"Yoga also means acting in such a way that all our attention is directed to the activity we are carrying out at the moment" - T.K.V. Desikachar in "The Heart of Yoga" (1995).
The contemporary situation forces individuals to (apparently) be capable of performing multiple tasks simultaneously, something already defined in dictionaries as multitasking. Here, there is a machine-body and an operating-system mind. The risk of normalizing this dynamic lies, among other things, but perhaps primarily, in being absent from our own existence, with a frequent sense of losing something—both within and outside ourselves.
As a result, we see realities marked by the need to improve performance in every aspect of life.
The machine-body and operating-system mind that we possess today appear incompatible with performance expectations. As a solution, many people end up succumbing to self-exhaustion and/or the use of substances, often indiscriminately, to maintain their status as robot-like subjects. Others seek help in Medicine, particularly in Psychiatry.
It is often believed that we, as psychiatrists, have the power to help individuals enhance their performance at work, at home, in bed, and in sleep through medications or behavioral techniques. This presents a significant danger in our practice today—failing to identify the social factors (both macro and micro) and inadvertently contributing to the perpetuation of a status quo that benefits only a few. In my view, this would be iatrogenic.
This does not mean we should not treat the psychological disorders that individuals suffer from. But it may point toward recognizing a collective in distress and fostering a critical perspective on our societal ways of functioning. Beyond traditional psychiatric practices, we can offer a darśana—a Sanskrit term meaning "point of view, a certain way of seeing"—that aligns with one of the meanings of Yoga: creating a state where we are always present in every action, thought, and word.
The advantage of applying this to material reality is that we perform each role we play more effectively without losing contact with our own existence. This effect is beneficial, but it is not the ultimate goal—the goal is to be more connected with the real essence of oneself, the whole. Directing our attention to an activity in a way that keeps us fully present can be seen as a challenge or as something simple. I believe much of our social dynamics complicate this, but being "attentive to attention" may be simpler than we imagine.
Dr. André Luiz Figueirêdo, MD
Psychiatrist
CRM-SP¹ 224805 | RQE² 95913
¹REGIONAL COUNCIL OF MEDICINE REGISTER #
²SPECIALIST QUAILIFICATION REGISTER #
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