Maintaining Sanity in Insane Times

I was recently talking to a friend of mine who, as a teacher, enjoys summers off but will soon be returning to school. She explained that she's been doing a lot of yoga and personal work this summer - and wonders how her hard-earned serenity will hold up when she has to return to the chaos of work. I thought it was an excellent question - how do we maintain serenity in chaos? Here are a few thoughts:

*Maintain your practice and your routine. When time is tight, it becomes tempting to abandon yoga, meditation, or whatever you practice. We all take a day (or two+!) off from time to time, which is fine. The problem is that we'll tell ourselves it's ok to take a few more days off, which then turns into a week, a month and longer. Yes, it can be difficult, but making the time - even just 10 minutes a day for meditation - will keep you in touch with your practice and yourself. You will stay more centered and paradoxically, have more time for the rest of your life if you make the time to practice. Trust the process. Show up, and the process of practice will carry you along.

*Observe your internal dialog. Cultivate an awareness of your thoughts and feelings, and ask yourself: what are you adding to your situation? Negativity? Resistance? Often our thoughts about a situation can add a lot of stress and negativity, and we're not even aware of them. A good practice is to acknowledge our thoughts and feelings and label them (ex: "I'm thinking about how much I dread going back to school. Feeling anxiety.") Then, practice letting the thought and/or feeling go, and return to the present moment by focusing on your breath or other physical sensations. (Note I said 'practice' - it does take some practice). If you have trouble letting go of your thoughts, visualization can help: you might imagine your thoughts or feelings are like clouds drifting overhead, helium balloons that you release and watch float away, or boxes on a conveyor belt being carried away. For some reason, thoughts and feelings seem to have a need to be acknowledged, but it helps to remember that they are not facts. Some are useful; some are not. Just practice observing them and you will eventually begin to realize they are transitory and you don't have to get carried away by them. And when we are not caught up in our own storyline (ex: "I have to go back to school in a few weeks and it's going to be awful") we can meet day to day challenges with a lot more clarity, less negativity and resistance.

*Remind yourself of your intention. Why do you do what you do? Do you have a personal mission statement? Even if your job (or your life) isn't finding a cure for cancer or ending world hunger, you can create your own meaning by considering what is important to you and reminding yourself of this regularly. It doesn't have to be a big mission like saving the world. Maybe you will try to make one person smile today. Your mental health (and others') will benefit.

*Ask yourself when you start tensing up - "could I lighten up about this?" Chances are, you could. We tend to take things - especially things our ego doesn't like, such as conflict, disapproval, and other challenges sooo seriously. You may have heard this before, but it bears repeating: when you're stressed about something, ask yourself, "will this matter in a year from now?" Most of our day to day snits we won't even remember in a year. Take a deep breath (or several) and lighten up when you can.

*Have some fun. Laugh. Have a sense of humor, and don't forget to make time to see friends and do the things you enjoy. If you spend a lot of time working, you will need some time spent away from work to decompress and recalibrate your mind and emotions. Again, time constraints can make this a challenge, but you won't regret making this a priority. Of course, as with all things, balance is the key. I'm not suggesting going on a weekend drinking binge in the name of having fun, just that it's a good idea to make sure you have some down time.

*Accept that life can be difficult. I think sometimes we forget this, and when the going gets tough, we think we're doing something wrong, or are inadequate to meet the challenge. The truth is, life is challenging for everyone at times, and in the big picture, it's not that important that we are 100% happy, 100% of the time. Our expectation or need to be happy all the time can actually make us more unhappy! This doesn't mean you have to endure horrible situations that can and should be changed. It just means that not every phase of our life is easy - and that our greatest times of growth come from our greatest challenges. Step up to the plate. This is tapas. And don't hesitate to ask for help when you need it!

*Finally, remember that a challenging situation is an opportunity to serve. Whether you choose to serve God, humanity, your highest ideals (or all of the above), challenges are times to remember that it's not all about you (or me). When you stop feeling you have to protect yourself all the time, and enter a situation with an attitude of service, your load is lightened. And remember, all you have to do is do your best, and then leave it. (see last week's entry on the niyamas)!

Of course it's also a good idea to make sure you are eating well and getting enough rest, too. These are a few things I try to remember to do when the going gets tough. What do you do?

