The Art of Staying Fully Awake in Our Lives: Balancing Steadiness and Ease

“Rhythm is essential to life, moment by moment. The earth circles the sun in a stately rhythm. The tides rise and fall, and the cells of all living beings resonate with the tempo set by nature. The lungs and the heart work rhythmically, the intestines produce peristaltic waves, and the brain generates brain waves, all of which are intricately interrelated with one another and with the external environment.”

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Push! Do! Go! Achieve! Or how about just BE?

Where is that natural rhythm, that balance, between healthy determination and being strung-the-fuck-out? The answer is found in the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali:

थरसुखमासनम् - Sthira-sukham-āsanam

Before you run away from the “scary” Sanskrit, let’s break it down. Trust me, it relates to your life, no matter how far removed you appear to be from that culture.

The first word, sthira, can be translated as “firm, compact, strong, steady, static, resolute, and courageous.” Mind you, this steadiness or strength is not to be confused with rigidity. The second term, sukham, is translated as “happy, good, joyful, delightful, easy, agreeable, gentle, mild, and virtuous.” The last word, asana, stems from the root ‘as’, which suggests “the act of sitting down, abiding, dwelling, inhabiting, being present.”

One’s connection to the earth is steady and joyful.

So, steadiness and ease. How does their relationship look in your life? I’d guess they probably look a little bit like the couples currently quarantining together around the world: sometimes balanced, sometimes a bit unstable to the point of throwing china plates.

But no judgment, I get it. We live in a world focused on achievements rather than one that values us for just being. This balance between sthira and sukham is a wobbly one. But more awareness, sensitivity, and wisdom can help us.

Sthira and Sukham on our Yoga Mat

“Sthira Sukham Asanam” on your mat means that your yoga posture or flow should be steady, stable, and firm – while at the same time being comfortable, light, and happy. In our yoga practice, we are looking for the balance between our flexibility/freedom and our strength/stability.

How many times have you found yourself cranking your poor body into a pose to the point of harshness or even pain? *I’m raising my hand* Being only strong, having short muscles, means that we can’t fully expand and find that delight and freedom within the shape. “If I push harder into this twist, it will give me better benefits.” “Just a little more into this split Brennan, you’re almost there…” “Bigger circles with your neck will make your neck more loose, and more loose is better!”

Full disclosure: I’d be willing to bet that about a fourth of my neck pain comes from the over-intensity at which I try and stretch (“fix”) it.

On the other hand, if we only have flexibility (sukham) in our practice, this can mean that we do not have enough stability (sthira) to keep our bodies and joints safe. Have you ever looked around at other students in a class during warrior 2 pose? Looking forward, we all have the tendency to let our back arm sink towards the floor, unengaged and forgotten. Hyperextension of your joints (quite commonly your knees) is another example of too much sukham. Where is the strength there? With your joint hyper-extending, the muscle around that joint isn’t even turned on and that can be incredibly damaging.

Our mindset during our practice matters. A lot. Our mindset is the place that determines our movement. Yoga is, after all, a union of the mind, body, and spirit. Esther Ekhart poignantly put it like this:

“We are also looking for a quiet, fully present mind in our yoga practice in order to find stability and strength. From this foundation we can then experience the lightness and ease. If the mind is too active and aggressive, you will approach your yoga practice that way - you will probably push your boundaries striving for the perfect pose. If your mind wanders, lacks stability, we will lose the stability in our pose too and the pose becomes dull and lifeless.”

Steadiness and Ease in our Lives

In my last post I spoke of the importance of routine, and how to strengthen it through the use of ritual. Routine is one great example of sthira or steadiness in our everyday lives. Having that cadence in your day, even if it’s just going to bed or waking up around the same time, will encourage that strength, that steadiness, in your life. The key however – the balance we seek – is in keeping your routine malleable. Don’t make it another arbitrary demand – that misses the point.

The counterbalance - that necessary sukham for a balanced life - comes from mindfulness – paying attention and responding to how you feel moment to moment. If you are paying attention, you will know what pace to live your life on any given day.

If you woke up feeling like a million fucking bucks this morning then maybe today is a good day to push yourself a bit past your normal limit. Maybe you can accomplish today’s to-do list and half of tomorrow’s. But maybe you demolished a full size pizza and a couple beers last night. Or maybe you’re dealing with the emotional toll of all that is a global pandemic, or a sick loved one. And you woke up feeling sub-par. Now is the time to acknowledge that today maybe won’t be your most productive day. And that’s okay. Recognizing that, and honoring that in your pace throughout the day, will allow your body and mind to rebalance.

Practicing with the balance of sukham and sthira helps us move through the world with less effort, comfortable in these bodies of ours, and confident in our right to make an impact. Proper practice in our lives and on our yoga mats brings so many physical, mental, and emotional benefits.

Physically, this mindful practice on and off our mats balances our neurological and hormonal activity, improves digestion, and strengthens our body’s ability to resist and heal disease. It also strengthens our respiratory and cardiovascular function.

Mentally, it brings a more balanced and considered attitude. It helps us approach even the most difficult problems and issues (you know those ones that randomly pop up on a Tuesday afternoon) calmly and rationally.

Emotionally, this practice of sthira and sukham brings greater confidence in ourselves, and helps us feel more compassion towards others. It makes us more resilient.

Are you an overachiever, often running yourself into the ground? Here’s your reminder to relax and enjoy the experience. Are you often lethargic, and tend to be half-hearted? Here’s my encouragement to work at your edge.

Are you a regular at a power-yoga class or a strict Ashtanga yogi? Take a gentle candlelit flow or a Yin class. Slow down. Breathe. Or do you avoid power yoga or Pilates like the plague? Sign up for a class. Push yourself a bit.

Both in our lives and on our mat, practicing what best serves us in that moment, rather than what might please us most or what we have been led to believe is best, is how we achieve this balance. We must fully inhabit our bodies, always moving with awareness. Remembering the meaning of the root “as” in “sthira-sukham-āsanam” - the literal translation of asana “to take one’s seat" - be just here, just in this present moment.

This is how we fully stay awake in our lives. Awareness of where our minds and bodies are in each moment. Aware of where we’re pushing too hard, and where we’re not pushing enough.

Balance is key. Yin and Yang. Sthira and Sukham. Strength and Flexibility. Steadiness and Ease.