PHOTO: KATE OAKLEYPEACE IS ALWAYS A CHOICE.No matter
where you are in life, nor what’s
happening around you, you always have
the power to choose your response to
any given situation. It can be difficult to
find the peaceful option, but if you apply
the tool of mindfulness in action you
will find it. Difficult yoga poses prepare
your mind for similar moments in life.
By learning to choose a peaceful path in
your practice you develop the same skill
to choose a peaceful path in every
situation.
While you may look at me and
think I’ve always been peaceful and
equanimous, there was a period of my
life when I was filled with anxiety,
depression and even suicidal ideation.
From the outside it ‘looked’ like
everything was perfect, but on the inside
I was falling apart. During this dark
period I stopped the one thing that I
needed most — meditation. It was as
though I couldn’t face the deep anxiety
and irresolution that lay waiting for me
in the inner space of my body. So I
exited my body and tried desperately to
find an escape. But there was none. I
could never really evade the thoughts,
feelings and experiences stored in my
body. I would have to learn how to make
peace with them if I was going to find a
way back to the light.The first step to equanimity
The journey back home started with the
recommitment to sit in meditation for as
little as five minutes a day. Far from the
depths of one-hour sittings that I had
previously known, I just needed to start
with something simple. Five minutes
was all I could take. The first thing I
found was that the story I told about
reality was not a nice one.
Every experience is coloured by the
story the mind tells about it. If you see
the world as a violent fluctuation
between dramatic highs and devastating
lows, you will be blown up and down
like a leaf in a storm. The more you
draw your attention to the severity of the
twists and turns of life, the more
these intense emotional fluctuations
only seem to get worse. What you put
your attention on quite often determines
what you will experience. In your yoga
practice you face tightness, weakness,
and impossibility. Yoga asks you to
remain equanimous and calm in the face
of the struggles of the body. The real
yoga is the inner state of a calm mind
that is balanced and steady no matter
what it faces.
Turbulent times can either shake
you to the core or make your stronger.
I was shaken to the core by a series
of difficulties. My Dad had a heart40
october 2017yogajournal.com.auCover model Kino MacGregor shares her journey
through yoga, and how she learnt to overcome high
drama, intense emotions and troubled thoughts with
a calm mind and vigilant attitude.
peace
CHOOSE