Yoga Philosophy You Can Use - the Niyamas

Ok, so we've talked about the yamas, which have mostly to do with our behavior towards others. The next stop on our path, the niyamas, sometimes called "restraints," have more to do with our behavior toward ourselves. There are five of them as well, and they are:

Sauca: purity, or cleanliness. You've heard that "cleanliness is next to Godliness," right? The idea behind sauca is about keeping yourself and the things in your life in good order so that they can function their best and help you live your life well. Knowing the connection between the body and the mind, if feed your body junk, or take drugs, for example, can you really expect to have optimal mental health? You wouldn't put sewage in your car and expect it to run well. And, as seems to be the case in all of these practices, there is a more subtle, internal aspect to this practice also. It's a good idea to examine what kind of things you're feeding your 'mental body' also. For example, if you spend all your free time watching violent movies - you are in essence, feeding your brain these images. You can imagine, it's hard to have a quiet mind after watching a horrifically violent movie. Does this mean we should just avoid all of the unpleasantries of life? Not at all. It just means we should be mindful of what we choose to ingest - literally, and figuratively.

Of course, the tendency to keep things clean and pure must be met with brahmacarya, or moderation. Going to extremes in behavior is ultimately self-defeating.

Santosha - contentment. We're all seeking contentment, aren't we? As elusive as it may seem at times, it helps to remember that positive states like contentment can be cultivated. There are many ways - and everyone will have their own. For me, yoga, music and laughter can do the trick. Another way to increase contentment is to cultivate gratitude. There are so many parts of our lives that we take for granted, if we only stop to realize them. We're so quick to recognize the things that go wrong in our lives - we seldom stop to acknowledge the little things that go right. For example, I was able to go to yoga class this morning because a myriad of things went right. Just to name a few - my car started; I had gas in my car; I didn't have a wreck on the way; the teacher had the same luck and showed up and was generous enough to share her knowledge with us; my body was healthy and pain-free enough to participate...the list could go on and on. We so rarely notice our non-headaches - the absence of problems, pain or suffering, we just become aware when they show up. Waking up to the presence of non-problems goes a long way toward cultivating contentment.

Tapas - heat, or "glow." I think of tapas as having to do with perserverence, self-discipline and enthusiasm. We all have days in which we don't want to go to work, exercise or do something we know we need to do, or is good for us. What makes us work through our resistance? Tapas. Sometimes it helps to remind ourselves of why it's good for us to do something. When I'm feeling like blowing off my yoga practice, I often tell myself - I never regret doing yoga, only not doing it. And, sometimes, we just think too much about things - getting into mental arguments with ourselves about what we should do. In these cases, we need to just let go the internal chatter and just focus on the present moment - and just do what is called for. Because in the doing it, in the showing up we've already made progress. Not to mention, to get the benefits of any practice, we need sustained effort, or heat. Tapas.

Of course, burnout is an all-too-common fact of life and we need to be mindful - and moderate - in our activity levels. And, as with all of these practices, tapas can be cultivated. Like all of the yamas and niyamas, it's something we have to practice. We may not start out with much self-discipline, but by making one little change every day we can make a lot of progress before too long.

Enthusiasm and motivation can be cultivated, too. Often going to a workshop, a museum, being in nature or just doing something outside of your routine, or getting a change of scenery can mentally wipe the slate clean and be energizing too.

Svadyaya - study. Here's another example of a practice that has both external and internal aspects. Learning and study are vital to personal development, to be sure. Whether we're learning a new hobby, learning yoga philosophy or a new language, learning is good for the brain and mental health. The other side of the coin, though, is self-study. We should regularly engage in honest self-reflection, which should include examining not only the things we could improve, but the things we've done well. As with all things, we will do well to remember the underpinning of ahimsa, or nonharming, and approach self-study with a compassionate attitude. Having taken an honest look at ourselves and our behavior, with the self-discipline of tapas, we can begin to make changes in the direction of becoming the person we want to be.

Isvara pranidhana - surrender. This practice is often described as devotion to God - or surrendering the fruits of our labors to God. Though this interpretation may not resonate with everyone, Isvara pranidhana still a workable, helpful concept. One way to think about it is surrendering the illusion of control. As much as we would like to be in control of our lives - and of course, having a certain amount of control of ourselves is desirable - at some point, we have to acknowledge and admit that we can't control everything. All we can do in life is to do our best, and then leave it. Forget about the outcome. If you've done your best, you can rest in the knowledge that you've made your contribution to the big picture - and remember that the ultimate outcome is not totally up to you.

Ultimately, the niyamas are about the importance of self-care in the service of the greater good. By taking care of yourself in these ways, you are more able to live your best life, which is definitely good for your mental health.

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For further reading: there are several good translations of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. I probably like Satchidananda's best but Isherwood's How to Know God is more accessible and a good place to start, in my opinion.