असंयतात्मना योगो दुष्प्राप इति मे मतिः।वश्यात्मना तु यतता शक्योऽवाप्तुमुपायतः॥
asaṅyatātmanā yogo duṣprāpa iti me matiḥvaśyātmanā tu yatatā śakyo ’vāptum upāyataḥ
Word by word
The verse says
For one whose self is not restrained, the practice is hard to reach — that is my view. But for one who strives with a restrained self, it can be reached, by the right means.
In plain words
The last word is the practical one.
Upāyataḥ — by means, by method, by going about it the right way.
Not by wanting it more. By method.
Where you've felt this · in failure
Willpower alone has failed you every January for nine years. The year it finally worked, what had changed was something about your kitchen, not something about you.
Going deeper
Upāyataḥ deserves its own attention, because it says the problem is often technical rather than moral.
An upāya is a means, an expedient, the way of getting at something. Krishna is saying that the practice is reachable — for someone who is working at it — provided they go about it correctly.
That sits directly against how most people fail at this. The usual diagnosis after failing is insufficient desire, which leads to more resolve, which fails again.
This verse offers a different account. Method is doing more of the work than resolve, and everything practical in this chapter supports it: the seat that does not wobble, the food that is measured, the room with no draught.
And mama matiḥ — my view, my opinion. Krishna marks it as a judgement rather than a decree, which is a small thing and an honest one.