I don’t know about you, but I’ve been despairing about the state of the world for a while now.
It’s easy to despair when it feels like the world is falling apart, especially when situations, events, or circumstances are outside of our control. I don’t like feeling helpless in the face of injustice and suffering. I’m sure you don’t either.
Even outside of broader geopolitical earthquakes, I and many of my friends have been going through tough times recently too. Between relationship trouble, broken cars, and financial stress, it’s easy to feel like giving up.
The stresses of modern day life might be unique, but ancient civilizations also went through tough times. The Stoics, for example, placed a lot of emphasis on embracing what they couldn’t control.
“We cannot control our external circumstances, but we can control how we respond to them.” - Epictetus
Resilience is a learned skill that’s becoming increasingly important. We can’t help ourselves or our community if we’re too broken to work toward the common good.
At the same time, I don’t think it’s helpful to give unsolicited spiritual advice, like telling someone they need to meditate to deal with stress after they’ve just been laid off, for example.
The right balance is to decide for yourself that you want to build resilience in your mind, body, and soul. Once you do, once you’re able to weather the storms of life, then you can offer a helping hand to those who may not have the same level of resilience and energy built up.
It’s like Fred Rogers’ oft-quoted advice to “look for the helpers.” Now, this advice was aimed at children. As adults who exist in community with each other, it’s our job to be the helpers.
Spiritual practices are often thought of as inherently selfish, or at least, independent and solitary. However, those of us with a deep yoga or meditation practice know that we help ourselves so that we can help others. To do otherwise is antithetical to the purpose of yoga. As The Bhagavad Gita puts it:
“Work done with utmost love and integrity with no thought of the result is yoga, it's a path toward the One, toward liberation.”
Between political unrest, economic uncertainty, and climate catastrophe, the storm is here. Our job is to build the strength in ourselves to be the helpers Fred Rogers was talking about.
We can all make it through this, together. I know it.
Practice:
I think practices like selfless service, yoga asana, and mindfulness can help us build resilience over time. So too can adequate sleep, time in nature, and meaningful personal relationships.
Yogic breathwork — or pranayama — may be a quicker route to staying calm in the storm. Research backs this up, with studies showing that breathing can provide quicker stress relief and other benefits than meditation, which is more geared toward the long-term.
Some good options include Viloma Pranayama (interrupted breathing) or Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing).
A really simple, effective technique is the “physiological sigh.” Although it has roots in pranayama, this specific practice was refined by a Stanford neuroscientist, who found that it’s one of the quickest ways to reduce stress and improve mood.
Sit in a comfortable seat.
Exhale all of the air out of your lungs.
Take a long inhale through the nose.
Then, take a shorter second inhale.
Finally, breathe all the air out of your mouth slowly.
Repeat for five minutes. This practice is shown to make you feel more relaxed, and it’s even more effective that box breathing.
The breath is one of the most powerful allies that we have because it’s always with us, it doesn’t cost anything to use, and it’s incredibly effective. So, I think the physiological sigh practice is a good tool for your toolbox.
From there, you can look into the second part of the equation: being of service. Here’s a link to find mutual aid groups near you so you can volunteer or donate, if you’re able.
Journal:
Here are some journal prompts for this week.
How resilient do I currently feel in my life?
How can I help build my resilience?
How can I use my resilience to help others?
What I’m reading:
Want to read more? Here are a few articles I liked this week:
Hike Clerb Founder Evelynn Escobar's Vision Goes Far Beyond Planting Trees - Field Mag
4 Underrated Yoga Poses You’re Overlooking In Your Practice - Yoga Journal
Key Changes - Orion Magazine
Feeling Lonely? 4 Ways to Release Shame and Build Healthy Relationships - Mindful
My favorite things this week
My current book: I Heard There Was a Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel J. Levitin
What I’m jamming to: Ball and Biscuit - Jack White
Quote of the week: “No effort ever goes to waste in selfless service, and there is no adverse effect.” - The Bhagavad Gita.
This week’s intention: I am resilience.
Note: The links in this post are affiliate links for BookShop.org, so I may receive a small commission if you purchase something.