Yoga’s primary goal is cultivating and creating a sense of inner peace and harmony, or sattva. When we are triggered by an unconscious mental or emotional pattern (samskara), our understanding of inner calm is often disturbed. They are energetic imprints left by thoughts, emotions, and past actions in the subconscious mind. These are karmic seeds that grow in our subconscious and influence future actions. Yoga offers many tools to help us transform these unconscious imprints into healthy behaviors by using mindfulness, inquiry, and self-awareness. By removing samskaras, you can reduce suffering and increase inner peace. It will also make it easier for you to reach higher states.

The benefits of removing samskaras

You can reap many benefits by removing or breaking your bad habits. Samskaras cause a lot of human suffering. We must let go of old habits to lead a happy life. Dissolving bad habits can have many benefits.

Eliminate negativity. You will feel happier and more peaceful when you have fewer samskaras. You will feel less anxiety and stress and won’t worry about what others think about you. You will have more options to respond positively to life’s events by removing behavioral patterns.

Increase your happiness. You will have more time and space to enjoy joy and love without fear, guilt, or shame. You will experience more pleasure by removing negative behaviors.

Relieve pain and suffering. Your body, mind, and heart will feel lighter and healthier after terminating your samskaras. You can release any pain or suffering you’ve been carrying and enjoy more ease in life.

Get more energy. Being stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts and emotions drains power from the mind, body, and heart. You’ll have more time and energy to express yourself, be creative, and find inspiration when free from samsaric impressions.

Be more confident. Stop worrying about what others think. You will feel more confident and trust yourself when you remove negative thought patterns.

You’ll feel better about yourself. Once you stop carrying painful memories, you will begin to believe again in yourself. You will see yourself as deserving and worthy of respect.

Be open-minded. By letting go of samskaras, you can accept and embrace change more readily. You can see things differently when you remove your habit patterns.

Be more aware. As you work to dissolve your samskaric tendency, you will have more freedom to choose how to act. You will be more aware of your reactions and actions and more likely to make good decisions.

Achieve higher states of consciousness. The ego will recede as your awareness expands into the subtler layers of your body and the higher aspects of your mind.

How to remove samskaras

Understanding their function, nature, and purpose is the first step in removing samskaras. Understanding the yogic philosophy will make your removal of samskaras impressions more effective.

First, you must acknowledge that they exist. After you recognize their existence, you can decide whether or not you want to keep them. It may be helpful to list your samskaras and reasons for removing them.

Yoga helps you to overcome samskaras by making your unconscious thoughts and actions conscious. Yoga can help you soften your habits and let them go once you have identified them. Regular yoga practice can help us to clear these imprints and replace them with new positive samskaras. Yoga has many techniques and methods to help dissolve marks and cultivate a deeper awareness of our unconscious. Try out the procedures that interest you to discover the most effective ones.

Yoga practices to remove and dissolve samskaras

Dhyana(meditation)- Mediation is a powerful tool that increases awareness, focus, and insight. Meditation is a powerful way to break free from samsaric impressions. Meditation will help you notice how deep-rooted mental imprints influence your thoughts and feelings. Regular meditation creates new neural pathways that physically alter your brain. Meditation can help you to calm down and remain level-headed under challenging situations. It can also reduce the established neural pathways, which make you feel stressed or anxious. Regular meditation can help you recognize your emotions and thoughts before reacting to them. Using this awareness, you can break the cycle of these habits and soften them over time.

Svadhyaya (Self-reflection, Self-study). Inquiry and Reflection are tools to help you discover the deeper meaning of your habits and their source. These tools allow you to uncover and eliminate the stories that cloud perception and judgment. You can move away from your habitual thinking when you question it. You can see your inner workings by asking questions like “Why am I doing that?” “Where did this impulse come? “and “What’s my intention?” This type of questioning allows you to reflect on your past and analyze your situation. You can understand your past actions and decisions when you look back at them. You can examine your feelings and thoughts today and see if your samskara relates to your current state.

(breathing exercises). – (pranayama) will help you to control your breath on and off the yoga mat. Controlled breathing can create deep states of calmness. Consciously voicing a calm state helps you observe and be aware of your emotions and thoughts without reacting. Slow deep breathing also helps us to slow down and become more aware. Samskaras occurs subconsciously and are instinctive. They are often a reflex before we notice. By using the breath to reduce our speed, we can have more time to consider what we are doing before we react.

Yoga Pose helps you focus your energy and release anxiety and stress. Asanas are a great way to develop balance, strength, and flexibility, both physically and mentally. Consistent asana practices help build a substantial container to witness and contain powerful energies and emotions. This helps dissolve negative samskaras and creates and reinforces positive ones.

Vairagya is a yogic practice that helps you detach from your drives, desires, and unconscious needs. When you separate yourself from external influences and your internal reactions, you are less likely to reinforce bad habits. You can also step back to see the situation in a different light. You will gain clarity, wisdom, and insight that allow you to let go of old behavioral thought patterns.