What if there are too many obstructions?

05. Satsang Cafe - General Discussions on AYP
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Hi everyone,

Lately I’ve been wondering whether some people might not benefit as much from a twice-daily yoga practice as outlined in the AYP Lessons.

I read that practices cultivating inner silence can sometimes clear fewer obstructions than those generated through daily activity. This has been described as being an “under-sensitive” practitioner, and in such cases it’s even suggested to add more practices to broaden what is being cleared.

So I’m curious—have there been cases where people were not able to build inner silence over time, despite consistent practice?

I’m starting to feel like I might be in that situation, and to be honest, it worries me a bit.

Thanks in advance for any insights.

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Hi Cosmos,

What does your daily practice routine consist of?

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Dear Cosmos,

It is true that some people appear to make slower progress than others - I say “appear” because no one knows the spiritual state of another. What might appear to be no progress because the “signs” we use to indicate progress not be evident in the person may not be true for ALL. Flowers bloom at different rates and times. Because we cannot understand what makes one person appear to make rapid “progress” and another not, we call this unfathomable karma. Others say “God chooses who He wills” I find this statement quite depressing.
I want to believe that if Bhakti has been ignited, that is sufficient. You WILL make progress irrespective of practices used (while acknowledging that some practices are more effective than others)

Sey :pray:

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How long have you been practicing?

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Hi Cosmos,

I think it’s normal to have some doubts from time to time. I believe that you just need some persistence and a genuine yearning towards where you want to get (Bhakti, as Sey said).

That being said, if you think that you’re absorbing many obstructions in daily life, I think it can be helpful to examine your usual habits, what you spent most of your time with, etc. and see if there are some changes you would like to make. Your inner silence might give you an intuition of what things are actually necessary and which are not.

Hope this is helpful.

Wishing you all the best,

Adrian

:folded_hands:

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Thank you all for your thoughtful replies.

Something I’ve been realizing since posting this is that part of my anxiety may come from the way I’ve approached life in general for many years: through urgency, productivity pressure, fear, and wanting visible results quickly.

As someone in recovery, I’m beginning to see that inner transformation may not unfold in a linear or externally obvious way. I think I unconsciously expected spiritual practice to produce clear signs of progress relatively quickly, and when that didn’t happen consistently, I started wondering whether there were simply “too many obstructions.”

But now I’m starting to question whether the issue is necessarily the quantity of obstructions at all, or whether part of the problem may instead be my expectations about what progress is supposed to look like.

Lately I’ve been sensing that something quieter may actually be happening beneath the surface. Externally, I sometimes even feel less productive or functional than before, yet inwardly there seems to be more awareness of my patterns, compulsions, and conditioning.

I’m starting to wonder whether purification can sometimes involve a phase where awareness increases faster than outward functioning or visible “progress.” In other words, perhaps becoming conscious of one’s inner chaos can initially feel like stagnation, even if some deeper reorganization is occurring.

AYP’s idea of “scenery” also resonates more with me now. I’ve had experiences and energetic phenomena at times, but I’m increasingly questioning whether these are reliable indicators of actual long-term transformation.

In any case, your replies helped me reflect on all this more deeply, so thank you again.

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Hello cosmos,

in my experience i can say the mind is producing endless obstruction and problems that it then tries to solve. it’s kind of it’s modus operantus. it identifies with certain concepts it comes up with and than tries to solve the problems it created in the first place. thus creating the illusion of „now and later“. In my experience doing spiritual practice helped me being more aware of this repeating patterns and also being more and more able to just watch and don’t get involved in this show.

So i think one can say it boils down to if you identify with the minds story or are just aware of it..

regards, philipp

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Dear Cosmos,

I think you have hit the nail on the head. Awareness of our inner conditions is the progress you are looking for! It is the emergence of the famous Witness.
Good things are happening (Yogani)

Sey :pray:

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Wavering mind is the least of the problems for some. Trauma, unforgivable guilt, PTSD, depression are the things appearing to cause more and more obstructions even if meditation can quieten them but they keep getting generated anew as the underlying problem remains unsolved.

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Hi, I was reading through the forums and I was thinking about that aspect aswell!

In my experience a part of my journey was going through the process of looking intensly on the mind and its‘s content with „The work“ by byron katie.

I fekt like the mind needed this being looked at and being understood to calm down.

Do you suggest that this is something which should be part if the spiritual path? As a recommendation?

Is AYP dealing with psyche in any way? (sry for my ignorance, I am only starting reading into the system)

I would like to hear your thoughts on this..

Regards, Philipp

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The Work by Byron Katie is actually one of the books on the AYP recommended readings list, well, it used to be, I haven’t looked at the list in a while and not on this new forum platform. I recall reading it years ago.

Sey :pray:

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Hi Sey and all,

The booklist is still there:

Byron Katies books are listed under “Western Mystics/ Teachers”.

Three of her books are listed. “Loving What Is” is her classic self-inquiry book, questioning the validity of thoughts. I can really recommend “A Thousand Names for Joy” to anyone who has not read it. It is her commentary on the Tao Te Ching.

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Does this book help a man traumatized by guilt after gambling his entire retirement savings away? I don’t think so.

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Hi Fake Yogi,

The book “Loving What Is” by Byron Katie, would help a man traumatized by guilt after gambling his entire retirement savings away, but only if he has sufficient inner silence present in his mind for the practices to work. If he doesn’t, then it would be best for him to cultivate inner silence through meditation first before buying the book.

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Alright, I think I may have been getting side-tracked.

For a while, I believed I needed to mentally understand the obstructions — the guilt, fear, anger, shame, and so on. But I’m beginning to realize that I’ve mostly been building castles in the air. Even when I try to ground myself through walking, swimming, cooking, or socializing, the constant inner reflection doesn’t seem to stop.

To be honest, the energetic experiences themselves have been scaring me. I keep reacting to them, feeling urges to do whatever is necessary in the moment to avoid, suppress, or block them. At other times, I’ve gone in the opposite direction and become fascinated by them, feeding them with attention. Neither approach seems to lead anywhere good.

I also suspect I’ve been unconsciously encouraging automatic kriyas during activity, sometimes even to the point of physical pain.

Lately, I’m learning to simply allow anger, guilt, shame, and other difficult states to arise and pass on their own — without condemning myself for experiencing them, but also without desperately trying to “fix” or eliminate them.

At this point, I’ve lost track of how much of the discomfort is genuine purification from practice, and how much is being amplified by all the mental narratives I’ve layered on top of it. Realistically, it’s probably both.

More than anything, I just want to feel okay and experience some real peace for once…

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Huge milestone there Cosmos :+1::+1::+1:

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