Sutra I. 31 Duhkha-daurmanasyangamejayatva-svasa-prasvasa viksepa-sahabhuvah

duhkha: unhappiness, suffering, sorrow. stress, grief, discomfort, agitation, an ill-at-ease feeling, dis-ease of the mind, malaise, a disturbed mindset, a painful or samsaric state of mind, the incomplete and dualistic mind-set (see chapter 2 for a thorough discussion).

saha-bhuvah: concomitant; Appearing together.

viksepa: distractions of the cit, hence dissipations and disruptions.

daurmansya: psychic frustration, despair, and anguish.

anga: limbs or components

ejayatva: unsteadiness; unstableness, uneven, irregular, and rough

svasa: in breath; The inhalation

prasvasa: exhalation

svasa-prasvasa: breathing in and out.

Commentary: Another way of saying this is that when the mind and energy become distracted we end up in the wasteland of samsaric suffering (duhkha) which creates instability of the body and the breath as well. The mind, the breath, and the body waver. Irregular distracted breathing is both symptom and cause of mental despair, hence the conscious regulation of the breath so that it becomes even nd circular without a break ill become an effective doorway toward the remediation of mental suffering (duhkha) nd disease. The conscious attention to evenness of the breath becomes an effective method of remediating its distraction. Paying attention to the breath is an invaluable practice in beginning meditation and it can also be applied in daily life. The breath is a powerful doorway to the nervous system, the mind, and karmic patterned ways of mentation.

When we get distracted from our true purpose, goal, vital energetics, or alignment with Source, then we lose alignment with true Self and its restorative and regenerative powers that establish well being and health fade and are dissipated. This state of distraction is unfortunately the normal state of ordinary neurotic people (duhkha), being extracted into the external physical dualistic world versus living in the innate synchronicity an alignment with a living spirituality. The symptoms of general nervousness and anxiety are the natural consequences (saha-bhuvah) of this suffering (duhkha) state which is caused by being caught up in distractive activities (viksepa) in general.

Mindful of these symptoms we can thus retrace them to their causes and hence remediate them by paying attention. This is an effective practice. For example by mindfulness to the body and neuro-physiology I may find myself frowning, clenching my jaw, pursing my lips, or tightening up. My breathing may become rough, erratic, or held. These are symptoms/signs that I can then trace back to the stimulus that triggered them and thus learn more functional and effective processes to deal with such.

Please notice the importance that Patanjali ascribes to distraction as effecting an unsteady, uneven, or rough unbalanced breathing. As we refine our awareness on the breath with practice we become more conscious of when our breathing changes in relationship to or emotions and state of mind. Here we will discover also that making the breathing refined, even, steady and continuous, in a reverse way all the distractions (viksepa) of the mind can be remediated. Hence Sri Patanjali is giving us very simple but powerful teaching about smooth, circular, continuous breathing without interruption, disruption, holding, or tension. By focusing the attention (cit) on the breath nd allowing it to become continuous and flowing, then the cit-prana and nervous system becomes integrated, while suffering, distraction, obstacles, pranic instability, and mental despair are remediated. See I.34 for an energy remediation.

Especially in chapter two, Sadhana Pada, Patanjali gives practices (sadhana) that reclaims our distracted energy and consciousness (cit-prana) and returns it inside to kindle the yogic process of self realization. Especially so is tapas, pranamaya, pratyhara, and dharana. All yoga practices are designed to do so, but more specifically here in sutra 31, if one feels distracted (viksepa) , one may recommend dharana (concentration and visualization processes), pratyhara (bringing the cit-prana inside thus preventing it from wandering, pranayama (extending the essential evolutionary energy through conscious breath work), asana, and meditation (dhyana). Such practices are a combination of astanga yoga as outlined in Sadhana Pada and Vibhuti Pada, but also many similar practices that produce similar results can be found in the various samyama practices as outlined in latter part of chapter 3, Vibhuti Pada.