Why We Get Knocked Off Centre — and a Yogic Fix That Actually Works
TL;DR
Yoga Sūtra 1.33 offers four simple attitudes — friendliness, compassion, delight, and equanimity — that steady the mind in a noisy world.
When we practise even one of these over time, our inner reactivity softens, our digestion improves, and life feels less overwhelming.
This week, try staying with just one: friendliness.
One breath, one moment at a time.
Prefer to listen?
You can press play below to hear this episode of Rooted in the Seasons, or scroll down to read the blog post.
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about why we feel so easily knocked off course.
The smallest thing can unsettle us — a comment, a piece of news, a scroll through social media — and suddenly our mind is jumpy, tired, irritated, overwhelmed, or negative.
This came up again in this week’s Find Your Rhythm Again training, where we looked at the ways we drift away from the steadiness we crave.
Patanjali calls these Vikṣepas — distractions or energy drains — and although they’re over 2,000 years old, have a look at how modern they sound:
discomfort or disease
mental dullness
doubt
lack of enthusiasm
laziness
overstimulation of the senses
false assumptions
giving up
stop–start behaviour
Honestly, you could lift this straight out of any self-help magazine today.
A Modern Example: Overuse of the Senses
Think about what happens when you scroll through your phone for ten minutes.
Pictures.
Videos.
Tiny sound bites.
Stop, start, jump.
So much enters your eyes and ears in such a short time.
Everything that enters through the senses has to be digested, and when there’s too much, the mind simply can’t keep up.
Ayurveda calls this overuse of the senses, which leads to mental indigestion, which then trickles down into physical indigestion as well.
Here’s my experience with that.
During my Yoga Teacher Trainer training, I did several other trainings at the same time. Out of nowhere, I noticed I had no appetite. Nothing was wrong with me; I was simply flooded. My system was trying to digest too much information.
And what follows overload?
Doubt.
You don’t know what to believe. Everyone has a magic solution.
So you try one thing… it doesn’t work.
You hop to the next.
Then the next.
Stop–start–stop–start.
Your confidence drops.
You feel like you’re the only one who can’t get it right.
And before you realise it, you’re back in the loop again.
Yoga’s Response: Look Inward
It’s normal that we look outside ourselves for answers when we feel unsettled.
But Yoga gently disagrees. It tells us:
You’re not missing the answers — you’re just too overstimulated to hear them.
And this is where Patanjali gives us one of his most practical teachings:
Yoga Sūtra 1.33: Four Attitudes That Clear the Mind
Patanjali says that we create a steady, unruffled mind by practising four simple shifts:
friendliness toward the happy
compassion for the struggling
delight in the virtuous
equanimity toward negativity
Let’s look at these more closely.
1. Friendliness toward the happy
When someone is joyful, successful, or doing well — even if we don’t feel great ourselves — we can still be happy with them.
This melts envy and keeps the heart open.
2. Compassion toward the struggling
If we meet someone having a hard time, we meet them with warmth.
Even if we are tired or struggling too.
Compassion grounds and connects us.
3. Delight in the virtuous
When someone shows integrity or strong values, we let ourselves feel inspired rather than threatened or critical.
It lifts the mind.
4. Equanimity toward the negative
And when someone is unpleasant, sharp, or draining, Patanjali says simply: step away.
Protect your peace without needing to fix or absorb it.
A Subtle but Powerful Shift
Can you see what Patanjali is doing?
He’s showing us that:
It’s not the outside world that creates our inner state — it’s our approach to it.
Life will always happen.
People will always have opinions.
Not everyone will like or understand us.
But the steadiness of our mind comes from how we choose to meet each moment.
I call this an unruffled mind: not rigid or cold, but spacious, steady, and far less reactive.
And when the mind becomes more stable, everything improves:
our digestion
our sleep
our sense of confidence
our relationships
our ability to choose what’s good for us
Happy mind = happy digestion.
Upset mind = upset digestion.
Ayurveda and Yoga agree perfectly here.
A Quick Ayurvedic Lens: Why This Matters
Caraka explains that the causes of physical and mental disease are threefold:
wrong use, non-use, or overuse of time, the mental faculties, and the senses.
(Caraka Sūtra 1.54)
In simple terms:
when we don’t live in rhythm with the seasons
when we override our inner wisdom
when we overstimulate our senses
we create an imbalance.
Yoga Sūtra 1.33 is one way of strengthening the mind so it becomes steadier, clearer, and more sattvic.
A Practice for the Week
Here’s how you can get started. Rather than trying all four attitudes at once, choose just one for the entire week.
Start with friendliness.
Whenever you see someone happy or doing well — even in tiny ways — practise softening toward them.
One breath. One: Wow, well done, you.
That’s enough.
A small tool to help: Stop – Tap – Breathe
Whenever you feel yourself reacting:
Stop for a moment.
Tap your thumb to each fingertip to interrupt the pattern.
Take one slow, conscious breath.
It gives you a tiny space to choose again.
If you’d like to explore these tools more deeply, this is exactly what we work on inside my Find Your Rhythm Again training, and it forms the foundation of my Back to Rhythm and Stress Less, Live More programmes.
Why Rhythm Matters So Much
A steady mind grows from a steady rhythm.
When your days have a simple structure
- your morning routine,
- your meal rhythm,
- your regular yoga practice —
your mind naturally becomes calmer and clearer.
You don’t have to force clarity.
You simply create the conditions for it.
Final Thought
Before we close, here’s a quick recap of what we explored today.
We looked at why our minds get knocked off centre so easily — the ancient Vikshepas that show up in very modern ways.
We saw how overstimulation leads to doubt, comparison, and a jumpy mind.
And we explored Patanjali’s beautiful answer in Yoga Sūtra 1.33: four attitudes that soften reactivity and bring us back to ourselves.
And finally, we connected it with Ayurveda’s reminder that when we overuse or misuse our senses or time, imbalance follows — but rhythm restores steadiness.
Now… let’s make this practical.
So this week, practise friendliness.
Gently. Quietly. Consistently.
Notice what softens inside you, and how your body responds.
These tiny shifts make a real difference over time.
FAQs
1. Do I have to practise all four attitudes at once?
No — actually, it’s better if you don’t. Choose one for the whole week. Rhythm creates change, not intensity.
2. What if I forget in the moment and react anyway?
That’s normal. Just pause, use Stop–Tap–Breathe, and begin again. Each reset strengthens your mind, not weakens it.
3. How does this relate to Ayurveda?
These four attitudes cultivate sattva — a calm, clear, grounded state of mind. Ayurveda teaches that most imbalances start when the mind becomes overstimulated or unsettled, so this is daily mental hygiene.
4. Will this really help my stress levels?
Yes — not instantly, but steadily. When your mind reacts less, your nervous system settles, digestion improves, and your whole day feels lighter. This is exactly why rhythm-based practices work so well.
