Vritti: Mental Modifications and Internal Parts

In the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali identifies vritti—the fluctuations and modifications of the mind—as the primary obstacles to clarity and peace. This concept directly parallels the Internal Family Systems model, where each part generates its own vritti or mental pattern. By recognizing that anxiety, anger, or self-doubt are not unified thoughts but rather vritti arising from protective parts, we gain psychological distance and choice. Patanjali teaches that observing these fluctuations without identification is the path to mastery. In Parts work, this observation becomes the practice of noticing which part is active, what belief it holds, and what protective function it serves. Rather than fighting the vritti, we acknowledge its source, understand its purpose, and gradually transform our relationship to it through compassionate awareness and dialogue with the part itself.