Yoga is not for one who eats too much nor for one who fasts excessively; nor for one who sleeps too much nor for one who stays awake excessively, Arjuna.

This verse explicitly rejects ascetic extremes. Kṛṣṇa establishes the “middle way” that the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā (1.11) also emphasizes in almost identical words.

Four extremes are rejected:

• Atyaśnata — eating too much
• Ekāntam anaśnata — eating nothing
• Atisvapna-śīla — sleeping too much
• Jāgrata — not sleeping (excessive wakefulness)

Yoga requires balance (yukta). Extremes in either direction impede practice: too much food dulls; extreme fasting weakens; oversleeping causes lethargy; sleep deprivation destroys discernment.

This teaching challenges the popular image of the yogī as an extreme ascetic. The true yogī doesn’t torture their body but cares for it as the instrument it is.

Moderation is not mediocrity. Finding the right point for your body, at this moment, requires more sensitivity than following fixed rules.