Contentment, Happiness, and My Family

by Nina 

“I know what house my house will be. It will be just right for me. And a house just right for me must have a fireplace inside, daisies in the yard, cows in the pasture, and, most important, a friend near by.” —from Boats Finds a House by Mary Chalmers 

When my brother was a kid, his very favorite book “Boats Finds a House” was about cat that embarks on a search for his perfect home. The cat, Boats, has a very specific list what is needed to make him happy. And it takes a long while for Boats to find his house. He looks at many, many houses and can’t find one that’s just right, which makes him feel discouraged and sad. Of course, in the end, with some help from various friends, he does find the perfect house. 

“It really was just the right house for Boats and he lived happily ever after.” 

I’m not sure whether this book spoke so strongly to brother because of who he already was or whether he was actually inspired by the book, but my brother’s life ended up being a lot like Boat’s life. He, too, had a very specific idea of what the perfect house and life would be for him, and he has spent his whole life searching for it, even traveling to many different parts of the world in his search. But, unlike Boats, though he looked and looked, he still hasn’t found his perfect house and life, and now he’s in his early sixties and at a very low point indeed. 

When I was telling a close friend of our family about this, she said, “He’s so much your father.” And I knew immediately what she was talking about, even though my brother would be quite surprised by this comparison. Because even though my father had a very different kind of list of what it would take to make him happy, he, too, became discouraged and sad when his life didn’t turn out the way he’d hoped.

Later on I was musing to myself about how I’d managed to escape all that. You see, while my life didn’t exactly turn out the way I once dreamed it would—whose does?—I am content with and even grateful for how things have unfolded. Did I manage to escape the curse of being weighed down with a list of what it would take to make me happy because I was a girl and my father didn’t burden me with the ambitions and expectations a father has for a son? (In those days, girls were mainly supposed to just “marry well.”) Or, was it simply because my nature was just more like my mother’s than my dad’s?

All I do know is that when I first encountered yoga philosophy, it spoke powerfully to me. I remember one of the first things I read was Desikachar’s translation of the Yoga Sutras and how struck I was by his definition of santosha (one of the niyamas that a serious yoga practitioner should cultivate) and his translation of sutra 2.42.

“Contentment or the ability to be comfortable with what we have and what we do not have.” —TKV Desikachar 

“2.42 From contentment and benevolence of consciousness come supreme happiness.” –Yoga Sutras, trans. by TKV Desikachar 

In Edwin Bryant’s commentary on sutra 2.42, he explains it this way.  

“This sattvic happiness does not depend on external objects, which are vulnerable and fleeting, but is inherent in the mind when it is tranquil and content.”_Edwin Bryant 

And later on, when I carefully read the Bhagavad Gita, its basic message that it is equanimity that leads to happiness became a guiding light to me ever since.  

“For the pleasures that come from the world bear in them sorrows to come. They come and they go, they are transient: not in them do the wise find joy. 

But he who on this earth, before his departure, can endure the storms of desire and wrath, this man is a Yogi, this man has joy.
 
He has inner joy, he has inner gladness, and he has found inner Light.” —Bhagavad Gita 

How I wish my brother could switch from his “Boats Finds a House” philosophy to this one. But I’m afraid the patterns of his belief system (samskaras?) that only having everything right can make you happy is so strong that there is nothing I can do to make it shift. (Ssshh, I’m going to try, though.)

It is too late for my father. But in the last couple of years of his life, after my mother died and he was living in a retirement community, he did seem to reach some measure of peace. One day I drove him by the old house in Berkeley where he had lived with my mother for 15 years after he retired, and said, “I had a pretty good life, didn’t I? I had an interesting career, and a wonderful wife, and I built a beautiful house in Los Angeles…” 

“Yes,” I said. “You did.” 

