Patanjali Yoga Sutra 1.12

That stilling of the mind comes through practice and non-clinging.

अभ्यासवैराग्याभ्यां तन्निरोधः ॥

abhyasa-vairagyabhyam tan-nirodhah ||

That stilling of the mind comes through practice and non-clinging.

This sutra provides the ultimate, two-part formula for calming a chaotic mind. The first part is abhyasa (consistent practice). In daily mental health, this means protecting the "hinges" of your day. Whether you feel motivated or not, you maintain your core stabilising routines—like waking up at the same time, taking a short walk, or swallowing your prescribed medication. You do the work. The second part is vairagya (non-clinging or letting go). This is the psychological flexibility to drop the demand that your day, your mood, or your recovery must be perfect. If you have a sudden panic attack or a terribly stressful afternoon, you do not cling to the failure and declare the whole week ruined. You simply let the bad moment go and return to your practice. As always, remember the clinical boundary: this profound verse is a strategy for building daily resilience; it is never a substitute for a medical tablet your brain already needs to function.