Yoga is destroyed by six causes: overeating, excessive effort, talking too much, rigid adherence to rules, excessive company, and mental restlessness.

This verse enumerates the six “destroyers of yoga” (yoga-nāśaka):

1. Atyāhāra — Eating too much exhausts energy in digestion
2. Prayāsa — Excessive effort (includes physical overtraining)
3. Prajalpa — Unnecessary talking disperses prāṇa
4. Niyamāgraha — Obsessive adherence to rules (rigidity, literalism)
5. Jana-saṅga — Excessive socializing (constant distraction)
6. Laulya — Restlessness, instability, inconstancy

It is surprising that niyamāgraha is on the list: attachment to rules is also an obstacle. Fanaticism about “purity” or “perfect” practice can be as harmful as negligence.

Laulya describes the monkey mind, jumping from one object to another. In the age of constant notifications, this obstacle is epidemic.

The antidote is the balance described in the previous verse: yukta in everything.