Scaling Happiness: Exploring the 5 Kleśa in (Peri)menopause

I studied Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as part of my 300hour Teacher Training in the midst of the Pandemic and the subject continues to fascinate me. It is so vast, a greatly intellectual topic and has so much to offer that one can only keep learning from it. The Sutras are not one to debate about, analyse or pick at, we need to trust the revered author, open our hearts and minds into learning from this 5000 year old treatise.

Patanjali is the great sage who brought yoga to the householder many thousands of years ago. There are many interpretations of who Patanjali was and whether his 'persona' was created to spread the word of yoga.

This version of the origins of Patanjali I like best, because it has mysticism and requires a certain level of belief and faith, something we need in today's world and for the practice of YOGA, a surrender of the ego and an acceptance of something greater than us.

Lord Vishnu was reclined in the cosmic ocean, on the lap of his celestial snake, Ananta or Adisesha (snake with many heads). Lord Vishnu was entranced by Lord Shiva (the Adi/first yogi) who was dancing his Tandav. (Lord Shiva was usually seen in states of ecstatic dance or in deep meditation). Lord Vishnu was so in awe of Lord Shiva's that his body started getting relaxed and heavier and the snake started to feel discomfort. Adisesha wanted to learn the secret behind Shiva's ecstasy and impress Lord Vishnu in the same way. He was blessed by Lord Vishnu and so he fell from the sky in the form of a small snake, into the praying palms (Anjali mudra) of Gonika, who was also a powerful yogini, who named him Patanjali (Pata: fallen Anjali: prayer). She then imparted all her yogic knowledge and wisdom to Patanjali.

Sage Patanjali is known as the father of yoga and he is known to have scripted the treatise of 196 yoga sutras to help us find Liberation (freedom/samadhi) through the philosophy of Yoga. A sutra is a thread that flows beautifully from one to another like beading a necklace and each verse is a aphorisms or a principle that gives us guidance into living a purposeful life.

One of the most famous Sutras is

'Sthira sukha asanam'

Practicing yoga asana with steadiness and comfort.

Have you heard of or know of any others?

The ones I want to share today is about afflictions or obstacles that hold us from starting along the journey of happiness. I want to use explore these so that we can find happiness on our journey into Menopause.

Patanjali's Sutra 2.3 to 2.9 all about Kleśa.

Kleśas are obstacles that block our path on to happiness. These sutras appears in the second chapter of the 4 chapters of Sutras.

The second chapter is 'Sadhana Pada'. Sadhana is our dedicated heart led practice.

At the very start, Patanjali says, for us to be able to walk towards Samadhi (is HAPPINESS, the most simplistic understanding for the purpose of the blog) we have to thin out the obstacles in our path. For us to do that we must first understand the obstacles because these are the causes of pain.

And we know we have 'PAIN' in our life when we are in (Peri)menopause. Perhaps understanding Kleśas might help us identifying and removing obstacles in our path to a happy (Peri)menopause.

A Kleśa (pronounced: Klesha) is a kind of agony which is inside our very being. Because of the busy, materialistic life we lead, we might be unaware of the underlying reasons of agony and pain. Patanjali shines light on these for us.

The 5 Kleśa:

1. Avidyā- Ignorance.

Patanjali's explanation of Avidyā is to do more with how ignorance impacts our path to Bliss and Liberation, but let us first look at our day to day life and our mortal living expectations.

Ignorance is the root cause and foundation of all problems. When we are unaware of how our

actions and thoughts are going to impact us, then we continue along the same path of how we have been.

Heard the Confucius quote? "To know what you know and what you don't know that is true knowledge"

Patanjali describes Avidyā as the divine illusion and goes deeper into explaining different states of ignorance.

There is the 'Prasupta' dormant state where one is totally unaware that these afflictions exist. Then 'Tanu', a thinner state where there has been work put in to remove or reduce these afflictions but they are still present in a light, just there state.

'Vichchhinna' where the obstacles are scattered so they come and go, some are very strong and overpower the others, giving the impression of them being hidden but which might show up later. 'Udārānām' meaning fully operative state. Where these obstacles and afflictions are expanded and active because of our actions.