For more information, see Yoga and the Pursuit of Happiness and Yoga Philosophy: Contentment

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Transforming Unhelpful Core Beliefs

by Beth

Egg by Melina Meza

Oh, the crazy things we believed as children. My friend Laurie fell off a swing while hanging upside down. She fractured her sternum, spent weeks with a taped chest, and for years believed she would never grow breasts. I believed that in order to get married, I would have to go door to door in my neighborhood to find a husband. One of my son’s childhood friends would not eat bread crusts because a neighbor told her they were baked worms.

Beliefs can be defined as thoughts we hold to be true even though we don’t have proof. When proof appears, beliefs become knowledge. Fortunately for Laurie, my son’s friend, and me, time and knowledge proved our childhood beliefs false. Even so, the emotional attachments to some beliefs defy knowledge and can have an impact on our lives as we age. Laurie did grow breasts but the emotional attachment to that accident left her uncomfortable inverting or hanging upside down in aerial yoga class.

Some core beliefs we hold are helpful and productive but others are not. For example, I believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness. I know this is not true but the emotional attachment to that belief results in responses like "Thanks, I got this," when unsolicited offers of help come my way. I can trace it back to watching the women in my family seemingly "do it all," alone. The key word here, as you may have guessed, is “seemingly.” The women in my family could have used help but I never saw them ask for it. Why? I can guess but I don’t know. They’ve passed on and I can’t ask them. But I’m left dealing with an emotional attachment to that belief (fear of dependency), which still impacts my behavior and quite possibly my emotional health.

It’s our emotional attachments to these core beliefs and our reactions to them that cause distress and discomfort. However, once we become aware of a counter-productive core belief and recognize the emotional attachment, we can take steps to transform it.

One helpful way of promoting healthy thinking comes from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: pratipaksha bhavanam. Joseph LePage, Director, Integrative Yoga Therapy, says that pratipaksha bhavanam is the “redirection of negative thoughts to positive ones.” Another interpretation comes from Gary Kraftsow’s American Viniyoga Institute:

Patanjali says if you have negative thinking that comes from anger, greed, or delusion, whether you’re actively in it or just thinking about it, the fruit will be unending suffering and ignorance. Therefore, “Pratipaksha bhavanam:” Take another view, reframe your perspective on the situation. Sutra [2.34]

To practice pratipaksha bhavanam, we need to recognize that one or more core beliefs may be impacting the balance of our lives in a counter-productive way. Next we can select a positive thought, intention, or resolve, and find ways to use it. We can write it down and tape it to the fridge or bathroom mirror so it’s visible every day. We can repeat it often, silently or out loud, as we move through our yoga practice, and we can keep it mentally handy every time we find that counter-productive core belief rising in the mind. Over time and with practice, the emotional attachment will gradually lose its charge and its power, enabling us to transform an unhealthy reaction into a positive, productive response.

Here are a few counter-productive core beliefs and suggested bhavanas to transform them:

Core Belief/Bhavana (Positive Resolve)

1. I can’t trust anybody/I trust myself
2. I’ll never be happy/I enjoy my life; I’m content
3. I’m too different/I am unique – how cool is that!
4. I don’t belong/I attract the right friends
5. I’m too old to (add your words here)/ I’m young at heart and I can (add your words here)
6. I’m too (fat, skinny, ugly etc.)/I love and accept my body

In my case, I need two bhavanas.

1. I ask for help when I need it.
2. I accept help when it is offered.

This practice requires discipline, patience, and consistency but the juice will be worth the squeeze because as we reduce emotional attachments to counter-productive core beliefs, we can better manage our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. 

Do you have a core belief that needs to be transformed?

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Working with the Witness

by Beth

Layer of Earth by Kazoo Shiraga*

As we age, we change. Wrinkles and gray hair appear, muscles begin to lose mass, and our relationship to society can change. In some cultures aging earns us status as wise elders to be revered; in others we are ignored or seen as no longer having value. Also, we may begin thinking about end of life issues, seeing death as loss, something to fear, or as a natural transition to something else (the something else often depends on our culture, country, family or spiritual beliefs). However, no matter who we are or where we live, cultivating and enhancing awareness and the ability to witness “what is” will enable us move through our aging process with integrity.

