How to control your thoughts and improve concentration
By Matías Schmidt
Have you ever tried to control your mind? With the body it seems easier: if you want to walk, you simply stand up and move. Your physical form obeys your orders. But when you try to dictate to your mind what to think, when to think it, or how to stay still, the story changes completely. Although we believe we hold the reins of our life, most of the time we discover we do not even govern our own thoughts.
Yoga proposes that mastering the mind is as fundamental as mastering the body. If you learn to direct your attention, you stop being a slave to your thoughts and become their owner.
The problem of poor concentration and mental distraction
The path is not as simple as closing your eyes and waiting for calm. To progress, you need to observe how clear your mental road actually is.
When you try to concentrate on a single idea or image, can you hold it steady, or does your attention start to wander? If unrelated thoughts or distractions appear immediately, deep concentration or meditation will not yet be fruitful. At that point, your work is to recognize the interruptions and set them aside, again and again.
Imagine “intrusive” thoughts as unwanted visitors to whom you must close the door. Returning to the focal point is not a passing technique; it must become a daily habit. Holding your attention on a single object, thought or image — even for a few minutes — is the indispensable step before reaching a deep meditative state.
How to calm the mind and regulate mental fluctuations (Cittavrttis)
Anyone who has tried to sit in silence knows how complex this process is. In theory it seems simple, but in practice the mind rebels. It generates a tactical discomfort, becomes restless and looks for any excuse to escape — from bodily pain to vivid imagination.
It is in that first conscious attempt that we notice the untamed, disordered state of our mind. Becoming aware of this chaos confronts us with the time and energy we have wasted in aimless rumination. This is where the yoga tradition speaks of regulating mental fluctuations or “waves” (citta-vrttis) — also known in psychology as mental rumination or cognitive overload.
Just as physical mastery grants agility and precision to the body, mental discipline leads to self-mastery, sovereignty and control of one's own personality: the basis for succeeding in any area of life.
Mental regulation exercises to reach inner silence
It is completely normal for the mind to resist at first: it has spent years wandering without a filter. The practitioner should not get discouraged or abandon the attempt out of frustration, since giving up at this stage makes future attempts harder.
Instead of fighting the discomfort, the key is to cultivate patience and use simple regulation methods to take the first steps. Once you gradually isolate yourself from external influences and the impact of distractions, attention becomes introspective. The final aim of this process is to access that Emphatic Stillness (nispanda bhava), a space of deep silence where the mind finally rests in its own centre: one of the simplest and most transformative deep meditation techniques to reduce stress.
Have you noticed how hard it is to keep the mind on a single thought without distractions appearing? If you want to explore these dynamics of mental regulation and concentration techniques for your daily practice, feel free to write to me.