Stretching to make a difference (2): Stillness

[Nick Potter]

This is the second set of musings in a sequence on how yoga relates to action on climate change.
This post takes up the theme of stillness.

Focusing the mind
To warm things up, here is a quick exercise to stretch the mind:

Lift your arms so that they are level with your shoulders. Now gently stretch your arms out to their full extent. Imagine that the distance between the tips of your two hands is a time line for the history of Earth. The tip of your left hand is when Earth was formed. The tip of your right hand is the present moment.

On this scale, complex life forms only emerged at the wrist of your right hand. Now turn your head to the right and focus your gaze at the tip of the middle finger of your right hand. On this time scale, all human life is resting on this fingertip. In fact, in a single stroke with a medium-grained nail file you could eradicate all human history.
(Based on an example by John McPhee in Basin and Range).

It has taken a long time to get to where we are today. We (humans) would do well to focus a little more carefully on where we want go from here if we want to enjoy hanging around. With a clear mind, we can consciously craft a world that we want to live in. With good focus, our energy also flows with increasing strength in the direction that we place our attention.

Practicing yoga is an effective way to develop this ability to focus attention. The form of yoga that I practice (Ashtanga Vinyasa) primarily develops this in two ways:
1) focusing on the breath throughout the practice, and
2) focusing our gaze (‘drishti’) on specific body parts in each posture.

There are also many balancing postures that help to develop focus. Through these inherently simple (but tricky) techniques, we become more aware of our body, feelings and thoughts. As we attempt to focus the mind, it usually wanders off in its own directions. Simply by being aware of this, we are watching our own thought processes. With consistent practice, we can develop more and more space around our patterns of thought (i.e. all the thoughts that we have adopted and learned through experience). We then cease being entangled in these thoughts, including thoughts that we have inherited from our society.

This is very heady stuff, but it is very relevant to action on climate change and any other social/environmental challenge. It is often said that today’s problems are yesterday’s solutions. Or to use a well repeated phrase from Einstein, “the problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them.” As we become more aware of our thoughts / society’s thoughts, we can become more effective at consciously moving beyond them.

Stilling the waters
The body often reflects what is going on in the mind. When I first started practicing yoga, I could not even sit upright with my legs stretched out. I was not in good shape. I have met many physical limitations, discomforts and frustrations. Yet I also found a deep sense of peace from my very first practice that has always stayed with me, to varying degrees, and this has grown over time. Greater peace has come through ‘stilling the waters’ (i.e. the streams of thoughts) passing through my mind. As my mind has become more settled, my body has also made some remarkable shifts. There is a little piece of magic here: when our thought patterns shift, we change the material world.

A physically challenging practice can be very beneficial in settling an active mind. This is not just limited to yoga postures. From my own experience though, these postures can be very effective in assisting the mind to rest in the body. I will continue to meet many obstructions in my practice. Yet I have learned that an obstruction is actually an invitation to concentrate more deeply, and to focus closely on what I am feeling and sensing. It is best not to ‘think’ a posture. It is better to feel it. As Shri. K Pattabhi Jois (teacher of all my ashtanga yoga teachers, in symphony with their own inner teachers) liked to say: “yoga is 99% practice, 1% theory”.

Similarly, the major challenges that I see in the world will not be resolved through more clever thinking alone. A clear mind is important, but it needs to work in harmony with all our senses. It is also important to focus on the deep causes of surface-level challenges. Ideas will always be important, but the world needs more wisdom more than it needs more thoughts. Wisdom comes from the heart as well as the head.

As a physical yoga practice develops, the body moves with greater ease. The body flows with the breath, while the mind is still (note to my self: more practice needed to experience this more fully!). In this way the physical postures can be a form of moving meditation. It is often said that the physical postures of yoga are actually a preparation for deep meditation. The postures train the mind to settle and focus and develop the body’s ability to sit comfortably. The word ‘meditation’ has a lot of baggage attached to it in a secular society. Yet it simply involves (from my experience, anyway) just being still to tune in to one’s thoughts, feelings and senses. If I need to “sit on something” that’s all I am doing. I do not need to sit cross-legged on a mat to do that. I am just as happy being “meditative” when I’m lounging on the grass, perching in a tree, people-watching on the streets, or floating in the surf.

Seeing one’s own reflections
I have done lots of research and writing over the years on education for sustainability and organisational learning/change. Many theorists and practitioners have examined how to encourage more self-directed learning, while encouraging people to care for the world we are part of (including our climate). A consistent theme in this research is the importance of reflective learning. This basically involves observing our thoughts, feelings and actions. This enables us to become more conscious of how we learn and why we act in the ways we do.

A still mind is much more likely to offer a good reflection than a mind that is a blur of activity. Stilling the mind, through whatever practice suits us personally, can therefore be inherently useful. With stillness comes clarity. The more still the waters are, the more clearly one can see one’s own reflection.

There is also a large amount of literature on ‘transformative learning’, which examines how people can make deep shifts in the ways we experience and interact with the world. While some people emphasise the importance of reflective learning, others emphasise a more intuitive approach (this paper is a good example for the academically inclined). Yoga can be useful in both approaches. It can prepare the mind for making some good reflections (simply insert a question when the mind is still), but it can also create space for intuitive understanding to emerge. Many of the most creative ideas and insights that arrive in my mind come during, or directly after, my yoga practice. In the deep quiet, deep understanding can be heard.

Generating our own waves
With good clarity it is possible to peer very deeply. We can increasingly see what is our self and what we have absorbed from our community/culture. This can enable us to strongly shape our life in a way that we wish to. This is not all happening on the yoga mat. It comes through being aware of thoughts throughout the day. It also comes through following our experiences on the inside. For example, if I feel good inside when I am doing something in my daily life, and I do not feel bad afterwards, it is a good clue that whatever I am doing (or how I am being) is leading me in a good direction. When I find part of my self tensing up, it is a clue that I might want to try something else or try a different approach. This is the essence of adaptive learning: observe, act, observe, act [repeat infinitum].

In this way, it is possible to be engage more fully with the world from the inside-out. Instead of just reacting to the world, or re-enacting established patterns of thinking/acting, it is possible to choose how we respond in a conscious way. If we are led by a strong purpose/intent, this also drives our actions and how we are being in the world.

The system of yoga therefore provides me with a set of tools to better understand my self, my society, and (as I’ll sketch out in a bit more detail in the next post) how I can intervene more effectively to support positive change. Yoga develops both our disruptive and creative aspects. We can disrupt old patterns when they are being harmful (e.g. by challenging many aspects of our current social/economic system or choosing not to be ruled by them) while also creating new ones (e.g. exploring and living solutions that we want to see).

Savouring the world
Yoga is obviously not the only way to ‘still the waters’. Slow cooking, slow looking, slow travel, or even stopping and standing in the streets can all be good for stilling the mind and enjoying oneself at the same time. Reflective moments can emerge anywhere, like the rock in the river in the image above. One of the benefits of yoga is that it simply encourages people to find more peaceful spots on the inside, so that we are not ruffled wherever we are.

Being more still can have many more benefits for our climate. When we find peace within our self, we do not need to travel far to find it. When we choose to move more slowly, we may not burn so many fossil fuels. When we become more present in each moment, there is much more to take in and enjoy. Then we might realise that no-one needs to “save the planet”. The world does not need any saviours. We need more people savouring what we already have. Then we might be a bit more attentive to who/what we really care about and who/what is worth caring for.

The next part in a sequence
Stillness is good, but all slow with no go can become a little stagnant. The next part picks up the theme of flow.

[Sarah Hyder]

Thanks for the articles! I've really enjoyed reading your thoughtful and heartfelt insights.