A simple definition of awareness is: knowledge or perception of a situation or fact. Awareness is at the heart of any definition of yoga. Practicing this becomes especially important to anyone who has ever stepped foot on a yoga mat or sat on a meditation cushion. You can read about Nina’s experience with awareness in her post The Power of Svadhyaya (Self Study).

The science of yoga offers many tools to cultivate awareness. Working with the Witness is a good one to consider. The Witness is the aspect of self that allows us to see ourselves in action as we are acting. The kosha model of yoga psychology focuses on five levels of awareness and is my go to context for working with the Witness. I’ll list them all separately here to talk about them but they are all ultimately one interrelated system. The five levels are:

1. Physical Level (Annamayakosha). This is the level that we experience through all of our senses including sight, hearing, taste, touch and smell. The ability to become aware of body sensations is a key step in activating the Relaxation Response and the healing process. This is the level that most people readily relate to and the level most focused on through yoga asana.

For me, working with the Witness helped me connect the dots between discomfort in backbends, such as Locust and Half Wheel, and headaches that followed a day or two after practicing. That awareness led to an appointment with a sports medicine doctor, who diagnosed me with spondylolisthesis. So I’ve been modifying my back bends and was delighted to read Shari’s post about spinal movements All About the Spine, which confirmed my experience. 

2. Breath-Energy Level (Pranamayakosha). Breath is the vehicle for the entry of oxygen and life energy, or prana, into the body. Learning to breathe effectively and efficiently is one of the most important lessons in yoga. When we are aware of our breath and how we breathe, we can better manage our moods and states of mind. This is key to managing stress and remaining calm no matter what is happening. 

3. Mental-Emotional Level (Manomayakosha). Mental awareness is based on what we perceive through our thoughts and feelings in two ways: 1) by analyzing and organizing our knowledge and experiences and 2) by intuition, hunch, inner voices, images, instant knowing, and fantasy. Emotional awareness helps us perceive and understand our habits, patterns and life lessons. 

By witnessing my periodic “blue funk days” while in the middle of them, I’ve discovered something interesting. When they lift—and so far they always do—I often experience intuitive flashes that result in writing ideas, home decoration projects, and themes for my yoga classes, or those AHA! moments that lead to new understandings. I’m now aware of them as they make their appearance and I’ve learned to “ride the emotional wave” instead of trying to cut it short. 

4. Wisdom-Witness Level (Vijnyanamayakosha). The Witness is the lamp that illuminates all aspects of ourselves (persona and shadow) for integration and acceptance. When we are able to witness our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors without judgment, we can cultivate and deepen our ability to recognize our patterns and consciously choose to make changes. 

5. Bliss Level (Anandamayakosha). This is unity consciousness, going with the flow of life whether positive or difficult. It is direct experience of the universal energy or connectedness that we can tap into through consistent practice, which we control, and grace, which we do not control. 

One tool to wake and work with the Witness is the body scan. The technique focuses on engaging and deepening awareness at all levels of being to promote healing (as opposed to curing, which may sometimes be a happy side effect). Depending on your needs and readiness, body scans will focus on some or all of the koshas. There are many techniques and ways to practice this, and you can learn to self-guide. 

Here is a short self-guided script that you can practice in any comfortable position. First, make an intention to witness whatever arises without judgment and then gradually move your awareness through your body, breath, and mind as you say the following to yourself:

I am aware of my feet, ankles, lower legs, knees, upper legs, hips, waist, belly, low back, rib cage, mid-back, chest, upper back, shoulders, neck, face and the top of my head. (Pause) 

From the top of my head awareness moves over my face, down my neck, out over my shoulders and down my arms to my hands and fingers. I welcome any sensations or information I receive. (Pause) 

I notice my breath and watch the inhalation and exhalation. The breath comes and goes naturally, not changing in any way. Where is the movement of the breath felt? In my belly, chest, throat, nostrils? (Pause)

I watch the ebb and flow, the rise and fall, the in and out of the natural, essential breathing process. I am totally aware of my breath and my breathing. (Pause) 

