Weekly Letter: Vrittis

As we lead into the final week before an election, I’d like to take a moment to talk about vrittis. In yoga, vrittis are the stream of thoughts/energy running through your mind. For example, as we practice, often the mental landscape is different in the beginning than at the end.

In a calm mind, the vrittis might feel like gentle ripples on the water, smooth with soft peaks and valleys.

In an agitated mind, the vrittis may feel like sharp spikes up and down. Or like a knot of string, impossible to unravel.

You might encounter someone who vrittis are very obvious in the way they present themselves. And you yourself may be impacted by their energy.

I offer this concept to you as something to focus on for your meditation and also as an awareness of how we all show up. Each of us are ultimately in control of our own actions and behavior, so when you’re feeling the vrittis beginning to jump around, I invite you to find a quiet place and picture a body of water, the ripples moving across the top. Breath with those ripples and try, even for a few moments, to allow the breath and the mind to come back to that gentle flow.

I know it’s easier said than done, this is our practice.

~Carmen