Updated October 2025
The Mind’s Need for Certainty
In both yoga and psychology, growth often happens in the space between effort and surrender, the gray area we resist but deeply need. This is the heart of tension of the opposites, a practice that invites us to hold strength and softness, control and release, doing and being, all at once. When we can breathe in that space between opposites, we begin to find balance and wholeness.
Yoga as a Practice of Union
The Sanskrit root of the word yoga — yuj — means “to yoke,” “to join,” or “to unite.” It speaks to integration: bringing together what feels separate: mind, body, and soul.
Carl Jung, founder of analytical psychology, observed that yoga “unites the physical and the spiritual in an extraordinarily complete way.”
In that sense, both yoga and depth psychology share a common goal: healing through integration-through befriending our inner contradictions rather than resisting them.
“The way to healing… lies in finding a connection between body and soul. Soul needs body as much as body needs soul. Each is out of context without the other, an abandoned fragment of what it is.”— Marion Woodman
Sthira Sukham Asanam — Effort and Ease in the Tension of the Opposites
In The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Sutra 2.46 reads:
Sthira sukham asanam.
A yoga posture should embody both steadiness (sthira) and ease (sukha).
Every pose, and every moment in life, contains the tension of opposites:
- effort and surrender
- strength and softness
- action and rest
- control and release
- ambition and acceptance
When we find balance between these energies, we experience both groundedness and grace, not just on the mat, but in the way we move through our lives. This balance between sthira and sukha is at the heart of tension of the opposites, where strength meets surrender and wholeness emerges.
For more on the origins of this teaching, visit the Iyengar Yoga Institute of LA’s overview of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra.
From the Mat to the Psyche
In depth-oriented psychotherapy, we work with these same polarities internally. Healing doesn’t mean choosing one side of a conflict, it means learning to hold both with compassion.
When we allow opposing parts of ourselves to coexist, we move toward wholeness.
In this way, the yoga mat becomes a microcosm for the inner world: a space to practice awareness, balance, and self-acceptance.
Reflection and Integration of the Tension of the Opposites
Practicing the tension of the opposites off the mat means holding contradictions in daily life: ambition and rest, control and trust, individuality and belonging.
Take a few slow breaths and reflect:
- Where in my life am I clinging to control or perfection?
- What would it look like to soften into ease, even just 5% more?
- What do I need to let go of?
- What am I ready to invite in?
- How might balance feel in my body, not just in my mind?
Coming Home to Wholeness
Both yoga and depth psychology remind us that peace isn’t found in eliminating discomfort; it’s found in meeting it with awareness.
When we can hold both effort and ease, shadow and light, control and surrender, we open to something deeper: the quiet wisdom of integration.
This is the essence of the tension of the opposites, learning to meet life’s contrasts with awareness and compassion.
Ready to Explore This Balance in Your Own Life?
If you’re craving calm, clarity, and connection, therapy can help you come home to yourself.
I offer mindfulness-based therapy for high-achieving professionals and South Asian adults who are ready to release perfectionism and reconnect with their inner steadiness.
Book a free 15-minute consultation to see how we can work together.
