Equanimity

If you didn't know about the seasons, you might think that Fall was the beginning of the end. Leaves are falling, everything green appears to be dying, birds are skipping town, darkness is creeping its way into the light. Ahhh! But thankfully, most of us know that it is just a necessary part of the cycle of seasons. Change is a constant in nature. And the same is true in our own lives. Even as things continuously change around us, we have the ability to maintain equanimity-the calm, evenness of mind that comes with a balanced internal state. Yoga helps us to cultivate equanimity and experience our lives from an internal reference point rather than living at the mercy of external circumstances. Unfortunately, it can be pretty easy to allow yourself to respond to life's fluctuations with reactivity and emotion instead of balance and clarity. For this reason, a constant reminder (e.g., a daily yoga or meditation practice) is key in maintaining equanimity.

Why all the equanimity talk? Well, over the last few weeks, I have come across the same parable in 3 different sources: Yoga Journal, Deepak Chopra's "Perfect Health" and Baron Baptiste's "Journey Into Power". I thought, "something is really trying to pound this message into my head." Here's how it goes...
One day, the stallion of a Chinese Farmer runs off. All the neighbors gathered around saying "Very bad luck!". "Bad luck, good luck," said the Chinese Farmer. "Who knows?" A few days later the stallion returned with a whole herd of wild horses. "Very good luck!" said the neighbors. "Bad luck, good luck," said the farmer. "Who knows?" A week later the farmer's son was trying to break in one of the wild horses. He got thrown off the horse and broke his leg. "Very bad luck!" said the neighbors. "Bad luck, good luck, who knows?" came the reply. Several weeks later the Chinese army came marching through the village looking for able-bodied youth to join the army and fight. When they came to the farmer's house and saw that his son had a broken leg, they left him alone and moved on. "Very good luck!" said the neighbors.
It goes on like this, basically showing us that we can maintain inner peace no matter what may be happening. The neighbors reactive responses declared the experiences good or bad, but if we are non-reactive and stay calm, we just ride through the experiences.

I think this message came to me because there are a lot of shifts happening in my yoga teaching life lately. And instead of reacting with "this is good or bad," I'm just seeing where it takes me. Yoga has taught me to remain balanced internally as my external world shifts and changes. There may be waves, but instead of letting them rock me about, I simply ride them on my super yogi surfboard of perfect balance.

By building awareness, focusing and quieting your mind, following your breath and forming a connection with your body, you begin to develop an internal reference point. Regardless of external circumstances, you maintain your natural, harmonious inner essence. Even if certain things crumble and disintegrate in your life, your equanimity knows that the destruction is simply making space for something new. For example, if your 16 year old hadn't burned down your kitchen, you never would have had it remodeled (and now it looks so lovely). Yes, this actually happened. I am the 16 year old.

So as life rocks and rolls you this Fall, keep calm and turn to your breath. Turn inward to your natural state of harmony and ride all of your experiences with joy and ease!