"The only constant in life is change"

This month, March, marks one year since everything about life as we knew it changed. It was March 6 when Indiana confirmed its first case of COVID 19, March 16 when we converted to live streaming classes, and by March 19 the entire state of Indiana was “hunkering down”. This month marks the demarcation point between life before COVID and life after.

So many things have changed in this past year, but one thing that’s stayed the same is the love and support this community has shown, not just for ISY as a studio, but for each other. Being together looks different now (who even knew Zoom existed before last year??) but despite everything, we’ve stuck together. We’ve continued to practice together, the Friday morning coffee crew adapted to sipping their morning joe while chatting on Zoom, so many of you made generous donations so that our teachers could continue to be paid, and a few masked and socially distanced Christmas elves even delivered cookies to some of our friends that live alone.

Things are always changing. From moment to moment the world is in flux. Yoga calls this Pariṇāmavāda, or Transformation Theory — what is, in this moment, is only a result of the transformations that occurred in the moment before. The greek philosopher Heraclitus said “the only constant in life is change” Most of these changes occur so gradually we hardly notice them (when did those white hairs get there?), and some of them blow in and sweep us right off of our feet (what do you mean it’ll be almost 12 months before my kids go back to school?). The slow, imperceptible changes don’t cause us much suffering (yeah, maybe I’m not a fan of those white hairs, but over time, as they fill in, I’ll get used to them. I mean, I knew it was going to happen one of these days…..it’s not like I just woke up one morning and my youthful blonde hair had turned white). The changes that we don’t see coming often cause us a great deal of distress (the loss of a loved one, kids suddenly at home for almost year, losing a job). Yoga says it’s our attachment to things as they are that causes this distress or suffering. Swami Satchidananda, in his commentary on the Yoga Sūtra, tells the story of a man who received a beautiful and valuable vase as a gift, he placed the vase on a shelf for display. Some years late the vase was knocked from the shelf and shattered into pieces. The man shrugged his shoulders, cleaned up the pieces and threw them in the trash. Upon being asked about why he wasn’t more upset about the loss of this beautiful and valuable gift the man replied “in my eyes it was already broken when I received it”. What he meant was this, he accepted the gift with the knowledge that things are always changing and that nothing will stay the same forever, and therefore, while he enjoyed and appreciated the gift he’d been given he did not form an attachment to it. When the vase was gone it did not cause him any distress.

The yoga and meditation practices help us develop this level of non-attachment. As we pay attention from moment to moment in our practices we see that our sensations are always transforming, our thoughts are always fleeting, and our emotions are constantly changing. This constant reminder that things are always changing is how we develop our ability to remain indifferent and non-attached. Pigeon pose might feel really good today, but tomorrow it might be the most excruciating thing you do. Maybe you’re bored when you first settle back into supta baddha konasana, but as the minutes pass you’re suddenly in the most blissful state.

The world might be changing around us, but there is a part of us that is constant and unchanging. Yoga calls this the puruṣa - the eternal spirit (or the soul). When we engage in yogic practices we uncover this puruṣa, we are awakened to the knowledge that while everything might seem in chaos around us, there’s a still, pure place within us. Connecting to this still, pure place is yoga.

I know these lessons I learned on my mat and mediation cushion were responsible for my reaction and response to the past year. Of course I experienced fear, panic, uncertainty, and at times even despair, but I was able to greet those feelings with skill — rather than letting the fear, panic and despair overcome me I was able to draw upon my practice and know that they were just fleeting experiences, that they would shift. I could ground myself in my practice so I could meet the ever changing situation with clarity, from that still, pure place in my heart. And I know that these lessons helped you too. I know this because over the past year I’ve had a number of emails, texts, cards, and DMs letting me know just how much your yoga practice saved you during this year.

As certain as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow, I believe that the way things look right now will change. We’ll be back in the studio together (maybe even without masks some day), we’ll enjoy a cup of joe and a good conversation, we’ll greet each other with a hug, because as Heraclitus said, “the only constant in life is change”……..but the Truth is, we have the power to connect to the only thing that’s not changing - our light within. And that’s how we made it through, we let that light guide us, connect us, and ultimately save us.