Why Do Humans Keep Repeating the Same Patterns?

Yoga, the Kleshas, and the Practice of Clear Seeing

Across cultures and generations, human beings have wondered why certain patterns seem to repeat themselves. We see it in families, in relationships, and sometimes in the quiet ways we respond to our own lives. A reaction arises that feels strangely familiar. A dynamic returns that we thought we had already worked through. At times it can feel a little like déjà vu — the sense that we have somehow been here before.

Over the years, both in my own practice and in the people I work with, this question appears again and again: why do the same patterns keep returning?

Yoga philosophy has been exploring this question for a very long time. Rather than framing repetition as a personal failure or a lack of discipline, the classical teachings suggest that what repeats often arises from the way perception itself becomes shaped.

The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, one of the foundational texts of yoga psychology, describe this through the concept of the kleshas — the obscurations that influence how the mind perceives and interprets experience. In Yoga Sutra II.3, Patanjali names five of them:

At the root of them all lies avidya.

Avidya: When Perception Becomes Distorted

Avidya is often translated as ignorance, yet what the sutras point to is more subtle than simply lacking knowledge. Avidya refers to a kind of mis-seeing, a distortion in perception that shapes how we interpret reality.

In Yoga Sutra II.5, Patanjali describes avidya as mistaking the impermanent for the permanent, the impure for the pure, the painful for the pleasurable, and the non-self for the Self. These teachings point to the ways the mind constructs narratives about what is happening around us.

In my experience, the mind does this very quickly. Past experiences, emotional memories, and cultural conditioning all contribute to how we interpret the present moment. Over time these interpretations can become so familiar that they appear indistinguishable from reality itself.

Yoga invites us to slow down enough to notice this process.

Because very often we are not simply reacting to what is happening now.

We are reacting to the stories our minds have built around it.

When Culture Shapes What We See

Although the Yoga Sutras speak primarily about the inner landscape of the mind, our inner world is never separate from the systems we live within.

Trauma does not happen in a vacuum. It unfolds within relationships, institutions, and cultures.

Many of the stories we carry about ourselves are quietly reinforced by the world around us. I see this often in the yoga world itself. Images of the “ideal yoga body” circulate everywhere — thin, flexible, young, able-bodied. Over time these images can subtly communicate that some bodies belong in yoga spaces more easily than others.

Someone walking into a yoga studio with a different body, different mobility, or a different life story may begin to internalise the idea that their body is somehow outside the expected norm.

At the same time, many of us live within cultures shaped by productivity and performance. Worth can become subtly tied to how much we achieve, how fast we move, or how much we produce. Rest may feel undeserved. Stillness may feel unfamiliar.

Yoga philosophy allows us to hold several layers of truth at once. Our perceptions are shaped by our personal histories, and they are also shaped by the cultural systems we move within.

Part of the practice of clear seeing is learning to notice both.

The Pause That Allows Us to See

One of the most important shifts that begins to happen in yoga practice is the discovery of a pause.

A pause between experience and reaction.

In that small space, perception begins to widen. We start to see situations a little more as they are, rather than only through the interpretations we have inherited.

Yet I often notice something interesting at this stage of practice. When the mind becomes quieter and the usual stream of thinking softens, there can be moments of spaciousness that feel unfamiliar. I remember encountering this myself. When the stories momentarily fall away, the experience can feel almost empty.

The ego, accustomed to organising experience through identities and narratives, may quickly reach for something to grasp. Thoughts return. Old interpretations reappear. The mind attempts to fill the space again.

This grasping is not a failure of practice.

It is part of learning how the mind works.

In trauma-sensitive work we sometimes speak about titrating spaciousness — allowing moments of openness to unfold gradually so the body can remain connected and present. Clear seeing on its own can sometimes feel abstract. When that clarity is supported by embodied awareness, it becomes something the nervous system can integrate.

This is where the body becomes essential.

The Eight Limbs as a Path Toward Clear Seeing

8 limb/circles of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras

The classical Eight Limbs of Yoga offer a pathway that supports this process of seeing more clearly.

The yamas and niyamas provide an ethical and reflective foundation. Principles such as non-harming (ahimsa), truthfulness (satya), contentment (santosha), and self-study (svadhyaya) invite us to meet experience with curiosity rather than judgment.

From there the practice moves into asana, where movement and posture bring attention back into the body. The body becomes a place where sensation can be explored directly, rather than interpreted only through thought.

Pranayama continues this integration through breath, influencing the rhythms of the nervous system and helping the mind settle.

Then comes pratyahara, the gentle turning of the senses inward. In a world full of stimulation, this inward gathering of attention allows awareness to become steadier and more receptive.

Within that quieter landscape something important begins to emerge.

Buddhi: The Discerning Mind

Yoga philosophy describes the faculty of discernment as buddhi.

Buddhi is the aspect of intelligence that allows us to recognise patterns and distinguish between what is conditioned and what is actually present. As buddhi becomes more active, the patterns created by the kleshas begin to reveal themselves.

Reactions that once felt inevitable start to appear as patterns we can observe.

The fog begins to lift.

The dusty mirror of perception becomes gradually clearer.

Seeing in this way does not remove our conditioning overnight, yet it allows us to meet our experiences with increasing awareness.

And awareness begins to change how we respond.

Trauma-Sensitive Yoga and the Voice That Begins to Change

In trauma-sensitive yoga practice, this discernment develops within the context of safety, agency, and embodied awareness.

Practices emphasise choice, invitational language, and interoceptive attention, allowing the nervous system to remain engaged rather than defensive. As the body experiences more regulation, I often notice subtle shifts in the inner voice people carry.

A voice that once says,

“Something is wrong with me.”

may begin to soften into,

“Something is happening in my body right now.”

A thought that once insists,

“I always react this way.”

may gradually change into,

“I’m noticing this pattern arising.”

And the sense of a fixed identity — “This is who I am” — can slowly open into something more spacious, where experience is recognised as something moving and changing within the body and mind.

These shifts may seem small, yet they signal the awakening of discernment.

For Those Beginning This Work

In my work I often meet people who have recently received a diagnosis of complex trauma. For many, this moment brings both relief and uncertainty. Naming an experience can be clarifying, yet it can also raise questions about what healing might look like from here.

Yoga philosophy offers a compassionate lens for this process.

The teachings on the kleshas remind us that many of our reactions are shaped by vasanas, the deep imprints left by past experiences. These imprints are not only psychological. They are also somatic, living within the nervous system, breath, posture, and patterns of response.

Healing therefore involves more than understanding our stories.

It involves reconnecting with the body and allowing new experiences of safety and awareness to emerge.

Practices such as Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) create conditions where the body and mind can gradually develop the discernment described in the yoga teachings. Through slow, choice-led exploration of sensation and movement, the nervous system begins to experience something different.

The fog does not clear all at once.

Yet over time the mirror of perception becomes less clouded.

If you feel drawn toward this kind of work — a deeper healing process that honours both yogic wisdom and trauma-aware care — there are several ways we can explore it together.

Some people find the relational field of group Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY) supportive, where shared practice allows the nervous system to experience safety and co-regulation with others.

Others prefer the personalised depth of private yoga therapy, where we can gently explore your own patterns, nervous system responses, and embodied experience at a pace that feels right for you.

And for those who feel ready for a more immersive journey, my Safe to Feel Embodiment Program™ offers a guided pathway into reconnecting with the body, developing discernment, and working with the deeper imprints that shape our patterns.

Wherever you begin, the intention is the same.

To support the gradual clearing of the fog.

To allow the body and mind to rediscover their capacity for awareness, regulation, and connection.

And from that place, clearer seeing begins to emerge.