Trust 2: Helping to Understand the Unknown
Vitarka Vicara Ananda Asmitarupa Anugamat Samprajnatah
In order to reach a state of complete understanding, we must go through a process that progresses from a superficial understanding to increasingly greater refinement and subtlety of comprehension, until our understanding becomes fully integrated and total.
—Yoga Sutra I.17
I often look on Google to auto-populate questions and am usually surprised by what I get back. When you Google “trust”, the first few responses include, “trusting others on the job can be dangerous”, “trusting others”, and “trustworthy”.
Trust, like respect, is paramount to our relationships with ourselves and others and it takes understanding and compassion to help cultivate it.
But it’s difficult to have the vulnerability and patience to establish real trust. Especially in a time where tribalism, which is defined on Wikipedia as, “the possession of a strong cultural or ethnic identity that separates one member of a group from the members of another group” seems to be everywhere.
In the search for answers in our post pandemic world, many have been forced to remain silent rather than voice unpopular opinions or pose uncomfortable questions. Or on the contrary, many are aggressively attacking those very groups’ beliefs or identities to protect their own. This is on top of the personal or professional betrayal we experience as kids and adults, which further dampens our ability to trust ourselves and others.
With it seemingly harder than ever to gain trust—how can yoga help? Our yoga practice teaches us to let go and let things be. It teaches us to be patient and have compassion for the others, to recognize the interconnectedness between all life that exists.
It also teaches us to clear the mind to gain a better awareness to connect with, and act from, the place of the true Self. As we practice asana (poses) or pranayama (deep breathing), we can slow down the fluctuations of our thought patterns and feelings and become a witness to them.
Try this practice:
Set a timer for 3-4 minutes
Close your eyes and begin to breathe, inhaling into the belly if its comfortable, just following the natural rhythm of your breath.
Notice any points of tension in the body and breathe into these muscles - avoid forcing your muscles into relaxation, it is enough to simply notice where the body is tense and use the breath to encourage relaxation. Unstick the tongue from the roof of the mouth and allow a soft smile to smooth the jaw. Breathe in the forehead; give the facial muscles permission to soften and melt.
Box breathing is good way to begin a short meditation: breathe in for a count of four, hold for four, breathe out for a count of four, hold for four - then repeat. The breathing creates a kind of box pattern, with the holds at each end of the breath.
Continue breathing this way for four or five breaths, then allow your natural breathing pattern to return. Keep the focus on your breath - it can help to try to pinpoint the moment when an exhale turns into an inhale, and when an inhale turns into an exhale.
Maintain this focus - when the mind wanders and you get distracted or busy, don’t worry or beat yourself up… remember that the mind is a busy place, so distraction is bound to happen, and gently bring your thoughts back to focus on the breath with no judgement or criticism for drifting concentration
The more we become a witness to our thoughts, the more we learn to see them for what they are – merely a rising and falling, a coming and going – until we develop such a deep sense of self-awareness that we get to know ourselves really, really well.