“Given the at all other times in this verse,
we need to thwart the ploys of the mind to
conform to its unhelpful fluctuations by reducing:
1. The tendency of the mind to perceive in too many ways.
2. The tendency of the mind to distort what we see.
3. The tendency of the mind to fantasize.
4. The tendency of the mind to go to sleep at inappropriate moments.
5. The tendency of the mind to get lost in memory or impose memory on reality.
When these old or other tendencies take over you are not there.
So if you are not consistent with your efforts,
you will not change your state of mind.
Plus, the unhelpful aspects of the fluctuations reduce
the tendency of the mind to experience a clarity of being.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4

“Abhyāsa or Practice is,
the effort to remain within
the stillness of the present.
Vairāgya or Dispassion is,
the absence of thirst towards
the dance of the past.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“According to Patañjali, the process of Abhyāsa needs
to be in place before Vairāgya is a viable reality,
as one is an increasingly subtle developmental process
arising from the initial engagement with the other.
Hence Abhyāsa is the attentive and consistent effort
to remain there and Vairāgya is our relationship with
what arises from and within our effort to remain there.
Here is a psychological drama where the internal play
of our neuroses acts itself out on the stage of the mind.
Though at least, with our efforts with Abhyāsa, the inner
audience can look at the play, rather than from the play.
Until we embrace the skills to remain there consistently,
we cannot consistently engage within the very erratic
relationship we have with the neurotic characters
that populate the drama/mystery/romance plays we
stage on a daily basis in our mind, as if a plat du jour.
Essentially until we choose to desist from not stopping,
we cannot begin to observe how much movement there is.
Thus, firstly there needs to be a consistent effort at
Abhyāsa Dhyānam, then we have the developmental
correlative of Vairāgya to help contend with what arises.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 12

“Meditation is about the quality of the effort,
rather than the fruit of the time.”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 13

“In Sūtra 1.13 Patañjali succinctly
defines the aim of Abhyāsa as
the effort to remain there.
What is the ‘effort‘ mentioned here?
Where is the ‘there‘ mentioned here?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 13

“In Sūtra 1.14 Patañjali outlines qualities he feels are
important in cultivating the intention within Abhyāsa.
What are these qualities and how can we
realise them within our efforts to remain there?”
– Paul Harvey on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 14

“The journey with and through the Bhagavad Gītā
is one of a Vinyāsa Krama with three distinct stages.
Firstly, the Pūrva Aṅga aspect of our journey in the ascension
from confusion to clarity, as epitomised in the first hexad.
Here we start from being disturbingly yoked to Viṣāda
as in the first Chapter, and through a chapter by chapter
process, we deepen our self-inquiry into the nature of who.
In other words, this hexad is an exploration of our relationship
with what we perceive and identify with as if our perennial self.
Through chapters two to five, we learn how to approach and
refine the practice of Dhyāna as in Chapter six, through which
clarity arises in our efforts to cultivate a sense of an inner guide.”
– Paul Harvey on Gītārtha Saṃgraha of Śrī Yāmunācārya Śloka Two

“The test for intelligent effort is the response of the breath.”
– TKV Desikachar Switzerland 1978

“One role for a staged descent
within a Prāṇāyāma practice,
in terms of ratio and length,
is to offer a receptive space to
reveal any side effects of effort.
Here it can be actually more
difficult to step down gradually
in stages rather than just stopping.
Thus a subtle mirror in the descent
can reveal any stress in the ascent.”
– 108 Prāṇāyāma Practice Pointers

Voluntary Efforts and Involuntary Effects in an Āsana Practice
“As well as the consideration around the use of
Āsana dynamically or statically, there is also,
depending on our background to Āsana practice,
the voluntary effort and the involuntary effects.
According to the impact of this in the background,
certain voluntary intentions can, often unconsciously,
trigger certain involuntary, multilevelled responses.”
– 108 Yoga Planning Pointers
– The Viniyoga of Planning Principles Guidelines – Collected & Collated

Voluntary Efforts and Involuntary Effects in an Āsana Practice
“Thus, this means these effects can also apply to our
attitudes whilst working habitually in a particular Āsana.
For example, an involuntary response as a result of memory.
So we can have a blindness, in that we are unaware of the
position of the arms, legs, or body, as well as in our attitude.
Thus, we need to at least apply movements voluntarily
in our efforts to influence the qualities of the Āsana.”
– 108 Yoga Planning Pointers
– The Viniyoga of Planning Principles Guidelines – Collected & Collated

A third factor, that of Respect for Responses
“There is also a third factor besides the relationship
between voluntary efforts and involuntary effects,
namely a person’s response to the notion of effort and effect.
In the travel from our everyday postures to Yoga postures
we need to consider respect for the idea of responses.
We can often ignore the body’s response to our efforts
within our aims and intentions for ideals, such as in Āsana.
Voluntary efforts and involuntary effects are the variables.”
– 108 Yoga Planning Pointers
– The Viniyoga of Planning Principles Guidelines – Collected & Collated