Yoga and the Art of Staying Equanimous

Things may be changing all around us, but we can still remain balanced, equanimous.

……………….

Feeling unbalanced lately amid all the world events swirling around us? I certainly have been. Which is why when I had the opportunity recently to do an online meditation course on Equanimity with Buddhist meditation teacher, Sharon Salzberg, I jumped at the chance.

According to Sharon, Equanimity – or Uppekhā as it is called in Pāli, the language of the Buddha – is one of the four “Boundless states” or Brahma Viharas – that it is possible for humans to experience.

Despite all the chaos going on around us and the life experiences that make us feel bound, we can experience boundless states in our minds. The Buddha offered us trainings that could serve as a potential way out of feeling trapped.

Over 10 days, the course offered audio teachings, inspirations, reflections with opportunities to journal, fact checks, takeaways, and references. It was rich with information, insights and wisdom. I’d like to share a few of them that have been resonating with me particularly at this time.

“Equanimity” is synonymous with “balance.” Sharon writes:

“Fact: Balance is like a living gyroscope, ebbing and flowing.”

We’ve all seen gyroscopes rolling around being pushed in different directions by the various forces it comes into contact with. And yet, it’s easy to imagine that despite being moved around – and sometimes even being thrashed around – in space, its center is very calm. It’s akin to the eye of a hurricane.

Similarly, as living beings we too can create that center of calm within ourselves. Yoga and meditation practitioners know that breath, awareness, and wisdom can aide us in our pursuit of this state of being. And, Sharon suggests in the following takeaway another way we can be reunited with our center:

A sense of meaning in our lives can provide a deep core, much like the gyroscope’s core, lifting our aspirations, strengthening us in adversity, and helping us have a sense of who we are and what we care about despite changing situations and painful experiences.

Reflecting on this made me pause to think about the things I value that give me a sense of meaning for my life. Many things have come to mind over the past few months. Here are just a few: kindness … healthy boundaries … knowing right vs. wrong … being generous when and where I can be, sharing what I have with others … knowing what’s important to me and trying to make a difference in my small little world … seeing the ‘we’ in ‘me’ … planting good karmic seeds every chance I get … believing that what goes up must eventually come down …. With each passing day, the list grew, as I am sure yours will grow too, should you do this exercise. At any rate, remembering some of my core values has helped to keep me calm and returned me to feeling balanced these past few months. So, to me, the art of staying equanimous is knowing what your values are that lie at the center of your being and staying true to them the best you can.

Another bit of inspiration Sharon offered that was particularly helpful to me was:

“Inspo: we don't have to do things in the hardest way possible.”

She followed this up with this takeaway:

It’s more effective to work with pain by titrating (taking breaks) and building in balance along the way.

We already know from our yoga practice on the mat that we can’t keep going and going. We have to take breaks – for example taking child’s pose and doing savasana. And out in the external world, we have to do the same.

The word “titrate” kept popping into my head. It reminded me to pause … take difficult things in small doses … take breaks … do fun things that help keep me calm – in my case, lately that has been cooking … read/watch/listen to the news just in small doses …. Employing these strategies have helped me to build in some balance along the way.

These are the perennial words from the Bhagavad Gita which I have shared in past e-Letters that have helped to keep me feeling balanced through the years since I first read them:

You have control over actions alone, never over its fruits.  Live not for the fruits of action, nor attach yourself to inaction.  Established in Yoga, O Arjuna, perform actions having abandoned attachment and having become balanced in success and failure, for balance of mind is called Yoga.

-- Krishna speaking to Arjuna in Chapter 2 of the Bhagavad-Gita, verses 47 and 48.

In your asana practice, try to remain balanced whether you succeed or fail. Just try your best. And similarly, in life, all we can do is act in the world with grace, dignity, and wisdom. The results of our actions are really not up to us. But the realization that our best actions are sewing good karmic seeds that will one day grow into being useful to all beings can be enough to help us remain feeling balanced, equanimous.

Sharon said that one of her earliest teachers would often say to his students: Stay equanimous. So, my hope for you is that no matter what happens next Tuesday, I hope that you can stay equanimous.

May you be happy, …
May you be healthy, …
May you keep your values at the forefront of your awareness, ...
May you take meaningful breaks, …
May you stay equanimous, … both for your benefit and for the benefit of All Beings Everywhere.

Aloha and Metta,
Paul Keoni Chun

A walk in the woods of Central Park brings me into a state of equanimity.

For us New Yorkers, Central Park is the center of our collective gyroscope.