Health, compassionate interaction (part 5)

Health, compassionate interaction (part 5)

Today we continue our exploration of a comprehensive definition of health from the perspective of Yoga. Let’s recall our proposed definition, Health is the harmonious integration of adequate appetites, efficient elimination, optimal posture, graceful movement, calm mind, cheerful attitude, and compassionate interaction. We have already explored all the components of health in our definition except the last one, compassionate interaction. This last component seems to raise the question, why does it matter how we interact with others? Take a few moments to reflect on this question…can the way I interact with others reflect or influence my health?

It seems obvious that interaction in this definition refers to the interactions we have with other people. However, if we think more deeply, it makes sense that we are also in constant interaction with ourselves and the world around us. In fact, there has never been a single moment in our lives when we were not interacting, consciously or unconsciously, with our surroundings. Let’s think of interaction as the ways in which we encounter ourselves, our immediate environment, other people and other sentient beings, and the world at large.

If we think about it, it is quite likely that our interactions are the source of some, perhaps most, of our disappointments, irritations, and frustrations, as well as our successes and accomplishments. Take a moment to consider whether this might be true for you…

Now let’s direct our attention to considering the full range of interactions in our lives:

How do I interact? …With myself? …With the people around me? …With family and friends? …With acquaintances and strangers? …With other sentient beings? …With my surroundings? …With the world at large?

As we reflect on our ways of interacting in every aspect of our lives, questions that may arise include What is my attitude as I interact? How do my attitudes and ways of interacting influence the interaction I am having and the quality of my participation in it?

As we ponder these questions, most of us may find that our answers provide evidence of our ways of understanding life and ourselves, while some of us may find that there is not much clarity in our ideas about the fundamental nature of life, ourselves, and their relationship. Regardless of how clear or unclear we are about these ideas; we are still in a continuous process of interaction with all of life. In our definition of health, we include interactions because they affect our quality of life.

We are suggesting that being healthy includes interacting with compassion. Recently, the region where I live was hit by two major hurricanes in two consecutive weeks. These hurricanes were the strongest I have experienced in almost two decades of living in this area. It was unusual to have two hurricanes in such a short period of time. One of the immediate reactions that many of us noticed in the people of our community was a greater tendency to care about how others are doing and feeling, not only through words but also through actions. It seems that our natural tendency to move away from suffering was seamlessly extended to others in recognition of the difficulties they were experiencing. I think this is an example of a healthy response to our daily circumstances to care and offer support and help to alleviate the suffering of others. This is the meaning of compassionate interaction. Is it possible that offering a disinterested helping hand to others can have beneficial effects on both the recipient and the giver, as current research suggests?

For students of the Yoga Sutras, this idea is not new; in the first chapter of the Yoga Sutras, Patanjali pointed out typical obstacles to peace of mind in Sutra 1.30 and their symptoms in Sutra 1.31. Patanjali also suggested a variety of techniques for overcoming these obstacles, including the cultivation of friendliness, compassion, inspiration, and equanimity in Sutra 1.33. Can these four virtues offer us a way to improve our health through our interactions with ourselves and others? As always, these are all empirical questions that we can test in our daily lives.

In addition, it may be useful to notice if being helpful, kind, and considerate is a good example of something that creates positive change all around, not only benefiting the recipient and giver of help, but it also tends to inspire those who witness acts of kindness to act with kindness as well.

The following questions can help us reflect on these ideas and their relevance to our health and lives:
How do you usually interact with yourself? Do you treat yourself with friendliness, compassion, inspiration and equanimity? Or do you tend to be harsh and unforgiving with yourself? What seems to work better for you and your overall health? How are your patterns of interacting with yourself similar and/or different from your patterns of interacting with the people around you? How do you interact with other sentient beings?
When you are worried, upset, or feeling ill, how do you interact?
When you feel healthy, strong and in a good mood, how do you interact with others?
The simple questions that summarize today’s episode are, how do I feel when I cultivate these qualities? And, is it possible to cultivate these qualities with effortless ease?

I hope that these ideas offer you useful suggestions for your daily practice and for your life. In the next episode we will bring all of these ideas about health together with suggestions on specific ways of implementing some of them.

If you prefer, you may listen to the podcast:

This is an excerpt from the book Unravel the thread: Applying the ancient wisdom of yoga to live a happy life

If you find Simple-Yoga.org and Unravel the thread useful, consider supporting my labor with a donation, you may also donate using PayPal or Venmo. Thank you!