equanimity in the garden

Busy bees at the community garden.

My summers are marked by a schedule of watering and caring for the garden. I do this work willingly, even when life is busy with work and social obligations, and it seems there isn’t enough time. While I think that I must be unattached to the work because there are so many things that can go wrong—pests, weather, disease—my efforts have always paid off. Not only do I enjoy the bounty of the garden, but it keeps me grounded and helps clear my mind, much like my asana practice.

This year has made me doubt the depth of my non-attachment. The garden is so far behind schedule. One of the heirloom tomatoes doesn’t even have fruit yet. It’s been difficult to feel motivated to water when the cucumbers get eaten by slugs. It’s certain that I won’t reap the same rewards as years’ past. Oh, how easy it is to be non-attached when there is abundance.

This past Wednesday night I taught Eka Pada Sirsasana—a pose that most students may never fully realize, myself included. With asana, unlike my garden, it doesn’t feel hopeless, even if “achieving” the pose may be hopeless. There’s so much more than the outward form of the asana. Geeta Iyengar says we practice to bring freedom of movement to the joints and the spine and touch the organic body with the asanas. Most importantly, she says, “They are meant to give access to the mind, and if they have done the job, there is no question of your stiffness. If Janu Sirsasana has done what it should do to you, there is no difference as to whether you have brought your head to knee or chair. It is absolutely irrelevant.”

B.K.S. Iyengar demonstrates Eka Pada Sirsasana

It’s possible to practice an asana knowing I’m not going to be able to complete the outward form and there’s a change in the attitude with which I undertake the task. When unattached to the result, I can proceed with equanimity—engaged in action without the motive of reward. Now, if only I can water and tend the garden this year with the same attitude I have while practicing Eka Pada Sirsasana, then I might be able to say that yes, unattached to the results, I garden with equanimity.

This coming week is going to be especially warm. While my heat loving tomatoes will benefit, this type of weather can make us wilt. We can use our practice for support in so many ways, and how we practice during the height of summer heat is just one example. I’ll be teaching cooling poses in all my classes this week. I hope to see you at the studio soon.

July 24, 2022