Upeksha means equanimity. In the Buddhist tradition it’s one of the Four Divine Abodes or in a more secular sense, one of the Four Sublime Attitudes (along with loving kindness, compassion, and empathetic joy). Equanimity is about finding balance in the mind and heart, as well as the body. To dwell in the abode of equanimity it’s to have a calm mind and an even temperament and to be non-reactive. Which is not to be confused with being passive or being unresponsive. Upeksha is the process of recognizing our patterns of habitual reaction in thoughts and emotion and then make a conscious choice to respond from a place of calm and balance.

We can become out of balance in our diets, in our level of physical activity and movement, in our sleeping patterns, in our communication and relationships, and I don’t know about you, but over the past couple of months I’ve definitely been out of balance in all of these areas. And I found this quote from Cindy Lee to be very helpful and comforting.

So balance is a process, not a static place that we find and have forever. That’s a relief.

In our yoga practice on the mat, balancing postures can give us great insight into our patterns of habitual reaction. And help us to get better at recognizing when we’re out of balance and finding our way back to center, to equanimity.

I love balancing postures because they are such great practice and metaphor for finding balance in life. When we’re in a balancing posture, we put ourselves in these challenging, precarious positions and we try to find a place of balance. We observe ourselves with compassion in this precarious position, as we wobble and fall and get back up. And maybe we learn a little something about ourselves and our habits, our beliefs and our patterns. We learn a little something about our relationship with ourself and maybe we soften, maybe we find more patience and acceptance with ourselves, maybe we learn to laugh at ourselves, to not take ourselves so seriously. Maybe we learn to trust ourselves more.
One of my favorite teacher, Gary Kraftsow said “it’s not about being perfect in the posture, it’s about what the posture can teach you. “ The next time you find yourself in a precarious, challenging position, see if you can let go of trying to be perfect and just observe yourself with love.