Cultivate the Opposite... and learn how to train your mind.
Most people don’t know this about me, but I suffer from chronic pain for nearly 30 years! This morning I woke up with an achy lower back and neck as my chronic pain is in my cervical and sacral spine. After seeing lots of healers and doctors, yoga has proven to be the only sustained relief I have found. Yoga is not just an option for me, it is my medicine as it relieves my chronic pain and brings me back to my center. When I’m suffering from chronic pain it’s really hard to meditate, or to be inspired, creative, and most of all peaceful. All I’m thinking about is how to manage and relieve my pain. My mood is affected and it becomes a downward spiral if I don’t tend to it. It’s the mud that has brought me to the lotus of yoga.
When I sit to meditate one of the best spine openers is a qigong set called Crane and Tortoise. It’s arching and rounding of the spine with the breath, and a side-to-side spinal bend that releases the tension held in the sides of the spine which often carries a lot of stress. This relieves the tension held in the front, back, and sides of the spine so then I can sit with stillness and ease.
While meditating in the autumn, metal is the element of the season, which is reflective. When we are reflective we can observe without judgment. Observing is one of the most effective ways to shift our behaviors without forcing, shaming, or blaming ourselves. We observe with gentle kindness. Observing the mind is the basis of the yoga sutras and the popular Mindfulness movement. The power of observing changes the way we relate to what we're observing. We don’t need to do anything but observe ~without judgment.
In the Yoga Sutras 2.33, Pratipaksa Bhavanam, we observe our recent shortcomings. Just by shining the light of observation, we can see where we have fallen short. We observe it and cultivate the opposite. If we are feeling and acting selfishly, we breathe and focus on generosity. When feeling judgmental, we can expand our brow wide and breathe and focus on acceptance. If we are feeling worried we can breathe into confidence.
The first two limbs of the eightfold path of yoga are the Yamas and Niyamas, the observances and restraints. These precede yoga poses, breathwork, and meditation ~ they are worth paying attention to! And they teach us how to cultivate positive attributes and to watch out for negative afflictions, known as the kleshas.
One of the gifts of yoga is the teaching that we can control the mind by observing with kindness, like a wise sage, and watching the human condition with compassion.
In Rama Jyoti Vernon’s Yoga Sutras Gateway to Enlightenment, she describes how we can use the Yamas and Niyamas to reverse negative thinking and cultivate the opposite.
When feeling angry, aggressive, and violent we focus and cultivate Ahimsa; non-violence in thoughts, words, and actions.
When we are critical, judgemental, exaggerate, lie, and gossip, we cultivate Satya; truthfulness, and align our thoughts, words, and actions.
When taken over by envy and want to steal, we bring ourselves back to Asteya; non-stealing or coveting.
When greed and hoarding, emotionally and physically, arise, we focus on Aparigraha; non-hoarding, generosity, and benevolence.
When our addictive behaviors show up and we self-indulge in excessiveness, we practice Brahmacharya; sensual regulation, and integration.
For our impure motives, manipulation, hidden agendas, and uncleanliness of body and mind, we look to Saucha, to purify our thoughts and actions.
When caught in comparing ourselves, or feeling depressed and unhappy, we look to what we do have and cultivate Santosha; contentment.
When our discipline is weak and we’re slumping into laziness, becoming apathetic, we turn to Tapas; self-discipline. Tapas is what we cultivate in the autumn, the strong metal element adheres to solid discipline.
When obscured by negativity, we practice Svadhyaya; self-study, self-observation, or studying the lives of inspirational teachers.
And lastly, when suffering from insecurity and feeling disconnected, we turn to Ishvara Pranidhana, our unwavering faith in our own divinity, the light of Purusa in our hearts.
This may seem heady at first, and non-effective in reality, but what we practice gets stronger. When we observe a common feeling that may feel habitual, we notice when it rears its ugly head, then name it, and acknowledge it. “Oh hello judgmental mind, I know you- let’s give you the remedy of kind acceptance.” Then focus and breathe into a kind accepting heart that includes all.
Our long slow regulated breath can shift our mindset out of the burning urge of addictive behavior. In order to do this on the spot, regular meditation practice helps us to remember to rest back into the observer.
I often describe the observer as a big full moon in the back of the mind, as the neutral mind, the impartial witness. When we practice this regularly we can draw on it when we need it. Otherwise, we won’t remember it, it's like a muscle that needs to be strengthened. When we take the time to practice this, especially in this reflective metal season, we will strengthen the neural pathway so it becomes front and center and ready for action!
The next time you meditate, see yourself as confident, accepting, and generous, or whatever the remedy to your affliction may be, and lean back into the wisest version of yourself because that is whom you are becoming.
If you, or anyone you know, could use relief from the negative mindset, anxiety, depression or auto-immune issues please check out the Meridian Flow.
In the Meridian Flow, we give the mind a focus to guide the energy through the meridians while breathing and moving. This creates a Zen-like mind where wisdom resides.
Namaste,
Maggie