Yoga Sutra iv.4 “nirmanacittani asmitamatrat"

Yoga Sutra iv.4  “nirmanacittani asmitamatrat”
“Constructed or created mind springs from the sense of individuality (asmita).”
The sutra is explaining the origin of asmita, which we refer to as egoism, pride or our “I” consciousness.  Our ego is our sense of individuality, it is the part of our mind that is constantly screaming “me” what about me.  Our ego creates a division between ourselves and others, nature (prakrti) and our true selves which is our “unconstructed” mind or self (atman) also known as the individual spirit or soul.  It is this division that allows the ego to trick our concsious into believing that we are different from others, not enough, and gives us the haunting feeling that we are alone in this crowded world.
It is through this feeling of separation that our ego, and therefore created mind, gains power over our emotions and actions.  We are tricked into thinking that each day of our lives is a struggle for survival.  We awaken each day with our hearts and minds so full of fear we are barely able to allow enough breathe, and therefore oxygen, to enter our constricted chest.  We then learn to breathe from our bellies because our chest is so tight and full of fear, anxiety and grief we would be gasping for air if we relied only on our lungs to breath.
Of course in the moment we can not identify why we are so scared or why we are on the verge of hyperventilating.  If we could breath deeply into our lungs and ask ourselves why we feel this way we might discover that we are creating scenarios that keep us living in fear and creating stress in our lives.  Then we could ask ourselves why?  If we ask “why” often enough we begin to notice that there is a conversation going on inside of us almost constantly.  Okay I know who I am but who it this other person you ask yourself.  Well the other person is this “constructed or created mind” referred to in this sutra.
Every time you identify your created mind you take away the power you have previously given to it.  Every time you take a deep breathe into your lungs instead of your belly and instead of listening to what this voice is saying you take away it’s power.  If you can maintain this awareness your “created mind” will become a controlled mind and the feeling of separation or aloneness will fade away.