The science of yoga however, has remained unchanged, as the yogic procedures have been researched on and determined by our ancient seers. There are clear-cut guidelines for both prevention and cure. Today when, in despair at the failure of Western medicine to deliver every time, we are turning to natural remedies, yoga is coming into its own. The ancients said that the mind is the cause of all diseases, physiological or mental. Now there is clear proof that mental stress produces many diseases coronary and respiratory illness, peptic ulcers, weak immune systems.
Mental stress is due to disorganised behavior inside the psyche.
On coming into contact with a pleasurable situation or object for example, a cigarette they give feedback to the mind. The organs of action pursue the same object to perpetuate the experience. Thus, the mind and senses are caught in a vicious cycle each reinforcing the other, being themselves reinforced by the experience. Patanjali emphasised that the cause of pain lies in the identification of the seer with the seen, and the remedy lies in the disassociation. If the mind is silenced by the practice of asanas and pranayama and the senses are quietened, one's perception is altered, leading to a sense of detachment in observation.