The Practice of Equanimity

Equanimity is a term you may have heard in a yoga or meditation class before. It means to have mental and emotional composure, arising from a deep awareness and acceptance of the present moment. Some might associate equanimity with being cold or devoid of feeling. Or to some it might seem like an unattainable concept, practiced only by monks or renunciants. This is quite the contrary. Being equanimous doesn't mean you aren't engaged in the world or that you are suppressing your feelings. It means you are fully engaged and operating from the witness mind, fully conscious and beyond any attachment or aversion to what is happening.

It is an excellent tool for us in today's world, as we are juggling the ups and downs of a multitasking, high gear, high stress lifestyle. Equanimity is one tool that helps us avoid the pitfalls of suffering. And yes, it takes lots of practice. So why not try it out on your yoga mat to get a taste of what it's like.

Mukunda Stiles speaks about equanimity in his book Ayurvedic Yoga Therapy (p. 112), when describing the asana Natarajasana, the King Dancer pose. This asana is named for the hindu god, Shiva, and symbolizes Shiva as witness consciousness. Natarajasana is a standing pose, back bend and balancing pose all in one. It is an incredible heart-opener and when I practice it, I really find that for a few moments everything pauses and begins to transcend time. I float in this consciousness, feeling connected to everything. Moments like this remind me to take this expanded consciousness off the yoga mat and into the world.

Mukunda goes on to say "By focusing on the witness consciousness, one can learn to transcend human frailties and difficulties with equanimity, while remaining fully engaged in the daily routine of everyday life."

To deepen this practice, try it out in this heart-opening meditation, from Dr. Kelly McGonigal.

This a 10 minute meditation on the practice of equanimity from her blog, Science and Sutras.

"Overview from Kelly: In all meditation traditions, it is believed that the foundation for true happiness is overcoming the basic sense of separation from others that most of us have most of the time. This sense of separation includes (but is not limited to) feeling different than, in competition with, judgmental about, or wronged by others.

This meditation will help you observe with mindfulness the thoughts, sensations, and emotions that arise when you think about three (self-created) categories of “others”: friends, enemies, and strangers. It then gives you the opportunity to choose to dissolve the sense of separation by cultivating a sense of “equanimity”—that is, reminding yourself of the essential sameness of friends, enemies, and strangers. This may not be what first comes to mind when you think of happiness, but there is a great deal of wisdom in this notion and in the meditation practice."

Her meditation practice is also available as streaming audio file, here.

Equanimity is a sublime way of being and is described in Patanjali's Yoga Sutras as one of the four attitudes to cultivate for being with people. (Sutra I.33)

So why not give equanimity a try by practicing vrkasana (tree pose) or natarajasana and become the witness mind as you float in a sea of calmness and expansion.

What is your experience on and/or off the mat with equanimity? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

Who am I?

I feel like I have not been fully "showing up" in many parts of my life for a good while now. It has largely been due to my experience with chronic pain. I have been diagnosed with several things, but there is no need to go into details, because the real heart of the matter is that I have been identifying with my body as if it were my true Self. I have been blinded by the veil of suffering.

Gratefully in the past several years of dealing with this I've had moments of clarity, where the veil has been lifted, along with my spirit and understanding of who I truly am. When it comes down to it, I am not my body. I am not my mind. I am not all the little labels that could be attached to myself for all the roles I play in this life.

And that's just it. We "play" the roles we've been handed. It is part of this cosmic play, this divine dance, we call life. In sanskrit it is called Lila or Leela, which in a non-dualistic philosophy, means the creative play of the divine absolute.

When I remember this, it always puts a smile on my face, much like the cheshire cat in Alice in Wonderland, because I've remembered the little secret that has been shared with me. Ramana Maharshi, a famous Indian saint and jnana yogi, was famous for asking the question "Who am I?" to lift the veils of illusion.

So the next you are feeling crushed or even elated by all the things that make up your experience in this life, remember that you are not any of the labels, the pain, the beauty, the accomplishments or the failures. You are simply a part of the cosmic play that is life. You are a thread woven into the blanket of consciousness that covers us all. You are the true, capital "S" Self.

life is circular

I just finished teaching my first workshop series on Pranayama today. It was a great journey to share and of course I learned a lot along the way, which never ceases to amaze me. It covered the basics of Pranayama, what it is, how to discern it, purification practices, breath work to strengthen prana, the energy body's system and anatomy and a few forms of meditation. I plan to offer it again in the Fall. It may be slightly revamped, too.

On another blissful note. My beloved Guru, Ma Jaya, was here in Atlanta last weekend. She blew me away and left nothing but the true Self standing. oh. my. god. My gratitude has never been deeper. Can't wait until she comes back in October.

I will be gently moving into summer sabbatical of sorts in a couple of weeks, teaching a little less and studying more, through the breath, through art and wherever else my intuition takes me (hopefully the beach at somepoint.)

And so I leave with this quote from my Guru:

"The Self is the source of Shakti on every level of one's being."

-Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

happy

I missed the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century!

Last night India, China, Japan and other people in these areas were able to view a spectacular cosmic phenomenon. It happened to be the longest solar eclipse you could view for all of the 21st century.

