It’s February, heart health month. This year I’m thinking not just about watching blood pressure and other physical factors, but other, more subtle aspects that affect our ticker: the way in which it processes emotions and reactions to life events and occasions that don’t jive with our core values.
With domestic and international politics, conflicts, and the state of the environment, there is no lack of scary triggers. Heck, even the techie stuff like AI can affect our sense of safety and feeling of being grounded and open to the world. I find myself torn between keeping responsibly up to date with current events and avoiding the heavy seriousness of it all.
Each day the airwaves offer something that leaves me aghast and angry, risking a wave of resentment and fear that creeps closer towards me. I don’t like this place. Over time, this type of repetitive reaction gets banked and has the potential to physiologically deposit a hardened view of the world. I take action to redirect and steady myself, turning to enjoying simple things in life like good food and music and the freedom of movement in my free country. As I work up the courage to break up with Amazon I’m also reminded of my high school ethics teacher saying “Good wins over evil in the end”.
I have also turned to a few yoga resources. Here are a couple tidbits of mindbody wisdom to bolster and make personal a sense of goodness, agency and safety within:
The English word heart is derived from the Sanskrit word that represents the same thing. Because Sanskrit is a multi-faceted language, the word used to describe the heart implies the center and essence of ourselves. Its meaning is three-fold: giver, remover and great regulator. This definition could be understood at the basic level of blood circulation alone but it also represents the deeper meaning of how we live in our hearts, opening, recoiling and refinding a heart-focused balance within.
Taking it a step further, the ancient yogis named this heart center the energetic ground zero of our bodies where all energies move toward, as to unite with the universal energy from which we are derived. In this deep and personal quiet space, our true self resides and is believed to be “untouchable and unstruck” by outside influence, safe and steady and protected from the harms of our external world. Tending to ourselves in this nurturing place can bolster a sense of resilience and agency in tough circumstances.
So as I guard my eyes, ears and heart from media assaults and decide on how to live fully in uncertain times, I remind myself of this quote from a super smart guy, who knew a lot about the universe:
“The most important decision we make is whether we believe we live in a friendly or hostile universe.” –Albert Einstein
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