Vritti: Mental Fluctuations and Trauma Imprints

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali identifies vritti as the fluctuations and modifications of the mind-stuff that create our experience of reality. Trauma imprints themselves as persistent mental waves—intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, and conditioned responses that loop continuously. EMDR therapy works by accessing these vritti patterns through bilateral stimulation, allowing the nervous system to process and integrate traumatic memories. By understanding trauma as a form of mental fluctuation rather than fixed truth, practitioners can help clients recognize these patterns as impermanent phenomena. This framework transforms trauma from an identity-defining reality into a cognitive-emotional pattern that can be reprocessed and resolved, aligning with Patanjali's teaching that mastery comes through understanding and ultimately transcending the mind's automatic patterns.