Now, I move my attention to the mind and my thoughts. Do they flow easily from one thing to another or are they fixed on one thing? (Pause) 

Are they focused on the past or do they center on the future? (Pause) 

Can I see each thought, simply rising and passing one by one? Can I be aware of thinking while I am thinking? (Pause) 

I am now calm, relaxed, and aware. I rest in myself, breathing slowly and deeply. (Pause and rest here as long as you like)

Personally, I find this useful for grounding during stressful times, and it works like a charm those fortunately rare nights when I have trouble falling asleep. With practice, you can lengthen or shorten your explorations. Or you can begin the practice with prepared recordings. A little research will turn up many options. Voice, pace, length, tone, and content vary. Most will allow you to sample your choice before you buy. Be sure to pick one that feels just right for you.

With practice we learn to become aware, or conscious, of ourselves on all levels of our being. We can then bring clear and focused attention to what we find; accept and integrate all aspects of the aging process, pleasant and not so pleasant, and if we chose make conscious changes that bring us into alignment with our individual lives. Working with the Witness helps us move through our aging process with strength, flexibility, balance, wisdom, and grace.

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It's Complicated: Moving Toward Equanimity

by Beth

“It’s complicated.” That was our tour guide speaking from the front of the bus as it rumbled toward La Habana (Havana). She was describing the history, politics, and economics of Cuba. On day one of my 10-day cultural trip to Cuba with Global Arts/Media, I learned that in spite of certain guarantees from the Cuban government—free housing, education, health care and a monthly ration of food for each family—life is hard. Living in poverty is a daily reality for many Cubans, who supplement their meager salaries by selling whatever they can offer. Many simply beg and American tourists are the new target audience. 

When approached by Cubans selling books, CDs, caricature sketches, or food, or simply asking directly for money, our guide informed us that the appropriate response for refusal was “No, gracias,” and that we could expect to repeat that phrase many times as once would not be enough for those who wanted our dollars or CUCs (special tourist pesos). 

How true that turned out to be.

Dealing with the street vendors was easy. Because there was a concrete exchange involved, my answer always came after a few seconds of conscious thought. Dealing with begging was different. I’d seen examples of begging on television travel shows but I’d never experienced it up close and personal. Before leaving on this trip, I did what I do every December, sifting through the pile of solicitation letters from non-profit organizations and writing out checks to those that help feed, clothe, provide medical care for the poor and help children. But give money to people who walked up, looked me in the eye and asked for money directly with an open expectant hand? That was unnerving and I said, “No, gracias.” As an introvert, I felt really uncomfortable. And that feeling was later complicated by an emotional residue of guilt and “maybe I should have.” 

Then two things happened. 

I was standing outside Artesanos Cubanos, an artists’ collective, looking at my purchases, a necklace and a beautiful hand carved box with an OM symbol on the lid. I heard two sounds, a tapping and a clinking. When I looked up, I saw him. His blind eyes were filmed over and unblinking. The cane in his left hand tapped the cobblestones. His right hand shook a can with coins in it. He made his way carefully past me and continued down Obispo Street. Immediately, without a single conscious thought, I wove my way through the throng of tourists and locals to drop a handful of coins into his can. “Gracias,” he said.

“Por nada,” I replied.

The next day, again, spontaneously, without a conscious thought, I gave money to a one-legged man in a wheelchair who silently held out his hat as he sat by the fence at Plaza de Armas where our tour bus dropped us off. 

Back home the phrase, “It’s complicated” filled most of my mind time. After thinking, mulling, and pondering for a couple of weeks I came up with three questions I wanted to answer in order to put my experience with begging in a context that would allow me to find some measure of peace with the emotional residue of guilt and “maybe I should have.” 

1. Why was I so focused on this aspect of the trip as opposed to the artists and musicians I met and the culture I experienced?

This answer to this one was, thankfully, uncomplicated and twofold. First, I needed to understand the “why” behind my emotional response to direct begging. And, second, at this stage of life being free-tired,’ (I prefer the word “free-tired” to “retired”), I find myself blessed with time and a strong inclination to ponder how best to apply the tools of yoga to healthy aging. 

