3.20 By self-control on the form of a body, by suspending perceptibility and separating effulgence therefrom, there arises invisibility and inaudibilty

Another day, another blog post about a shiddhi. No matter, we only have about ten more of them to go. Most commentaries on the Yoga Sutras tend to group all of them into one large group and brush them off as hyperbole. I think there is something to them however. While I do not think this sutra literally means that one will literally develop the power to become invisible or to sneak around like a light footed ninja, there is something profound to be said about the self reflective person.

Where do you fall on the introvert/extrovert spectrum? In the healing world, there is a common misconception that people that fall farther on the introvertive side tend to be better listeners. From my experience, introverts have just as much chatter as the extroverts. The main difference is that the chatter is mental instead of verbal. The process of Yoga tends to turn the introvert and extrovert into an observer. It’s not that a person is going to become an introvert per se, it’s that they will spend more time observing the world around them and spend less time trying to convey their thoughts to others in a haphazard way. Really, what is most conversation about?

What I have noticed in my own meditative practices is that while becoming more of an observer, I talk less and become less noticeable. Oddly, I never really knew how hard my feet hit the pavement while I was walking. In a way, I became more invisible in my daily life because I chose to and that is what this sutra is about in my opinion.