Lets take an example:

When we are in our early 40s we are (mostly) unaware that our bodies are going to change so dramatically and all because of the declining female sex hormones. (first ignorance: dormant).

Then comes the surprise element of the change in sleep, weight, hot flashes. These are so strong (third one: overpowered/scattered) that we don't understand or acknowledge our behaviours towards others like mood swings/anger).

When we continue to be ignorant and don't take action into learning more about our body and about the phase of life we are about to enter, we might start to experience too many symptoms and feel overcome by symptoms (fully operative fourth state).

But when we stop living in ignorance, stop and take stock, learn and listen to our body and mind then they slowly start to thin out.

Some of the ways you can start to move away from Avidyā is to

- read and research more about (Peri)menopause

- talk to friends and family

- Svādhyāya - self study and stead of self: growth, learning and expansion from life, experiences, books, and from self

- Practice awareness based modalities like yoga, meditation, Qi Gong that allow you to stop and tune into the body and mind.

You are the best expert on yourself. When you stop denying yourself of the intelligence you have within then you become your best teacher. You know the actions that you take and how they affect how you feel. You know how to manage your mind and the down spiralling thoughts. You are able to move from the dormant state of ignorance to the thinning out state so that you can move towards freedom.

Avidyā is the root for all of the other Kleśas of Asmitā/ego, Rāgaḥ /Pleasure, Devsa/Dislike, Abhinivesah/fear of death

2. Asmitā - Asmitā is understood as Ego in most cases but is explained by Patanjali as I-feeling.

We all need the I-feeling or 'ego' to live and survive. Ego is not a bad thing as long as it is understood and lived with, mindfully. Patanjali explains I-feeling as being too involved in the identities we have created for ourselves in this world. The inner consciousness is pure and represents the highest truth in a human. This consciousness is covered/layered by the channels of the body, the mind and the 5 senses. This is what makes 'purusha' - completes us as humans. But what happens with the illusions of life is that we forget of our inner pureness and live simply to 'pander' to the 'pleasures' of body, mind and senses. This is when I-feeling dominates and can cause us suffering.

Let us put it into perspective for our (Peri)menopause phase.

When we have worked out that we are in Perimenopause, are we accepting and acknowledging it? We might say that we are but are we really, truly ready to review and alter our lifestyle to bring us change?

We still want to eat all the yummy foods and drink alcohol like we used to, work long hours and party all night long. 'I' want to continue to juggle all the balls in the air, 'I' want to feel that oxytocin hit by eating sugar or drinking coffee or alcohol. 'I' want all of the luxuries of life without wanting to give much back. That is I-feeling.

Lets take the subtle example of Self-care.

To make your journey smooth into Menopause you need to put yourself on top priority. You get this and so you decide to practice yoga at home. As soon as you lay your mat down, your children yell out "Mummy, I'm hungry!"

Coz we all know, there is an inbuilt switch in our kids that switches on, as soon as mum wants to do something for herself. It is a survival switch! :)

What do you do? You get up, and go to them. Because you are totally involved with your identity as a carer, a loving mother. In built feelings/thoughts : 'I have children, my kids need me' 'I have to feed my kids' even if they have only just had breakfast an hour ago.

Start to become mindful of these reactions and thoughts.

- When you get clarity on the deep rooted links to all the identities that you value yourself by, then you can start unraveling the stories you have created in your mind.

- You can start to prepare for that 'cry for help' that your child will make, proactively manage that situation, you might not succumb your instant reaction.

- Your child will be fine, they will learn a life skill to fend for themselves or ask Dad for help.

- You will learn to communicate more effectively with your child, who you will have spoken to before you sit down for your practice.

I-feeling is not a bad thing.

Being ignorant and indulging I-feeling blindly is one of the biggest causes of unhappiness.

3. Rāgaḥ - Liking or pleasure

Rāgaḥ is a bit confusing as a word because it has other meanings in Hindi language like a music tune or even anger. But here its in Sanskrit meaning 'liking' or 'pleasure'

We know that with liking something too much, when we cannot have it, we are caused suffering. I have had this so so many times with materialistic things. Favourite earrings, eating foods and eating too much that I know will cause me discomfort all for that yummy taste in the mouth.