,

2. What factors, conscious and unconscious, influenced my responses? 

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras is my first go-to source for insight. I wasn’t sure where to begin, so I started from the beginning. My plan was to go one by one until I found what I was looking for. Turns out I didn’t have to go very far. I hit pay dirt at 1.7. I used The Unadorned Thread of Yoga (Salvatore Sambita) to survey 12 translations and then turned to the translation and commentary by I. K. Taimni, The Science of Yoga, which states: 

(Facts of) right knowledge (are based on) direct cognition, inference or testimony. 

My observation of the two men I gave money to offered direct cognition of their situation. One was clearly blind. If he had worn sunglasses, I might not have been able to deduce that fact. The other clearly had one leg. They did not directly ask for money so my “discomfort button” did not get pushed.

The other begging situations felt complicated. Although I had some general background on poverty in Cuba, I could not determine from observation or inference what their personal stories might have been, and since I did not speak the language, first-hand testimony was not possible. And as an introvert, I would not have asked.

3. Did I respond appropriately from a yogic perspective?

This one got really complicated for me. It took more thinking, pondering, and reflecting until I had my answer. In Sutra 1.33, I. K. Taimni states: 

The mind becomes clarified by cultivating attitudes of friendliness, compassion, gladness and indifference respectively toward happiness, misery, virtue and vice.

The word "indifference" threw me. It can be so easily misconstrued as apathy or not caring, so I checked some of the other translations and chose the one by Georg Feuerstein: 

The projection of friendliness, compassion, gladness and equanimity towards objects – [be they] joyful, sorrowful, meritorious or demeritorious – [bring about] the pacification of consciousness. 

The word "equanimity" felt right. It means mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain. 

My experience with the blind man and the man with one leg was peaceful. My response was immediate—there was no emotional charge, positive or negative. Equanimity was present. Even though I felt compassion toward those who asked directly for money, I did not experience equanimity, as my discomfort and the emotional residue of guilt and “maybe I should have” clearly demonstrated. I reacted instead of responding. If equanimity had been present, no matter my choice of action, there would not have been that strong emotional charge. 

This was the Aha! moment that uncomplicated my confusion and discomfort, and raised two more questions. How does one respond to both perceived joy and suffering with equanimity? Is it possible to experience life’s ups and downs in this five-senses material world without emotional charges, positive or negative? 

The answers, for me and for many of us, are both complicated and uncomplicated. It can feel complicated when we first confront and grapple with the concept of equanimity. It’s less complicated if we practice svadhyaya (self-study) and reach a point of understanding. It slowly becomes uncomplicated when that understanding filters through body, breath, and mind as we practice equanimity using the wisdom and tools of yoga. 

So, it looks like I have my work cut out for me. It’s been six weeks of thinking, mulling, and contemplation. With this new awareness I can begin practicing. I am sure that it will be a long slog. I will, no doubt, take one step forward and two steps back, and then repeat the process over and over again. The concept of equanimity is now “top of mind,” and will be a new aspect of my yoga practice, from asana to meditation. 

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David Bowie, Satya, and Impermanence

by Nina

Mmm, yeah I watch the ripples change their size

But never leave the stream

Of warm impermanence

So the days float through my eyes —From “Changes” by David Bowie

I decided that I needed a break—and that maybe you did, too—from all the technical posts Baxter and I have been doing lately. And since I can’t get David Bowie’s video for “Lazarus” out of my mind, I thought I’d write about that. First of all, for those of you who haven’t seen it, here it is.

During the 18 months that Bowie knew he was dying of cancer—which he kept private—he made this powerful work about his impending death. And I have to say, this video has impressed me more than any of his other work that I’m familiar with. As I wrote in Meeting Death at the Front Door, I feel that, along with being able to do what you love as you age, being able to die the way you want is an essential part of healthy aging. In order to make that happen, truthfulness (satya) both with yourself and with others about your impending death is necessary. And if you are helping someone else who is dying, facing the truth about their condition is necessary for you to be able to provide them with the help they need.

