Do you ever notice how your mind can feel like a busy highway? Thoughts zip by at full speed, pulling you into the past, the future, or stories about yourself that may not be kind or true. In the Yoga Sūtras, Patanjali describes this mental activity as citta vṛtti ( चित्तवृत्ति ), which is often translated as the “fluctuations of the mind.” These are the ongoing waves of thoughts, emotions, memories, and perceptions that shape how we experience the world. They’re not wrong or bad. It’s just what the mind does. The challenge comes when we believe every thought without questioning it and lose touch with the calm presence underneath.
Here’s a simple example. Imagine you wake up feeling anxious. The thought arises, “I can’t do this. I’m going to fail.” That one thought sparks a wave of sensations; tight chest, quick heartbeat, maybe the urge to hide or look for a way to escape the feeling. This is citta vṛtti in real time. The mind creates a ripple, and your body follows. But yoga invites us to pause. Through breath and movement, we learn to witness the thought instead of being swept away by it. That small shift—from being the thought to noticing the thought—opens the door to freedom.
Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras
Patanjali writes in Sutra 1.2: Yogaś citta-vṛtti-nirodhaḥ—”Yoga is the stilling of the fluctuations of the mind.” This doesn’t mean we have to stop thinking. It means we are no longer ruled by every passing thought or emotion. In recovery, this is a powerful practice. That space between thought and action becomes our ally. It helps us meet cravings with awareness, not reaction. It gives us room to respond to our pain with care instead of judgment. Little by little, we remember that there is something steady and trustworthy within us, no matter what the mind is doing.
Crafting Your Life
Our sober life is not just about giving things up. It’s about revealing something deeper and returning to our truer selves. Yoga offers the tools to sit with discomfort, to soften the grip of old habits, and to listen inward. Understanding citta vṛtti reminds us that we are not the storm of thoughts, we are the sky that holds the storm, the wind, the rain, the sunshine, the birds, and so much more. With practice, we come back to that place of inner clarity, again and again, where healing and transformation take root.