Baadhak Tattvas: Eliminate these things and grow in your practice

Wherever you may be in your yogic journey, there are 6 Baadhak tattvas (things that interfere with progress) that needs to be eliminated in order to grow in your spiritual path.

1. Over eating

Hunger is natural. Therefore, eating is natural too. When someone is learning Hatha yoga, one of the first problems that they encounter is not having proper dietary discipline. One of the reasons that may contribute towards over eating is more psychological than physical. Often times yogis think: “I am doing a lot of yoga, so I need to eat more food”, when in reality, no such increase in food intake is necessary when practicing yoga.

It takes 4-6 hours for an ordinary person to digest food (depends on metabolism and the kind of food). When one practices Hatha yoga, their digestive muscles improve and the same process will only take about 2-3 hours. So, they may feel hunger more frequently than usual. We are all familiar with the growling noise that the stomach makes. We often associate those sounds with hunger. However, what’s actually happening is that the stomach is just telling us that it’s empty.

Think of your digestive system as a machine. A machine that works in full capacity all the time will eventually break. Digestion is a complex activity that takes all the blood supply in the stomach. That’s why it is difficult to run after you eat!

So, how can you cope with this? At least after doing yoga, don’t eat too much. Be mindful about your food intake and eat normal amounts of food at the right time. There’s no need to drastically increase your food supply because you are practicing yoga.

2. Too much effort

It’s true: too much of anything is good for nothing. Sometimes we become overly ambitious and try to get results sooner than its due time. This can result in exhaustion and injury. In order to progress in your yogic journey, you need steady progress.

Yoga is a lifestyle. Frankly, we need to be able control of our ego and know when to take it easy. The journey will take time and that’s ok. Lasting results take time. It’s better to take baby steps before you start running. Give time for your body to catch up with your goals. Make your goals practical and realistic and in time, you will get where you need to be.

3. Too much talk

Talking requires a lot of energy. So, when you are engaging in empty talk, think: “is it worth it to spend the energy that I collected from the asanas on this matter?” Avoid nonsensical talk. Evaluate yourself from time to time and find out when you tend to talk too much or when you waste time talking nonsense.

4. Hard discipline 

In order to progress in your journey, you need discipline. However, remember not to be too hard on yourself. Cultivate self-discipline by practicing gentleness instead of rigidity. You may have set a goal to do 50 pushups everyday, but if your shoulder hurts, it may be time for you to rest. Your body is more important than the goals you set.

You need discipline that is practical. Discipline that can bee carried out for a lifetime. Being obsessed with anything can result in failure. In true spirituality, there’s no room for fanaticism. Yogic discipline should be so soft that it is never thought of as discipline. Practice soft self-discipline when you are training yourself.

Lastly, avoid showing-off. There’s no value in collecting empty praises. Spiritual practices must be done with devotion and in secrecy. It’s your personal practice and you don’t have to impress anyone. Not even yourself!

5. Company of people

Ever heard some speakers say, “Show me your friends and I will show you your future”? Who we spend a lot of time with will consciously and sub-consciously influence us. For example, if you hang out with someone that uses certain expressions over and over, you are likely to start using them too. 

People that do not help you grow should be avoided. Spend more time with people that give you good advice and inspire you to be better. And when possible, avoid people that will drag you into detrimental habits. If you are trying to quit smoking, it makes sense to hang out with your non-smoking friends than your chain-smoking buddy that smokes every 5 minutes!

Our eyes, ears and sensory receptors are like satellites. Sensors take information to the body and mind. Our minds can become polluted if our sensors are constantly in the wrong places.

6. The fickle mind

At any given time, our minds are filled with dozens of thoughts. It tends to jump from one topic to another without our control. If we carry this behavior to our spiritual practice, it will be a huge barrier to our progress.

Initially, most spiritual practitioners tend to be like children. They play with so many different toys. They don’t stick to one particular technique for long enough. In order to grow in your yogic practice, it’s important that you find a technique that suits you the most. Once you find it, stick to it! Give it all you got without constantly going after the next shiny new thing.

Get in touch if you would like to discuss ideas! Cheers ~