The Pancha Kleshas: 5 Obstacles to Inner Peace

Sasha and Erin dive into a foundational teaching from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: the Pancha Kleshas—five root obstacles that block our inner peace and keep us trapped in suffering.

These five kleshas are:

1. Avidya, or ignorance, the root misperception that keeps us from seeing reality clearly. 
2. Asmita, egoism, our over-identification with ‘I’ and our roles in the world. 
3. Raga, attachment, the clinging to pleasure that creates endless desire and intense feelings that drive unconscious, reactive actions which in turn produce karmas. 
4. Dvesha, aversion or hatred of suffering, the push against pain and discomfort that fuels reactivity. 
5. Abhinivesha, the instinctive fear of death and clinging to life itself, which underlies so much of our anxiety. 

These kleshas produce duhkha (suffering) and bind the mind to cycles of desire and aversion. In other words, creating patterns and/or addictions that are hard to break.

Yoga’s purpose is to weaken and dissolve the kleshas, leading to clarity, peace, and liberation.

We explore how these kleshas show up in our daily lives, how they influence our relationships, health, and choices, and what practical tools from yoga and Ayurveda can help us recognize, release, and ultimately dissolve these mental obstacles.

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