Truthfulness (the yama satya) is a central part of yoga practice—one aspect of the universal “great vow” that is the second branch of yoga.

Yoga Sutra 2.36 When one is established in truthfulness, one ensures the fruitions of actions. —trans. by Edwin Bryant

And to me Bowie’s video is a brilliant example of satya. Not only is Bowie clear about the fact that he will soon be leaving this life, but he also doesn’t shy away from portraying the difficulty of illness and loss of ability that comes near the end. He also invokes a compelling beauty in it all, like a Japanese haiku that celebrates the transitory nature of existance. 

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Turn and face the strange

Ch-ch-changes

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Honesty and Contentment in the Yoga Room

by Nina

Friendship, Love and Truth by Currier and Ives*

Yesterday, Ram’s post about arjava and being honest in your yoga practice spoke directly to something I’ve been thinking about recently. (I love it when that happens!) In Arjava: Cultivating Honesty, Ram said, “on the mat you have a choice to be honest to yourself by respecting and listening to your body or disregarding the harmful warning signs from your body.”

In our post How to Stay Safe While Practicing Yoga, we recommended safety guidelines that you should follow whether you are practicing at home or in a class. In all honesty, I have to say that practicing wisely according to those guidelines may often mean there’s a pose, group of poses, or practice you cannot or should not be doing, sometimes temporarily and sometimes permanently.

This can be hard. It’s natural to feel left out when other people in your class or other people you know are doing a pose that you cannot or should not do. It’s also challenging for us long-time practitioners to say goodbye to poses that we used to be able to do (see Goodbye, Lotus Pose for info). But rest assured that you are not missing out on anything essential. Regardless of your limitations, there are still effective ways to foster strength, flexibility, balance, and agility, and to manage your stress levels. That’s why we have four versions of every pose we recommend, as well as alternate poses. And, of course, the experience of practicing asana mindfully, as a moving meditation, is available to everyone, no matter your limitations. Simply bring your awareness to your breath or to any other physical sensation as your practice. (See Practicing Yoga Mindfully for more information on practicing yoga mindfully.)

Practicing arjava in the yoga room is also an opportunity to experiment with cultivating contentment in the safe space (see Yoga Philosophy: Contentment). After you are honest with yourself about what you should and should not be doing, gently remind yourself that you can be content with what you have and what you don’t have. You’ll then find that you can enjoy your time on the mat, no matter which poses you can’t do. (I know this, because I've been through it myself. There are some poses that I used to practice that I can no longer do, such as Lotus pose, Half Lotus, and certain backbends. And there are some poses I'm temporarily avoiding at the moment due to lower back strain, such as seated forward bends and kicking up into certain arm balances. Yet even during my worst periods of limitations, such as when I had a frozen shoulder and could barely move my arm, I have never failed to find a satisfying way to practice.)

And cultivating contentment in the yoga room will strengthen your equanimity muscles while you strengthen your physical ones. You can then take your experience of becoming content with what you have and what you don’t have out into the world at large. 

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Arjava: Cultivating Honesty

by Ram

Modified Pigeon Pose
from "Art of Sequencing: Asana Modifications" by Melina Meza

Yoga Yajnyavalkya Samhita is the earliest known textual commentary on yoga, written by Sage Yajnavalkya. The story goes that Yajnavalkya explains the principles and practice of yoga to his wife Gargi and to other sages in a hermitage. Yajnavalkya’s text differs from Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras in some respects; some key terms are explained differently, and there are alternative explanations to various steps and stages of yoga. The yoga limbs of Yajnavalkya are more extensive than those of Patanjali. Unlike Patanjali’s yoga, Yajnyavalkya Samhita describes ten don’ts (yamas) and ten do’s (niyamas) (see Forgiveness (Kshama)). Some scholars believe that Patanjali may have borrowed verses from the Yajnyavalkya Samhita and deleted those that may have seemed unnecessary or redundant in his opinion. 

