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 The word samskara comes from the Sanskrit sam (complete or joined together) and kara (action, cause, or doing). In addition to being generalized patterns, samskaras are individual impressions, ideas, or actions; taken together, our samskaras make up our conditioning. Repeating samskaras reinforces them, creating a groove that is difficult to resist. Samskaras can be positive—imagine the selfless acts of Mother Theresa. They can also be negative, as in the self-lacerating mental patterns that underlie low self-esteem and self-destructive relationships.  (Katrine Naleid Stuck in a rut, yoga journal)

 SANKALPA (Intention)  Sankalpa unites our mind with those deeper parts of ourselves that can be so hard to access. Conscious use of sankalpa is a compelling way of communicating what we want to our emotional and spiritual bodies. ,

TAPAS (Intensity)   Tapas is the intensity that ignites our psychological process and helps sustain the discipline required for change , Shani (slowing)  Samskaras are instinctual and can be activated in the blink of an eye. But reacting impulsively only strengthens samskaras, making them even more irresistible.  shani (slowness) can lengthen the interval between impulse and action.  

 VIDYA (awareness)   intellectual insight that does not travel beyond the mind seldom translates into change. Because the body houses our emotional intelligence, it might not assimilate the insight. Yoga acts through the medium of the body, taking vidya to even deeper levels. Through yoga, we integrate and experience physically and emotionally what we intellectually know to be true.  

ABHAYA (fearlessness)  Part of the lure of old samskaras is the belief that "the devil you know is better than the one you don't."  Changing samskara requires abhaya (fearlessness). Abhaya helps us face the unknown.   

DARSHANA (vision)  Once we've examined the roots of our patterns, we must finally create a new samskara. To do this, we need to envision what it might look like. When we create a vision for our new pattern, we must give it a life force more vital than the old one. 

 ABHYASA (Practice)  When starting a new pattern, or in times of stress, the lure of old patterns is strongest. Abhyasa (practice) helps make our new samskara more powerful than the old; the more we reinforce the new groove, the stronger it becomes.