Yoga Psychology

THE MAP IN THREE WORDS

Meditation leads. Asana supports.

Cakra · centre
Vrtti · propensity
Samskara · reactive momentum

A traditional philosophical model—not a medical diagnosis.

P. R. Sarkar—also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti—placed meditation at the centre of Raja Dhi Raja Yoga. Physical postures were not the final goal; they were part of a larger discipline intended to prepare and balance the body-mind for deeper practice.

The source article calls this approach bio-psychology: a yogic framework for understanding how bodily states, mental propensities and spiritual practice influence one another.

Its language is symbolic and experiential. To understand the model, three Sanskrit terms come first.

Reading note
This page presents Sarkar’s traditional framework respectfully while distinguishing philosophical teachings from claims established by modern clinical science.

THREE KEYS TO THE MODEL

Each term answers a different question: where a tendency is organized, what that tendency expresses, and why it is activated differently in each person.

03

Samskara

REACTIVE MOMENTUM

A samskara is a latent impression or momentum that helps explain why similar events activate different responses in different people.

THE SIX LOWER CENTRES & THEIR VRTTIS

The article describes the cakras as lotus-like centres whose petals symbolize vrttis. Across the six lower centres, 50 petals represent 50 principal tendencies—from instinctive impulses to universal love and higher knowledge.

First centre · the physical, mental, psycho-spiritual and spiritual aims of life

Second centre · tendencies including indifference, self-indulgence and cruelty

Third centre · irritation, shame, lethargy and craving

Fourth centre · hope, love and effort—alongside greed, arrogance and hypocrisy

Fifth centre · altruism, universality and surrender

Sixth centre · the capacity for higher knowledge

Two people may face the same criticism, loss or public-speaking challenge and respond in very different ways. In yoga philosophy, samskaras help explain this difference. Past impressions create momentum; that momentum activates particular vrttis; the activated tendency colours thought, emotion and behaviour.

This is not simply fatalism. The practical purpose of the model is transformation: by becoming more aware of recurring reactions, a person can respond with greater choice rather than repeating the same pattern automatically.

A QUESTION FOR REFLECTION

When a familiar emotion appears, what happens just before it—and what response becomes possible when you pause?

TWO LENSES · CLEARLY DISTINGUISHED

The traditional and scientific perspectives can be placed side by side without treating them as identical.

CURRENT EVIDENCE LENS

Yoga may support several aspects of wellbeing

Research reviewed by the U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health suggests possible benefits for stress, mental wellbeing, sleep and balance.

Clinical science has not established cakras as anatomical structures or confirmed a one-to-one gland effect for particular postures.

MOVE · RELAX · BECOME STILL

In Raja Dhi Raja Yoga, postures belong to a sequence rather than standing alone. Movement is gentle and purposeful; relaxation follows; meditation gives the practice its direction.

A qualified teacher may adapt postures to the individual. The goal is not performance or flexibility, but a steadier body, subtler awareness and a more supportive condition for meditation.

Practise responsibly
Yoga should not be used to delay medical or mental-health care. Work with a qualified instructor and adapt or avoid postures when pain, injury or a health condition requires it.

The sequence below reflects the educational spirit of the PDF without prescribing treatment or a personalized set of asanas.

04

Meditate

Turn inward with a learned meditation method and regular guidance.

TRANSFORMATION WITHIN · EXPRESSION WITHOUT

The PDF closes with a collective aspiration: to move beyond limiting tendencies and allow compassion, magnanimity and love to flow more freely.

In this sense, yoga psychology is not only a theory of the inner world. Its value is measured in how inner balance becomes clearer thought, kinder action and a wider sense of connection with all life.

REFERENCES LISTED IN THE PDF

Acarya Ananda Mitra Avadhutika
Lecture notes on Bio-psychology, 1996

Valerie Hunt
Infinite Mind: Science of Human Vibrations of Consciousness, 2000

Hiroshi Motoyama
Theories of the Chakras: Bridge to Higher Consciousness, 1981

Candace B. Pert
Molecules of Emotion, 1997

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
Yoga Psychology, 1991

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