286 • PART iii: YogA foR EduCATing foR SElf-REgulATion And EngAgEmEnT
THE fouR immEASuRABlES
The four immeasurables are addressed both in mindful and yogic traditions reflecting the
intertwining of the roots of these practices. The four immeasureables are equanimity, joy,
loving-kindness, and compassion (Hanh, 1999). They are understood to be parallel to a set of
negative states (McCown, Reibel, & Micozzi, 2010). It is believed that cultivating equanimity
makes it more difficult for anxiety, attachment, and aversion to grow; loving-kindness can
be developed to soften anger; joy for others combats jealousy; and compassion is a counter-
balance for cruelty to self and others (McCown et al., 2010).
Equanimity
Equanimity is the quality of balance within the context of challenge or change (Stahl &
Goldstein, 2010). McCown et al. (2010) describe equanimity as the most difficult of all of the
immeasurables as it means to embrace and integrate all that arises—the feeling, thinking,
good, bad, pleasant, and unpleasant. In yoga practice, true balance in a posture happens
when the body has become neurologically integrated. That is, the various areas of the brain
involved in maintaining a posture are working together. The same is true in our emotional
lives. Balance comes from a balance of effort and rest, the use of the thinking part of our
brains with the feeling part of our brains, or from the balance of independent and shared
work. When we let ourselves fall too far to one side or another in a variety of contexts, we
run the risk of losing our emotional balance.
Equanimity is often explored using the story of the farmer, his horse, and his son.
During a storm his horse was lost (see Practice Script 12.4). Throughout the story, the
farmer stayed steady as his neighbor watched in reaction to the tragedy and fortune as it
moved in and out like the tide. Sometimes adolescent and college-age students are con-
cerned that equanimity, or balance in reaction, seems more like dissociation, not connect-
ing, or not caring. Equanimity is not the same as dissociating, not caring, or completely
disconnecting. It is a process of staying centered and integrated during times of seem-
ingly great fortune and times of seemingly great challenge. The story of the farmer and
PRACTiCE SCRiPT 12.4: THE fARmER And HiS HoRSE
(Approximate timing: 2 minutes for the introduction; 1 minute for practice)
A long time ago there was a farmer. He and his family owned a fine horse. Late at night, during a
terrible storm, the horse broke free and left the farm. Upon hearing of the farmer’s loss, his neighbor
said, “You must be so unhappy. This is horrible.”
“Maybe,” said the farmer. The next day, the horse returned bringing many wild horses with him.
The neighbor said, “You must be so happy. This is wonderful.”
“Maybe,” said the farmer. The next day, the farmer’s son rode the horse, fell, and broke his leg.
The neighbor said, “You must be so unhappy. This is horrible.”
“Maybe,” Said the farmer. This accident ultimately saved the farmer’s son from being recruited
for active duty in the war. The farmer stayed steady as the neighbor reacted.