Yoga in Sickness

We all talk about the practice when the body is healthy. What do we do when we fall sick? What happens to the practice then? How did my practice help me in my sickness? I got a chance to reflect upon all these in the past 2 weeks when I was down with hand foot and mouth disease (yes, adults also get that 😛 )and it was quite surprising what came up to my awareness.

As a yoga teacher, it is of utmost importance that I do the practice diligently. The practice is not ONLY asana practice. It plays a small part. But most importantly, the subtler practices of pranayama, japa and meditation is must. So is the study – self study as well as continuous learning. So when I say practice, it is the sum total of all this. And they all shape the way I experience life and here are some observations from the most recent experience of illness.

Release of any shame associated with sickness. I usually feel very shameful and guilty when I fall sick. And I have a tendency fall sick more frequently than most. But this time, at the onset of the disease, I chose to free myself from all shame and guilt. There will be times when the body goes through repeated cycle of illness in spite of taking all necessary care. Nothing can be done about it and there is nothing to feel ashamed or guilty about it either. Yes it is inconvenient for myself and for people around me. Yes it often leads to a setback. Yes, being healthy is the natural state of being and sickness is an anomaly. But feeling ashamed of being sick, feeling guilty of being sick, feeling inadequate or lesser because of frequent illness is not going to help with the healing. I was able to identify the raise of shame and guilt and also release it thanks to all the efforts that went into being aware of my body, mind and thoughts.

A mind that is fully tuned into the body. It was observing every pain and discomfort. It noted how my facial muscles clenched in anticipation of pain before swallowing the spit. It noticed how the body changed the way it walked so that the sores in my feet were not ruptured. It noticed the exhaustion and the discomfort and the mind did not flinch away from it. It witnessed all that the body went through. This is definitely from the years of asana practice where we patiently hold the asanas for extended period of time, being fully aware of every little sensation that raises and falls in the body and calmly enduring the discomfort. This helped me in enduring the physical pain without suffering mentally.

Mantra – That which protects the mind – the mantra japa done consciously during health became an involuntary act during sickness. It brought with it immense solace. The involuntary japa was most intense at the peak of the sickness. I could tell that the intensity of the disease was coming down when the involuntary japa started tapering off in the mind. Japa is an important part of the practice. Constant and conscious repetition of mantra generates powerful mental patterns that can help us overcome any negative, downward or non beneficial thought patterns (one among the countless benefits).

Acceptance – the body was doing its part to fight the infection. There was nothing much that can be done but to endure it. Yes, I admit I was crying every night after the last class of the day in sheer pain and exhaustion, but the situation was what it was and there wasn’t much that I could do about it. Complete acceptance and surrender to the course of events comes from learning to accept and face the body and the mind as they are, at that moment of stepping on the mat, every single day.

Karma – The body has to go through its karma and nothing can be done about it whatsoever. Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. Knowing about prarabdha karma and how to navigate it comes from constant study and reflection of yoga and vedanta philosophy.

A steady and constant practice of yoga (nothing fancy, but something that is simple, sincere and consistent) helps us navigate the ups and downs of life without losing our poise. Afterall, samatvam yogamuchyate.