In his commentary on the yamas, Yajnyavalkya introduces arjava as the sixth of the ten yamas. Arjava translates as honesty, sincerity, decency, uprightness, integrity, and righteousness. Now one may wonder about the difference between arjava (honesty) and satya (truth). In Sanskrit, at least, there is a big difference, and let me put it loosely in English. Arjava is a moral characteristic and is a personal virtue. Only the self needs to believe in it in order to be honest. So if you believe in uprightness or integrity then you are being honest. Satya is a proven fact or reality. This is more of a quality and less of a virtue. It requires multiple people to share the same view or opinion to be recognized as true. One can be untruthful (astaya) and either hide in it or be honest about it (arjava).

Yagnavalkya encourages cultivating honesty and rectitude, and renouncing deception, wrongdoing, unscrupulousness, deceit, and dishonesty. Cultivating arjava serves as an antidote to hypocrisy, covetousness, greed, sensual desires, and attachment to superficial possessions. In his message Yajnyavalkya implores his disciples to act honorably even in hard times. To cultivate arjava one needs to: 

• Obey moral laws 
• Be straightforward in business 
• Do an honest day's work
• Desist from seeking bribes or giving bribes 
• Do not cheat, deceive, or circumvent to achieve a task 
• Face and accept faults without blaming others
• Live without anxiety, anger, prejudice, inner conflict, or confusion
• Maintain a pure mind such that words and actions resonate both in one’s inner and outer settings 
• Be free from hypocrisy 

Thus, in order to have a harmonious life, practice arjava on all levels: by way of thoughts, actions, and words. This not only creates integrity and harmony in our lives, but it also provides a platform for honest and open communication with others. While it may seem obscure and impenetrable, cultivating arjava is worth investigating so as to adopt this virtue in our daily lives.

Practicing arjava has health benefits as well. Dr Anita Kelly, a psychology professor at the University of Notre Dame, focuses on honesty and its impact on physical and mental health. In a study where she spent 10 weeks tracking the health of 110 adults, she noticed that the health of adults went down considerably when they told more lies. Study participants who told fewer and minor lies had very few health complaints compared to participants in the group who lied more. Those who lied more complained of being tense or melancholic, and suffering from sore throats and headaches, Not surprisingly, both mental and physical health improved when the participants in the group of liars started being honest and stopped lying (see Telling fewer lies linked to better health and relationships). 

How do we cultivate arjava when we are on the mat? If you have a regular yoga practice, you are already on the path of kindness and honesty. In addition, on the mat you have a choice to be honest to yourself by respecting and listening to your body or disregarding the harmful warning signs from your body. As an example, let’s say you are limited in the full range of motion of the hip joint and you have knee issues. While transitioning from Downward-Facing Dog pose (Adho Mukha Svanasana) to Pigeon pose (Kapotasana) and recognizing your weakness, arjava/honesty requires that you do not attempt the full pose and do a modification that will not only help in opening the hips and strengthening the knees but you will also have the satisfaction of being in modified Pigeon pose. Even better would be to practice poses that include external rotation of the hip joint that would also help to release tension in the deep external rotators of the hips, for example, Wide-Angle Seated Forward Bend (Upavista Konasana), Cobbler’s pose (Baddha Konasana), Lotus pose (Padmasana) or Thread the Needle pose (Parsva Balasana). For your knees, you would learn to recognize the difference between the healthy stretch sensation of the muscles and connective tissue lengthening as opposed to the compression of the tissues and bones that often happens with deep folds of the knee joints. 

However, if, despite all the warning sensations, you push your way through the pose, you are going against arjava, the simple truth that your body is yelling to retreat. If you pause, you are inviting a dialogue with your own body, enabling you to listen more deeply and gathering more information. All this helps in gaining a sense of clarity and honesty that goes a long way in teaching about aligning with your own inner truth. 

