91. The Five Things Keeping You Stuck: An Introduction to the Kleshas

Ninety seconds of Instagram scrolling. Five distinct forces firing inside you, so fast you experience them as a single feeling: “I’m not good enough.” But it’s not one feeling—it’s five. Yoga philosophy named them twenty-five hundred years ago.In this episode, I’m walking through the five kleshas from Book Two of the Yoga Sutras: avidya (wrong-seeing), asmita (ego), raga (craving), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (clinging to the familiar). These five obstacles to clear seeing are the most undertaught framework in the Sutras—and I think they’re the most useful one for modern teaching life.I’ll show you exactly how each klesha operates—why the confidence gap, imposter syndrome, burnout cycles, and creative stagnation all trace back to specific combinations of these five forces. Then I’ll give you a five-question diagnostic checklist you can run on yourself this week, plus classroom cues you can use right away without ever naming the Sanskrit.This material comes from chapters 15–17 of Yoga Off the Mat, my new book with Alexandra DeSiato, available July 14 wherever books are sold.Listen now!Join the Comfort Zone Yoga 200-hour yoga teacher training—curriculum is open now and our live cohort runs September through November 2026. Be sure to tell your students who are interested in teaching, too!Read all about it here.Want to become (almost) everyone's favorite yoga teacher? Join Comfort Zone Yoga, my virtual studio focused on teacher development. I have a ton of Sage advice in there for you!For more insights, subscribe to Yoga Teacher Confidential, check out my YouTube channel, and follow me on socials:InstagramFacebookThreadsAnd come explore my mentorship program, Yoga Class Prep Station membership, continuing education and 200/300/500-hour teacher training programs, and my many books for yoga teachers. It's all at sagerountree.com....