Kleshas: Root Afflictions Underlying Traumatic Reactivity

The five kleshas—avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of death)—are the root psychological afflictions that generate all suffering in Patanjali's framework. Trauma deeply activates these kleshas: avidya distorts perception of safety, asmita fragments identity, raga creates attachment to survival responses, dvesha generates avoidance of triggers, and abhinivesha amplifies death anxiety. EMDR's bilateral stimulation and dual awareness process allows the brain to simultaneously hold both the traumatic memory and present safety, gradually loosening the grip of these afflictions. Rather than treating only surface symptoms—anxiety, flashbacks, hypervigilance—understanding trauma through the kleshas addresses the fundamental perceptual and existential distortions that sustain it. This perspective suggests that effective trauma healing requires not just symptom reduction but a fundamental shift in how the person perceives themselves, safety, and existence itself—the very transformation that both yoga and EMDR aim to catalyze.