Yoga for Mental Health

Yoga is about stilling the mind’s fluctuations*. When the restless mind calms, our energy can be focused in positive ways**.

Yoga philosophy divides the mind into three parts:

1. Lower Mind (Manas) – our instinctual, emotional mind that reacts to the senses and keeps us alive.
2. Ego Mind (Ahankara) – the part that creates a false identity: “I am this body, this personality, these emotions.”
3. Higher Mind (Buddhi) – the discerning, intelligent part that sees the truth of who we are beyond these identities.

To understand this, imagine a chariot – an ancient analogy from the Upanishads:

• The path is life itself.
• The chariot is the body – stronger bodies make the journey smoother.
• The traveller is our true Self – the eternal, blissful awareness within us***.
• The driver is the Buddhi (higher mind), meant to guide wisely.
• The horses are the five senses – powerful, curious, and easily distracted.
• The reins are our thoughts and emotions.

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When the driver loses control (operating from the ego or lower mind), the reins and horses take over, pulling the chariot into chaos. The Self is forgotten. Yoga trains the Buddhi to regain control – to calm the mind and guide the senses.

The goal isn’t to escape life but to travel it with clarity, joy, and purpose.

Yoga helps us stay on the path – steady, aware, and connected.

*“Yoga is the cessation of the modifications of the mind.” – Patanjali, Yoga Sutras
**Quote from B.K.S. Iyengar, Light on Yoga
***Yoga sees the Self as pure consciousness, connected to all things.