Seeing Through Maya: The Everyday Illusion
In yoga, Maya is often translated as “illusion”—but not like a stage trick. It’s the veil that makes us mistake the temporary for the eternal, the loudest story for the deepest truth. Maya colors our perception so convincingly that we begin to believe the lens is the landscape.
Maya isn’t just “out there.” It lives in our minds and bodies too. It’s the way we carry family expectations for decades. It’s society’s script about success playing in the background of every decision. It’s the ego’s whisper—I’ll be enough when…—that keeps us chasing, even if we don’t know what for. And it’s the subtle, almost invisible pressure to hold everyone else’s fears, preferences, and projections as if they were our own.
The work of yoga isn’t to destroy the world of Maya; it’s to see it clearly and choose from a deeper place.
What Yoga Teaches About Maya
Classical yoga describes Maya as a power that both reveals and conceals. It reveals a world we can interact with—relationships, roles, responsibilities—and it also conceals our unchanging essence (Atman). On the surface, everything is flux. Underneath, there’s something steady, spacious, and free.
Maya is not “bad.” It’s the stage where life happens. Problems arise when we forget there’s more to reality than what the senses and stories report. When we believe the reflection is the source, we suffer. When we remember the source, we can use the reflection wisely.
How Maya Shows Up in Daily Life
You don’t need a cave in the Himalayas to meet Maya. You’ll find it:
In society’s script for success. The unspoken rules about timelines, titles, and status.
In family conditioning. The roles you learned to play—peacemaker, achiever, caretaker—even when they don’t fit anymore.
In media and institutions. The narratives that shape fear and desire, often without our consent.
In ego stories. The belief that worth must be earned, fixed, or proven.
None of these are inherently wrong. But when they run your life on autopilot, they keep you from hearing your own inner guidance.
The Personal Layer: Maya Within
Sometimes the heaviest illusions are the ones we carry for others: inherited trauma, community beliefs, the “right way” to be a good partner, parent, leader, or healer. We take on responsibilities and reactions that were never ours, and then wonder why we feel disconnected from ourselves.
Two anchors help here:
Discernment (Viveka): The capacity to tell what is you vs. not-you, truth vs. noise, essential vs. optional.
Non-attachment (Vairagya): The willingness to loosen your grip on identities, outcomes, and old stories long enough to meet the present moment honestly.
Simple Practices to See Through the Veil
You don’t need a two-hour ritual. Start with one minute of clarity, consistently.
1) One-Breath Reset (anytime):
Inhale through the nose: I’m here.
Exhale slowly: I let go of what isn’t mine.
Repeat 3–5 times. Notice the micro-shift.
2) Body Check-In (somatic truth test):
Ask: Is this thought/belief mine?
Scan jaw, throat, chest, belly. Tightness often signals “borrowed.” Ease often signals “true enough for now.”
3) “Not Mine” Journaling (5 minutes):
Prompt 1: What I’m carrying.
Prompt 2: What’s actually mine.
Draw a line between them. Release one item today.
4) Clarity Questions (self-inquiry):
If no one expected anything of me, what would I choose today?
What belief would I be free from if I set down everyone else’s story?
What action honors my core values in this season of life?
5) Gentle Boundaries (practice in the wild):
Replace over-explaining with: “That doesn’t align for me right now.”
Replace default yes with: “Let me check what’s true for me and circle back.”
Your Truth Is Still Here
Beneath every layer of Maya is a steady center that doesn’t need to perform to be worthy. You don’t have to fix everything to access it. You only have to see clearly enough to take the next honest step.
Maybe today the step is a breath. Maybe it’s saying no. Maybe it’s putting your bare feet on the ground for sixty seconds and remembering that your life belongs to you.
The veil will keep shifting. That’s okay. You can keep seeing.
Stay Connected
💌 Have thoughts or questions? I’d love to hear what came up for you—send me a message.
📖 Want more like this? Explore my other reflections and practices on the blog.
📸 Daily insights & gentle reminders: Come hang out on Instagram @wellnessbyjeri.
