Yoga is the Missing Link Between You and Everlasting Joy
What’s really missing from your life these days?
From a yoga perspective, it isn’t love, success, or more free time. What’s missing is the ability to protect your peace—because your mind is caught up in false projection.
The Yoga Sutras call this avidya—misperception. It’s the illusion that the outside world is separate from the inner workings of the mind. And isn’t that exactly what we’re living in today? A culture of endless projection. We manipulate our faces, our bodies, our words, even our identities—crafting personas for strangers on the internet while quietly losing touch with who we actually are.
That’s why I traded in a life of endless selfies for a life of endless sunsets.
Because the practice of yoga isn’t about performance—it’s about perception. In Yoga Sutra I.2, Patanjali defines yoga as “citta vritti nirodhah”—the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind. Yoga philosophy points directly to this problem. It teaches that the outside world is not separate from the inner workings of the mind. True peace comes not from controlling how others see us, but from learning to guide and steady our own thoughts.
When we do, something profound happens:
We remember the true meaning of life.
We begin to live with empathy—for ourselves, for others, and for the world around us.
We stop waging war with reality and start flowing with it.
We finally understand how to create joy from the inside out.
But here’s the thing: avidya doesn’t live alone. In the Sutras, it’s considered the root of the other kleshas—the mental afflictions that cloud our perception:
Asmita (ego): the obsession with “me” and how I appear.
Raga (attachment): the chase for what feels good or gains us approval.
Dvesha (aversion): the push away from discomfort, challenge, or imperfection.
Abhinivesha (fear of loss or death): the subtle anxiety that keeps us clinging to false securities.
When you look around, can’t you see these playing out everywhere in modern life? In social media feeds, in the endless scroll for validation, in the fear of missing out, in the unwillingness to sit quietly with ourselves?
And yet, the solution isn’t complicated. It’s radical in its simplicity.
Listen, I’m all about whatever lights up your life. But in a world where judgment runs rampant, assumptions breed conflict, and scarcity dominates our thoughts, it’s easy to get lost.
So let me ask you: when was the last time you stopped caring about projection and started caring about your precious time on this earth?
When was the last time you picked up a hobby that wasn’t goal-driven, or shut your phone off for hours just to get lost in something that made you feel alive?
These small but radical shifts—choosing less personal exploit and more personal peace—are what change us. They are the real yoga practice.
That’s why yoga practice is the missing link. It’s not about twisting into a perfect pose—it’s about learning to return home to yourself. To protect your own heart. To build inner steadiness in a world that profits from your distraction.
Because the truth is, the world doesn’t need another filtered version of you. The world needs you—present, peaceful, and awake to the fleeting beauty of being alive.
A Practice for You
With my personal clients, I often ask them to try this:
Turn off your phone for two hours. No scrolling, no emails, no projection.
Choose one thing that feels nourishing—read a book, cook, walk, garden, paint, move your body.
Lose yourself in it. Notice what it feels like to do something not because it will be shared, posted, or measured—but simply because it makes you feel alive.
This is how we begin to loosen the grip of avidya. This is how we return to ourselves.