In recent months we have been discussing the use of certain songs in class playlists, the choice of approach in different support scenarios and coping strategies in chronic illness.
Ease as an act of non-violence
In yoga there is the Hindu, Buddhist and Jainist principle of Ahimsa, non-violence, which extends to the self and all living beings including the environment. It means more than not participating or carrying out violence, it is a way of life. Ahimsa‘s – humans should ’cause no injury’ to another living being includes one’s deeds, words, and thoughts.
This can also be seen in Zoroastrianism’s central concept of “good thoughts, good words, good deeds”. Non-violence is woven through our most ancient belief systems, it encourages personal accountability and is a reminder that we are each as capable of acts of good as we are of acts of evil.
Choosing ease is a practice; in a yoga class that might look like softening the body and mind to meet our boundaries as they arise, creating an interplay between the body, mind and external expression. In coping with chronic illness it might look like finding the easiest way for you in that moment, whatever that may be. In meeting difficulty, we often find our most habitual patterns and to choose ease is not always the first response.
“I think it’s time we stop, Children, what’s that sound? Everybody look, what’s going down?” – For What It’s Worth, Buffalo Springfield.
Choosing ease requires us to pause and radically accept the present as it is. It might be meeting your need to mourn, rest or contribute, to name a few examples. Todays acts of ease may not be tomorrows acts of ease.
To choose ease, we have to let go of old adages like “no pain, no gain”, or the belief that to move is to choose perfection. It means accepting that you will make mistakes and that is part of the process. It might mean coming to one of our no judgement fitness classes or getting in touch to see how we can support you.
It might mean letting go of habitual beliefs or patterns that don’t serve us, like internalised ableism.
The further we choose ease, the further we build our collection of easeful actions and responses. Much like cultivating a record collection, or building the perfect playlist, finding the right songs for us leads us to rich experiences that we may otherwise never have experienced.
What about the times that I cannot choose ease?
Choosing ease means we have to be resourced enough to take a different path. Radically accepting the present also means confronting the areas of our lives where there are unmet needs and then evaluating what to do about it. We can’t undo the past, we can’t change other people or control their behaviour, but we can make a different choice. That may mean rebelling against the strategy to rush to the next thing and giving yourself one extra minute (or even 10 seconds), it may be rebelling against habitual patterns of self-blame and meeting yourself with compassion (maybe you really aren’t up to taking the next step and just need softness). Choosing ease is embracing self-compassion and practicing self-compassion is (for the most part) resourcing.
Ease and Rebellion as Acts of Compassion
Choosing ease is not easy. Rebellion never is. Pushing and forcing outcomes only means pain and erasure. Compassion is an act of rebellion in a world that is ensconced in abusive practices and inequalities. How will you write your symphony of ease?
“Every act of rebellion expresses a nostalgia for innocence and an appeal to the essence of being.”
― The Rebel