And I missed it.

Not that I am in one of these locations I mentioned, but there were people streaming live videos of it on the internet.
http://www.live-eclipse.org/

There are a few photos on this site that were interesting and one brilliant photo of the eclipse itself.


Here is what my teacher said about this particular eclipse from a number of different sources, one of them a Vedic astrologer:

“Tonight’s eclipse is a significant planetary event as “much of the world is preparing to view the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century, with the new moon appearing to cover the sun from our view for more than 6 minutes, peaking at 10:35 pm tonight. The strongest effect will last from 10:30 – 10:40 pm. It will not be visible in the US, but has sparked great interest on the other side of the world where it will be visible in much of India, China, and Japan. Many Indian villages are seeing an influx of people for this cosmic event. The eclipse will also have an effect for about 2.5 hours on either side. Keep in mind that even those not along the eclipse path are affected by the total planetary “reboot” of a solar eclipse.

Many yogis and spiritual masters recommended meditation during this solar eclipse, in part because electromagnetic energies are intensified and amplified, so it is believed that any spiritual practices will have an auspicious and magnified effect. Eclipses are considered potent and profound opportunities for spiritual practice and major transformation. Solar eclipses always occur on the New Moon, which represents renewal and the opportunity for new beginnings. Eclipses make that energy much more intense and its effects more long-lasting, so it is a powerful time for practicing rituals of transformation and release. It is a good time to switch gears and use this planetary transition to absorb the teachings of transformation - to shift from the external masculine to the internal feminine and to awaken the Divine Feminine Shakti within each of us. It is being seen as a time to transform the energy of the planet to a higher vibration. The mystical symbolism of the moon or Mother covering the sun or masculine brings to mind the teachings of Shiva and Shakti. Dr. Robby Svoboda wrote that this eclipse has a strange gravitational effect that will “multiply the effect of sadhana” making it a very auspicious time to meditate, do puja and pray for health, healing, wealth, love and wisdom.”

This solar eclipse occurs in Cancer, the constellation that relates to the needs of the heart, nourishment, deep security, home and family. It will relate to how we resolve our collective insecurity, heal ourselves and ultimately, create peace and balance on our planet - how we "come home" to our true Self that is free and in the flow of divine grace. One appropriate mantra to perform during the eclipse period is a sloka (verse) from the hymn associated with the Sun (Surya) that was recited by Sage Agastya to Rama on the battlefield before he fought with Ravana (in the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana). “Aditya-Hridayam Punyam, Sarva Shatru-vinashanam,” and roughly means, “Keep the Sun in your heart, and all evils will vanish from the world.” While repeating it, imagine a brilliant, flaming Sun burning brightly in your heart. This Sun is brighter than a thousand suns…it is the Divine Sun within each of us that burns away all the illusion and suffering of the world.”

love is freedom

When I say love is freedom, I mean that when you experience unconditional love, you can't help but be free in that moment. My guru taught me this. She is the embodiment of unconditional love. Check out this video about her: www.kashi.org/majaya

Photo: Sri Sri Sri ek sah Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

Over this Fourth of July, I meditated on the idea of freedom. And I came to the understanding that love, unconditional, love, authentic love...is what gives us freedom. It liberates us. Someone wisely said, "love will set you free." Of course this is not a new thought, it is an idea we've all heard before, but somewhere it settled deep in my heart and I remembered and experienced it again.

This is my true love...

Here's some thoughts on love...

Love is patient and kind.

It is not jealous nor conceited nor proud;

love is not ill-mannered, it does not seek its own advantage and is not irritable.

Love does not keep a record of wrong, is not happy with evil, but rejoices in the truth.

Love is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope and to endure.

- St. Paul

My two dogs fill my heart with unconditional love as do most animals. Pets can be so fulfilling to the lonely heart. They don't ask for much, but return the favor with loyalty and love. Its so simple, but true.

If you could imagine that there was a flame and that it was shining through a large, intricately faceted diamond, there would be a myriad of reflections dancing all around it. Now imagine you are one of those refractions of light and that this flame is the supreme consciousness from which all in existence comes from. Some call that supreme consciousness God or Allah or Christ or Buddha or Love.

So the next time you're curious about what it means to be free, first try to feel love or understanding or kindness in your heart for the next person you see, no matter who they are. And just look into their eyes and give them a little, mysterious smile...for no reason other than because you can. It may seem hard to imagine doing this with a stranger, but if you can transcend that fear, you get a little gift, because someone may reflect that smile right back. And then, you've just experienced unconditional love in its simplest form.

namaste.

art and yoga

i got a call from the marketing director at the atlanta botanical garden and he wanted to know if i'd like to a photo shoot to help cross promote the henry moore exhibition and the yoga class I teach there.

of course i said yes and i put the call out to a couple of my yogi friends to join me.

this project ended up being so much fun. we were given permission to climb all over these beautiful sculptures and get into an asana (yoga postures) that seemed to compliment the sculptures.

i hope you enjoy these photos and i hope pr group helping the botanical gardens finds many publications to carry their article and photos.