Lets look at Dveṣaḥ before we work it into (Peri)menopause.

4. Dveṣaḥ - dislike

Just like 'liking' something too much even 'disliking' something can cause us pain. Repulsion is more descriptive when it comes to Dveṣaḥ.

When we are repulsed by what we are seeing in the world today, war, massacre, bullying in the name of power, all caused by I-feeling of a few ignorant people, we can feel Dveṣaḥ.

Similarly, when we are repulsed by what is going on in our body, the sudden attack of hot flashes or the exhaustion from not sleeping well, we can feel pain because are closely associated with what we feel in the body and mind.

Both Rāgaḥ and Dveṣaḥ go hand in hand and are states that bind us down to lower levels of consciousness. They are deeply intertwined almost like two sides of a coin.

In (Peri)menopause, we know that we have to make certain changes in our lifestyle to manage our symptoms. Good sleep, healthy eating, reducing or giving up alcohol, more exercise or modifying our exercise routine, all of these are going to set us up for a good transition.

Yet, we want that 2 minute pleasure of having that extra glass of wine, that will then tip us over the edge, give us hot flashes in the night. We wake up feeling guilty and repulsed by our lack of discipline. Both liking the wine too much and the repulsion have given us pain, not just in the form of hot flashes in the body but also mental disturbances in how we feel about ourselves and our lack of self control. Oh yeah! I HAVE BEEN THERE!

5. Abhiniveśaḥ - Clinging to life/Fear of death.

On average one does not think of death and yet it is the one universal truth that cannot be changed. When we stop and think of it, we fear it. It is an inherent force that is closely associated with I-feeling. We want to live, we want the miracle of life and the miracle of this universe. Even the most learned and wisely have the fear of death.

As we start to get older, we start to perhaps think of it a bit more. Especially as we also start to lose our older loved ones or start to prepare for the goodbyes we might have to say. It is possibly the most sad thing anyone experiences in one's life.

When we start to feel change in hormones this is a first step towards getting old. This is us, entering into a different phase of our life. We might have, always, up until now, associated the word 'Menopause' with an old grumpy aunty with an ingrown chin hair. Now we are moving swiftly towards becoming that aunty.. hahaha NO WAY! right :)

If you look at it from a 'life-span' perspective, it is the first step towards getting old and then eventually passing on.

Don't be depressed by this fact of life. It is just a reality we have to accept and Patanjali teaches us to do just that.

For us to reduce or at least identify the sources of pain and discomfort, Patanjali advises us to start from Abhiniveśaḥ.

Patanjali says move back down the list he calls it, INVOLUTION, the opposite of evolution.

Starting with fear of death, then work on the things that we dislike, then what brings us pleasure, working on the I-feeling and all the way to identifying all the stages of ignorance we have in our life. Then, from identifying the Avidyā comes Vidyā (true knowledge) and Vivekā (discernment).

Of course thinking about 'death' might be just a little too much. So for the sake of our (Peri)menopause journey, lets start with accepting the idea of 'getting old'

How are we feeling about getting old?

Are we fighting it or are we able to embrace it?

What are the dislikes that we are experiencing and what about the process is repulsing us?

What are we so attached to that, brings us so much joy, that we might benefit from giving up? (read that again)

What lifestyle decisions, thoughts and actions are we taking to indulge the ego?

Are we even aware of the difference between an I-led decision and a heart/soul led decision?

It is certainly not easy. Patanjali's steps to liberation is not for everyone. It is not something that will happen in a week or a month or even a few years. It is a constant work in progress. But I know that you are up for a challenge. You want to make that shift in your life, bring that true sense of joy that is purely yours to enjoy that nobody and no symptom can take away from you.

You will have read 'We' where relevant. This is because I am on this journey with you. This is my interpretation of the Kleśas on how they are helping me understand pain and obstacles, guiding me along the way to finding true happiness.

If you have any insights or comments on your interpretations or experiences I would love to hear them in the comments below.

Always in gratitude and love,