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.