Hatha Yoga For Finding The Space Between Stimulus and Response

Yoga teaches us that we have the power to choose how to respond to any situation.  Maybe you can relate to this: I can remember the way my mind worked growing up — i was just making choices, and there was nothing more to it. I went to school. I spent time with friends. I did things I liked and tried to avoid doing things I didn’t want to do. Yet, I was often unhappy. In my early 20s I worked through a 4 year depression. Some thoughts, some people and some situations would seriously effect me. And, for a while, that was just the way it was, and there was nothing more to it. After years of feeling stuck and frustrated, I had to do something about it. I was ready for it to change. This is what lead me to seeking answers, and I found a conclusion that was consistent among all the different paths I explored. From Taoism, philosophy, personal development teachers, meditation, yoga and many other paths I saw that the choices we make are not just what they appear to be. We are not just making choices, there is much more to it.  Before every action I take, there is a stimulus. Something happens. The weather changes. Somebody says or does something. Some local or national event occurs. And before I take an action, another thing happens after the stimulus; I have a response. I could judge the stimulus as good, bad or neutral. I could be reminded of a past experience. I could have an emotional response.  Then, from my response I take an action. And it may seem that all of my power and control is in the action I choose to take, but if I am unaware of how I am choosing to respond then my action’s are not actually conscious choices. This is how I ended up in a four year rut. I kept choosing the same responses to the stimuli around me, and thus, kept taking the same actions.  Yoga messed all that up.  Once i started practicing yoga I could no longer ignore the immense power of my responses to situations. After an hour of deliberate breathing and moving, where every action I took was intentional - I would go back to routine of my life and see the actions I was taking outside of yoga with a completely different perspective.  Now, instead of having a stimulus of a job I don’t like, and the response that “i’ll just stay here a little longer to reach x, y or z financial goal” I felt how unhappy and unfulfilled I was and had the response of “what can i do to change this?” I was out of that job and working somewhere I loved almost immediately.  I saw how between every stimulus I encountered and every response I chose, I had the power to choose my responses. I did not have to feel angry about traffic. I could choose to, but i didn’t have to. I did not have to feel stuck in my life. I could choose to stay in that job, but I didn’t have to. With time, instead of taking 4 years to notice my responses to situations, It would take maybe 4 weeks. Then maybe 4 days. Now, on a good day, I can notice it right away. The sudden tension in my chest signaling a response of anger. I can notice The sudden sinking in my belly signaling sadness. Or the judgmental, destructive thoughts creeping back in to say “you’re not good enough” and instead of reacting to theses things the way I would have in the past, and allow them to keep me down for years, I think “how else could i respond to this?” There is always another option. In today’s practice I encourage you to notice the stimuli that arise for you, and the responses that arise for you. Maybe choose a new response. Try something new. Explore new options and possibilities for yourself, and see how it carries out into your life.  - Deepen your yoga practice at http://www.quietmind.yoga/