Day 42: Yoga Sutras 1.12 - 1.16. Abhyasa and Vairagya.
Practice and Letting Go
Today, I had an amazing interview for Sober Yoga Girl Podcast with Martin O'Toole, author of How to Die Happy. Martin is also Bali-based, a recovered alcoholic, and a breathwork teacher and mental health coach. He quoted Ram Dass (whose books I’ve recently started reading and listening to, including Be Here Now and Becoming Nobody) when he said, “Hold on tightly and let go lightly.”
The Balance of Holding On and Letting Go
This week, I unintentionally lightened some of the AA meetings I was attending. Life intervened—I was asked to substitute a yoga class during my regular meeting time, invited to a breakfast buffet at a five-star hotel in Bali (which I couldn’t turn down!), and planned an overnight stay in Canggu that meant missing another meeting. And oh my God… it feels so good to lighten my grip a little bit.
I live my life in extremes, and over the last month I was attending meetings every single day. (Perhaps I was getting addicted to meetings?) I realized this was warping my worldview. It’s kind of like when you’re on a yoga retreat, and you’re living inside the yoga retreat bubble, and everything feels like it gets really intense within that bubble of people…. it felt a bit like that within this bubble I’d created for myself of meetings every day. While meetings are valuable tools and supports, I don’t need to be there daily to benefit. I realized today that there is wisdom in balancing my presence, building connections in other spaces, and diversifying my spiritual and sober practices. This aligns with the yogic concepts of Abhyasa (practice) and Vairagya(renunciation)—the two essential tools for spiritual growth, as outlined in the Yoga Sutras.
The Two Pillars: Abhyasa and Vairagya
Sutra 1.12: Abhyasa Vairagya Abhyam Tan Nirodhah.
Abhyasa means to commit to practice. As a yoga teacher, it’s not enough for me to talk about yoga—I need to be actively practicing it to transmit its energy to my students. The Bhagavad Gita echoes this in its call to karma yoga, the yoga of selfless action. Our practice is not just about showing up but about showing up with sincerity and devotion.
Vairagya means renunciation, or more precisely, detachment from outcomes. I once asked my teacher Anvita about the difference between Aparigraha (non-attachment) and Vairagya (renunciation). She explained that while Aparigraha is about letting go of our attachment to our physical things, our thoughts, beliefs, and emotional connections, etc - Vairagya is about releasing our grip on expectations—practicing for the sake of practice, even if each practice in itself is not profound. Another example of Vairagya would be staying sober not to attain enlightenment - but because it aligns with our truth each day.
The Practice of Practice
Sutra 1.13: Tatra Sthitau Yatno Bhyasa.
One must be consistent in their practice by making the time to be present.
Practice takes practice. One of my biggest challenges I think in the sober community is the language around relapse and failure. People believe that if they slip, they have lost all their progress and have to restart their count or days. Sometimes I tell people in my community that they should count cumulative sober days, instead of consecutive sober days, for this reason. Because in reality, sobriety, like yoga, is a practice. Just as in yoga, we fall out of poses and get back in, in sobriety, we may falter, learn, and recommit, and it doesn’t mean that all progress is lost. Sobriety is a practice.
Sutra 1.14: sa tu dirghakala nairantarya satkara adara asevito drdhabhumih.
The practice, performed for a long time, without pause, and with sincere devotion, becomes the rock upon which we stand.
The Bhagavad Gita reinforces this idea when Krishna tells Arjuna that self-discipline and faith lead to spiritual liberation. Just as the Gita teaches that consistent, devoted practice leads to self-realization, the Yoga Sutras remind us that transformation requires depth, duration, and consistency.
The Art of Dispassion
Sutra 1.15: Drsta Anusravika Visaya Trsna Vasikara Samjna Vairagyam.
When we can disconnect from cravings we experience, this is the first level of vairagya.
When I was a schoolteacher, I cared too much—checking emails late at night, worrying about every interaction, and losing sleep over student feedback. Over time, I had to let go in order to sustain in the environment. This is Vairagya in action—learning to step back and detach from mental turmoil while still engaging with life. Buddha Dharma teaches this principle as well, emphasizing upekkha (equanimity), the ability to remain steady amidst the ups and downs of life.
In Sutra 1.15, Patanjali describes four stages of detachment:
Yatamana – Recognizing unhealthy mental patterns.
Vyatireka – Understanding which thoughts are useful and which are harmful.
Ekandriya – Learning to detach from sensory cravings.
Vasikara – Releasing attachment completely.
These stages mirror the Buddhist path of renunciation and the 12-Step concept of surrender. True freedom comes not from controlling every detail but from trusting the unfolding of life.
The Highest Renunciation
Sutra 1.16: Tat param purusa khyati guna vaitsnyam.
When we are not impacted by the material world and all of it’s changes, this is the highest level of vairagya.
This sutra describes the highest form of renunciation—not just detachment from material things but transcending even the gunas (the three qualities of nature: sattva - purity, rajas - passion, and tamas - inertia). The Bhagavad Gita similarly urges practitioners to rise above these influences and act from a place of wisdom rather than attachment.
Living with what was diagnosed with bipolar disorder when I was younger, I am no stranger to extremes. At times, I have been ruled by rajas, consumed by overactivity. Other times, I’ve sunk into tamas, feeling lethargic and stuck. Yoga and the Buddha Dharma remind me to cultivate sattva—the middle path of clarity and balance.
Practicing Surrender
Reflecting on all of this, I see what it means to hold on tightly and let go lightly. Attending AA meetings is a helpful practice for me, but I know that there are many other sober communities that are in service and benefit to me - that I will not let go of (including my own!) I must approach it with balance—committing to what serves me while releasing what doesn’t. The same applies to my yoga practice, my business, and my personal journey.
Krishna tells Arjuna in the Bhagavad Gita, “Abandon all varieties of dharma and simply surrender unto Me.” Surrender is the core of Buddha Dharma’s teachings on non-attachment. It is also what Patanjali reminds us through the sutras.
I am learning to live in this balance—to practice with devotion and let go with trust. Sobriety, like yoga, like life, is not about perfection. It is about showing up, practicing, surrendering, and trusting the unfolding of the journey.
In service and gratitude,
Alexandra
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