Sthira Sukham state of mind - comfortable stability
Several years ago when I was in India I participated in a 12 day Vipassana retreat that included meditations of roughly 10 hours a day, including silence through the whole process.
I could speak at great length about the experience as a challenging, interesting and constructive chapter in my life, but one relatively small thing stands out in my memory above everything else. in the accommodations, there was no hot water for showers. One option to deal with the situation was to shower with a bucket of hot water, but this required a great deal of effort: to go to the tap which was far away, to wait for the hot water, and then fill the bucket and carry it back - not to mention the mechanics of showering with a bucket, which were new to me to say the least. Or the other option was to wait for a relatively warm hour of the day and shower in the cold water, which usually involved forcing my body into the unpleasant water while it protested and shrank away from the stream with every muscle, freezing and cursing a lot. On the last day of the course, I opted for the second option again, and showered in the cold water. This time my body didn’t resist, didn’t shrink away from the icy water. I was in such a balanced state - spiritually balanced as a result of being physically balanced and visa versa – that I stood under the cold water and was simply OK.
Looking back, I understand now, that I was in a state Patanjali called in the "Yoga Sutra" - Sthira Sukham, - comfortable stability. He refers to this concept in the context of Yoga asanas - The asanas should be comfortable but not so much so that one nods off, stable but not so much as to cause pain or discomfort. From this position it is easier to enter a meditative state. When you are both stable and comfortable in this way, your consciousness is also stable and comfortable, and it is easier to quiet your minds fluctuations and practice meditation.
In my eyes this state of comfortable stability is also the ideal for daily life; awake to our surroundings and ourselves, yet serene. Not feeling the need to resist or shrink away from things, not feeling the need to attack and get angry, but balance and stability derived from something very sure and comfortable deep within yourself.
Then it is possible to start practicing Sthira Sukham in every moment of life, or during practices of Yoga - Am I relaxed and stable at this moment, or am I over-stimulated and on short nerves? Am I nodding off in the middle of the warrior 1 asana, or am I holding the pose, muscles working, but finding quiet and balance? Am I letting my day simply happen to me and dictate my actions and mindset, or am I directing my time confidently and smoothly? And how much and how fast can my environment destabilize my relaxed/ comfortable stability - in life and
on the yoga mat.
