Equanimity Versus Reactivity
I recently had a discussion with a couple of my students about equanimity versus reactivity. Why is it that similar life experiences leave some people stronger, more grounded, humble, aware and others seem to remain "stuck", unconscious, and continue to repeat these negative life experiences? Yoga instructor and psychologist, Bo Forbes reminds us that, "according to yogic philosophy, we're born with a karmic inheritance of mental and emotional impressions- known as samskaras- through which we cycle again and again during our lives." For me, the potential to embrace equanimity versus reactivity has evolved over the years through my yoga practice. My mat has provided countless opportunities to challenge old thought patterns, emotions, and habits.
Yoga teaches us how to shift our perspective and remain in the moment. It is the human condition to avoid pain and seek pleasure. At the hint of pain, through past conditioning, we label our experience. For example, when we move into an uncomfortable pose, the natural tendency is to react, to resist. We may react mentally through our thoughts: "My right thigh really hurts in this Warrior A. I don't like this. The room is too hot." We may react physically by fidgeting, moving hair out of our eyes or looking around the room. We may also react by holding the breath. As we learn to shift our perspective on our mat, we learn to stop labeling our experience. Instead of becoming irritated that our right thigh hurts, we notice burning, vibration, pulsation, heat. Instead of fidgeting, we breathe into the sensation as it builds. In remaining present to each individual sensation, thought, emotion, breath, we realize that the only constant is change. Just as feelings arise, they dissolve.
As we cultivate this awareness on our mat, we learn to take it into our daily lives as well. What a different experience our daily trip to the grocery store would be. Would you count the number of items in the person's cart in front of you because it appears they have more than the allotted 15 items in the express lane? When we begin to recognize the impermanence of life, we are invited to awaken to the miracle and beauty of each moment. Instead of having a conversation with our children, while on the phone, we learn to give them our undivided attention because we will never get back that moment on that day on that time. When we experience each moment on and off our mat in this manner, we experience the grace, the extraordinary in the ordinary.
Yoga teaches us how to shift our perspective and remain in the moment. It is the human condition to avoid pain and seek pleasure. At the hint of pain, through past conditioning, we label our experience. For example, when we move into an uncomfortable pose, the natural tendency is to react, to resist. We may react mentally through our thoughts: "My right thigh really hurts in this Warrior A. I don't like this. The room is too hot." We may react physically by fidgeting, moving hair out of our eyes or looking around the room. We may also react by holding the breath. As we learn to shift our perspective on our mat, we learn to stop labeling our experience. Instead of becoming irritated that our right thigh hurts, we notice burning, vibration, pulsation, heat. Instead of fidgeting, we breathe into the sensation as it builds. In remaining present to each individual sensation, thought, emotion, breath, we realize that the only constant is change. Just as feelings arise, they dissolve.
As we cultivate this awareness on our mat, we learn to take it into our daily lives as well. What a different experience our daily trip to the grocery store would be. Would you count the number of items in the person's cart in front of you because it appears they have more than the allotted 15 items in the express lane? When we begin to recognize the impermanence of life, we are invited to awaken to the miracle and beauty of each moment. Instead of having a conversation with our children, while on the phone, we learn to give them our undivided attention because we will never get back that moment on that day on that time. When we experience each moment on and off our mat in this manner, we experience the grace, the extraordinary in the ordinary.
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