6 ideas
The mind (citta) is not consciousness itself but a subtle material substance that takes the shape of whatever it perceives, generating fluctuations (vrittis) like ripples on water. Yoga is defined as the stilling of these fluctuations, so that pure consciousness rests in itself rather than identifying with the mind's constantly shifting forms.
Practice is structured into eight progressive limbs: ethical restraints, observances, posture, breath control, sense withdrawal, concentration, meditation, and absorption. Each earlier limb prepares the practitioner physically and morally for the more interior stages, so that mastery proceeds from external behavior inward to the stilling of attention itself.
All suffering arises from confusing pure awareness (purusha) with the material mind and body it observes (prakriti). Liberation is not achieved by changing circumstances but by discriminating correctly between the seer and the seen, dissolving the false identification that makes one suffer the fortunes of the mind.
Every mental action deposits a latent impression (samskara) that increases the likelihood of repeating similar actions, forming habitual loops that perpetuate themselves. Even meditative practice works by laying down counter-impressions, so that disciplined repetition gradually wears down old grooves and establishes new tendencies toward stillness.
Stilling the mind requires two simultaneous forces: continuous disciplined practice over a long time, and detachment from the fruits and objects that the mind craves. Effort alone produces striving without freedom, while detachment alone produces passivity — only their combination loosens the mind's grip on its fluctuations.
Intense concentration on specific objects yields extraordinary capacities (siddhis) such as knowledge of past lives or invisibility, demonstrating the mind's latent powers. Yet these very attainments become obstacles, because attachment to them re-anchors awareness in the material realm and diverts the practitioner from the sole goal of liberation.