Chapter VI · Śloka 17
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु |
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ||
युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा ||
yuktāhāra-vihārasya yukta-ceṣṭasya karmasu |
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā ||
yukta-svapnāvabodhasya yogo bhavati duḥkha-hā ||
Yoga becomes the destroyer of pain for one who is moderate in eating and recreation, balanced in effort in all activities, and disciplined in sleep and wakefulness.
Yukta — measured, balanced, appropriate — is the operative word appearing three times. This is the Gita's answer to extreme asceticism: not deprivation but proportion. When all the natural rhythms of life are brought into right measure, yoga arises as the natural fruit.