Yoga and the Art of Working with Uncertainty

Clouds of uncertainty are hanging over our beloved United States at this time.

We are living in uncertain times. This Tuesday, an event will take place that could affect the future of the planet. My friend and yoga teacher extraordinaire, Mary Aranas, suggested to me that we, as yogis, have been preparing for this moment. We’ve been practicing all these years to meet just this kind of moment. 

Yes, it’s stressful and anxiety provoking. And no, we don’t have to run from the feelings. In fact, Pema Chödrön suggests we can run towards them, which may end up being more beneficial to us. She says:

… rather than being disheartened by the ambiguity, the uncertainty of life, what if we accepted it and relaxed into it? What if we said, “Yes, this is the way it is; this is what it means to be human,” and decided to sit down and enjoy the ride? …

"Sticking with uncertainty is how we learn to relax in the midst of chaos, how we learn to be cool when the ground beneath us suddenly disappears."

For sure, these past four years have felt like the ground was constantly shifting underneath us. This NY Times editorial suggests 15 things we’ve lost over these years. As much as it is our civic duty to go out and vote, might it also be our civic and yogic duty to meet the feelings of uncertainty head on rather than running away from them? In so doing, perhaps we can transform them into something useful and add to the calm amidst the chaos, a calm that will be so needed on Election day and the days following. 

Irwin Kula, American Rabbi writes:

The more you unfold, the less you unravel.
The only way we can grow is to let go of our “not me.”
You can’t really get enough of what you don’t really need.
Embrace the messiness of life.
“Daieno”: being happy with enough
There’s a lot to be learned in the messiness.
Uncertainty is the key to learning something new.

I think he’s essentially saying here that we have to train in unfolding amidst the vicissitudes of life. Yoga can help us to create the spaciousness within that will meet life’s moments freer of the biases that come when we have expectations of how things should be and pre-determined ideas about how karma should be unfolding in our earthly experiences. Hopefully we can somehow emerge from this very messy period having learned many new things. Hopefully, they can lead us to a period of progress that will redefine for all of us what it truly means to be great again. Our potential for greatness can only be realized if we’re willing to embrace uncertainty and touch the messiness.

A SAG Foundation workshop for actors entitled Embracing Uncertainty, had these useful ideas:

Ironically, one of the few certain things in life is uncertainty. This is especially true for those who pursue a road less traveled, take creative risks, and seek to welcome vulnerability as a friend. … our relationship with uncertainty affects our well-being and decision-making, and [can lead us to] learn strategies for leaning into ambiguity. Though fear may temp us to resist it, embracing the unknown can lead to innovation, growth, quieter anxiety, and a deeper connection with others and ourselves. As author Dame Margaret Drabble mused, "When nothing is sure, everything is possible."

For sure, actors, like all artists, live with uncertainty all the time. In Nature, we see tremendous diversity of plant and animal species. Perhaps this is the result of all of these living things living with the biggest uncertainties they face daily – will I eat or be eaten today?! Perhaps Nature is telling us not to hold on so tight to a rigid experience of life, but rather to let it unfold so that each moment can be pregnant with many possibilities, rather than just the few our mind is fixated on.

Deepak Chopra says:

Uncertainty is my path to freedom...

There is something incredibly freeing about not knowing how things are going to turn out. This way of meeting life’s unfolding can create space in our mind and heart to manifest realities we might not have imagined otherwise.

And finally, NY Times Editorialist David Brooks, sums it up for us:

Modesty means having the courage to rest in anxiety and not try to quickly escape it. Modesty means being tough enough to endure the pain of uncertainty and coming to appreciate that pain. Uncertainty and anxiety throw you off the smug island of certainty and force you into the free waters of creativity and learning. As Kierkegaard put it, “The more original a human being is, the deeper is his anxiety.”

Anxiety is not an easy thing to experience for certain. But perhaps on November 3rd and in the days following you will end up being more original!

At any rate, I certainly hope that your yoga and meditation practices to date have prepared you well for this week ahead. See you on the other side!

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you unfold more and unravel less, …
May you be an original!, …
May you touch uncertainty , …
For the benefit of ALL beings everywhere. 

Aloha, with Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun