I mean, we know that. We read it, we hear it, but just because we know something doesn't mean that information does us a lick of good. On days when I'm down (like absolutely everyone else on the planet from time to time), there is no reasoning my way out of it. I can choose to react differently to a given situation, of course.
But if I haven't been mindful? If I've slipped into autopilot and started repeating old patterns, indulging in knee-jerk reactions? There's no way that convincing myself that I chose this particular suffering (even though I did, dammit!) is going to help.
On days like this, I choose yoga. Heart openers especially seem to do the trick. Why? Because they get you out of that black hole that is your brain. The brain is a remarkable place; it can create the most dizzying fantasies; it can inspire you to achieve pretty much anything, and it can reassure you that you are every bit the bad-ass that you feel yourself to be on your best days.
This, of course, is when it uses its power for good.
But if it uses its power for evil? Oh-ho, enter the downward, irresistible spiral. That bright, positive outlook can suddenly swing the other way, tossing you into dark, dark...well, darkness. Suddenly there is no way out: you're lost, you're hopeless, and you really, really should have, by now, just given up already.
And you know what? We believe that nonsense.
We believe it because we love to believe the good stuff we think about ourselves; we love to believe our pep talks. But it just follows logically that, if we believe the good stuff, then we have to believe the bad stuff, too. Right?
Eh, not so fast. There's a difference between thinking and knowing. Thinking comes from the brain; knowing comes from the heart (or the soul/spirit/breath/prana/chi-whatever works for you). On your best days, you think and you know that you are light, radiant, and brilliant just as you are.
On your worst days, you just think you're scum. And you want to believe it because self-pity is comforting. But you know you're just indulging in the equivalent of the thumb-sucking pout that comforted you so much as a kid but that every adult around you could see right through.
So, the prescription for the crappy days? Yoga generally and heart openers, specifically: camel (ustrasana), upward-facing plank (purvottanasana), cobra (bhujangasana), upward-facing dog (urdhva mukha svanasana), wheel (urdhva dhanurasana), or any variation ther. You can make an entire practice out of the heart-but go slowly. Breaking a heart may happen quickly, but mending it takes time and gentleness.
Spend time in each pose and do them two or three times at a pop (note-a good warm up such as a few sun salutations may be a good idea; remember that on the other side of the heart is the spine and it likes to be warm before it will be moved).
And if you can stop thinking on top of the practice? Suddenly, it seems as though you'll crack open the sternum (in a good way, of course) and let the light in and the darkness out. That's where your focus can't help but go, and when the focus is on the heart, it can't be in the brain.
To think of it in another, more classy and quotable way: "There is more wisdom in your body than in your deepest philosophy." ~Nietzsche
Or, as I prefer: the heart is where the magic happens; the heart is where you lived when you thought the stars were enchanted windows into another world and dragonflies were really fairy-like creatures who, if you could just get close enough, would transport you to a world where you could eat candy all day and stay up all night.
The brain is the asshole who brought science into the picture and tried to convince you that science and magic are mutually exclusive.
They're not.
Go with the heart.
Every time.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Amy Jirsa is a writer, wanderer, Ashtangi, yoga instructor, herbalist, a featured columnist at elephant journal and a wellness expert at MindBodyGreen. She makes her home at Quiet Earth Yoga. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter @QuietEarthYoga.
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