Being honest comes from knowing yourself and honoring what you know to be true for you at any particular moment. If we cultivate arjava, our inner truth finds its way from our heart into the hearts of those around us. Arjava is an important virtue for daily/good living and serves as the GPS for our lives, as it offers a map or guidance that allows us to have enhanced emotional, mental well-being and a more fulfilling and meaningful life. And that is the ultimate Truth!

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The Biochemical Basis for a Gratitude Practice

by Nina

In a Meadow by Melina Meza

II.33 Upon being harassed by negative thoughts, one should cultivate counteracting thoughts. —translated by Edwin Bryant

For some time now, I’ve been intrigued by Facebook posts from certain friends that simply list things the person is grateful for. I particularly like the ones by my friend Liz because her lists include very simple things, mostly free and available to almost everyone.

Today's good things:

1. Walked six miles;
2. Dog therapy on campus today, in particular the golden retriever puppy;
3. Watching the bushtits (birds) flit in and out of the trees on campus;
4. Got a lot of items off my 'to do' list at work, moving forward with several work projects and learning new things.

I also happen to know this gratitude practice is a very serious one for Liz, because she suffers from a serious, chronic illness that affects her quality of life and requires quite a bit of time spent in the hospital. She says, “It’s been bumpy, but I saw research that said gratitude practice helps. And I set intentions at the beginning of each day and have seen improvement.”

Today's good things:

1. Three mile walk at lunch, great watching the hawks circle;
2. Very productive day at work, a lot of weeding and organizing;
3. Ran into a lovely friend whom I haven't seen in a while, always great to catch up;
4. Gluten-free ice cream sandwiches

So I was very intrigued when I learned that neuroscientist Alex Korb’s book The Upward Spiral: Using Neuroscience to Reverse the Course of Depression, One Small Change at a Time actually provides a scientific explanation of why this practice works. Apparently, cultivating gratitude actually has a beneficial chemical effect on the brain, boosting dopamine (a neurotransmitter that helps control the brain's reward and pleasure centers) and serotonin (a neurotransmitter that affects our mood) levels.

“The benefits of gratitude start with the dopamine system, because feeling grateful activates the brain stem region that produces dopamine. Additionally, gratitude toward others increases activity in social dopamine circuits, which makes social interactions more enjoyable …”

“One powerful effect of gratitude is that it can boost serotonin. Trying to think of things you are grateful for forces you to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This simple act increases serotonin production in the anterior cingulate cortex.” —Dr. Korb

When I was thinking about how this practice related to yoga (haha, I figured it must!), I came back to this sutra by Patanjali about cultivating the opposite (pratipaksa-bhavanam).

II.33 Upon being harassed by negative thoughts, one should cultivate counteracting thoughts. —translated by Edwin Bryant

Bryant explains in his commentary on this sutra that the “negative thoughts” being referred to are those that counter the yamas and niyamas. So thoughts that are the opposite of contentment (the niyama santosha), such as dissatisfaction, displeasure, and unhappiness, would count as negative thoughts that you should counteract. And the practice of being grateful for what you have, which is cultivating contentment, is indeed the practice of cultivating thoughts that counteract dissatisfaction, displeasure, and unhappiness.

Of course, when you are being “harassed by negative thoughts,” it often isn’t easy to find and focus on things you are grateful for. But Korb says, the effort alone provides the benefits.

“It’s not finding gratitude that matters most; it’s remembering to look in the first place. Remembering to be grateful is a form of emotional intelligence. One study found that it actually affected neuron density in both the ventromedial and lateral prefrontal cortex. These density changes suggest that as emotional intelligence increases, the neurons in these areas become more efficient. With higher emotional intelligence, it simply takes less effort to be grateful.”

Fascinating, isn’t it? Just like strengthening a muscle, a regular gratitude practice makes you stronger at being grateful over time. So that means getting better as it as you age, and eventually more time spent in a state of contentment. And those brain density changes? That sounds to me like the gratitude practice is improving brain strength—always a good thing.

And by the way, thank you Liz for agreeing to share your story with us. I'm grateful for your friendship and your honesty.

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