us to cultivate abhyāsa – a conscious, consistent, disciplined and transformative practice, and vairāgya – detachment, dispassion, a non-yearning for specific results or outcomes. How do we keep our intention to practice and practice consciously, with a calm and persevering effort, rather than practicing a mindless physical routine, creating more unnecessary patterns and limiting the deeper effects a practice could bring?

In sādhanā pāda the steps to achieving samādhi pāda are presented. In particular āsana is described as needing to be:

2.46 sthira sukham āsanam

On a physical level sthira and sukha are to be cultivated; a ‘position’ (what am I placing myself in or establishing myself in?) taken with intent, stable and strong so that a ‘good space’ internally can be or is created. This allows a conscious realignment of my physical body but also a conscious realignment on all levels of my being. Ultimately the purpose of practice is:

2.48 tataḥ dvandvāḥ anabhighātaḥ

Any experience on the mat can be applied to life off the mat, to everyday life – if we keep the principle of all levels of being, being interconnected and affecting each other in mind. So experiencing and consciously cultivating shira on a physical level (on the mat), makes abhyāsa more accessible to explore in our relationships, our actions, our thoughts etc. on more subtle levels (emotional, mental, spiritual). Equally experiencing ‘good space’ – releasing muscles that work unnecessarily, creating inner space or letting go of trauma e.g. in āsana, makes vairagya more accessible – creating space between thoughts, the ability to hold a neutral view or a position of witness, dispassion, unaffected by dualities – the pulls and pushes of life etc.    

In Zinal we will be exploring the above in very practical ways and here are some questions to keep in mind during and after the sessions. Hopefully these questions will be a helpful focus not only from the week in Zinal but to reflect on during your continued yoga journey:

  • Why do I practice āsana?
  • What is the intention for me practice yoga?
  • Do I expect the same results every time I practice?
  • What are the stable points in this āsana?
  • What spaces do these stable points create in my inner being?
  • How much effort is required to keep the stability and where does the effort come from?
  • How much effort can I relinquish to create more space within?
  • Does experiencing sthira and sukha in my practice enhance self-awareness?
  • Can I apply the concepts I have experienced in practice to my life off the mat?
  • What stabilises me in life / relationships?
  • Where does this stability create space in my life / relationships?
  • Does this experience / awareness make it easier to cultivate vairāgya?
  • Has this practice transformed me in any way?
  • Widening the space within me and around me ultimately turns self-awareness to pure consciousness. True or False?