Ep #204: Yoga Sutras: The 5 Kleshas Stealing Your Inner Peace
The Yoga Sutras name five hidden blocks to your inner peace — the kleshas — and three kriya practices to dissolve them. Akshay Bhat, who began studying the Sutras at just 11 years old, makes Patanjali simple and easy to follow. This conversation goes deep into the second chapter, starting with the three habits Patanjali names before any real practice: discipline (tapas), self-study (svadhyaya), and surrender (ishvara pranidhana).From there he opens the five kleshas, the inner blocks that hide our natural joy: forgetting who we really are, getting stuck in the ego, chasing pleasure, pushing away what we dislike, and the fear of death. Using everyday examples — a morning coffee habit, a stuck elevator, a frightening mountain drive in Nepal — he shows how the kleshas shape daily life, and how to loosen their grip.Still inside the Yoga Sutras, he explains the difference between Hatha Yoga and Raja Yoga (the king of yogic practice), how to clear the energy channels (nadis), and shares the Mahamrityunjaya Mantra for meeting the fear of death.If your life looks fine on paper but you still feel lost, the Yoga Sutras offer a clear map. This episode is your starting point, and the doorway to the kriyas themselves.Episode Chapters:00:00:00 Introduction00:01:01 What Are the Yoga Sutras?00:02:11 The Four Chapters of Patanjali00:03:48 The Second Chapter & Kriya Yoga00:04:18 Tapas, Svadhyaya & Ishvara Pranidhana00:09:49 What Are Kriyas?00:11:59 Cleansing the Nadis: Ida, Pingala, Sushumna00:14:55 Hatha Yoga vs Raja Yoga00:16:27 Building a Daily Practice00:21:01 The Five Kleshas, Introduced00:23:13 Avidya: Forgetting Your True Self00:26:30 Impermanence & Growth00:35:03 Asmita: The False Ego00:41:40 Raga: Attachment & Desire00:45:21 Dvesha: Aversion & Resistance00:48:44 Abhinivesha: The Fear of Death00:54:23 The Mahamrityunjaya Mantra01:00:48 The Eight Limbs of Yoga01:03:09 Posture for Meditation01:07:02 Recap: The Five Kleshas01:09:41 Closing & What's NextResources:Texts: Yoga Sutras of Patanjali (196 sutras, four chapters — Samadhi Pada, Sadhana Pada, Vibhuti Pada, Kaivalya Pada); Bhagavad Gita (Krishna on sukha and dukkha; sitting straight for meditation)Teachers / lineage: Thich Nhat Hanh (impermanence — the flower growing from the earth); the Buddha (desire as the root of suffering); Mahavatar Babaji (Kriya yoga lineage)Practices / concepts: Mahamrityunjaya Mantra; Shambhavi mudra; the three nadis (Ida, Pingala, Sushumna); the eight limbs; VipassanaPlaces: Annapurna Circuit, Nepal (the mountain-drive story); Uluwatu, BalPrior / upcoming episodes: earlier episode with Akshay on mantras (referenced — link it for topical authority per Practice 3); next episode teased on Raja Yoga, "the king of yoga"Akshay's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akshaybhatyoga/Michael Henri’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelyoga.pt/Going Pro Yoga Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goingproyoga/The IN Movement Website: https://theinmovement.com/Trainings and Events: https://theinmovement.com/eventsThe IN Movement Instagram: @the_in_movementThe IN Movement Podcast was formerly the Going Pro Yoga Podcast — and before that, the Yoga Teacher Evolution Podcast and the Rat Race Rebellion Podcast. Same mission, evolved name.-----🧘 Teaching yoga? Go deeper with Going Pro Yoga Academy — online continuing education built by the hosts of this podcast: the SmartCue™ cueing system for 180+ poses, 100+ ready-to-teach sequences, and anatomy & injury prevention taught by a physiotherapist. Start your 7-day free trial at goingproyoga.com.
