Be comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

August 25, 2020 Posted by Sandra Gergler Yoga

Adaptability is Strength

Little over 100 years ago, our ancestors had to build their own homes, hunt for food and chop their own firewood with an axe. We seldom think about the amount of work that went into just surviving back in those days without electricity, gasoline and now, technology. Innovation has advanced at such a rapid pace that most of us don’t give our source of food, shelter or heat a second thought. In fact, it’s not unusual for someone to put in an eight-hour workday without ever having to leave their computer or desk. We know that one of the results of this is that Americans are more out of shape and less healthy than ever before… but there’s another problem with living with these conveniences for so long. We have forgotten how to be okay with being uncomfortable. Adaptability is strength. Survivalists say that the worst thing you can do is to arrange things in your life so that you are comfortable all the time. The weak and the unprepared do not survive.

Physical Discomfort

Scientific advances have afforded us more comforts than ever before. Let the power and Wi-Fi in your home go out for a few hours and see how conditioned you have become to this convenience. We have learned over the years to believe that being uncomfortable is “bad“. However, we must adapt to what we experience. If we never have to experience physical hardship then we never learn how to deal with it. When was the last time that you felt uncomfortable for a long time and felt like it was okay? When is the last time that you felt cold and didn’t turn up the heat or you felt hot and didn’t turn up the AC? When was the last time you slept outside or on the ground? How easy would it be to be OK if these conveniences disappeared for a while? Let yourself be hot. Let yourself be cold. Let yourself get hungry. When there is never lack, we tend to take things for granted and we lose gratitude. It is the struggle that makes us strong.

Mental Discomfort

This is an area of our lives which has also changed drastically with the explosion of media. Our ancestors experienced geographic isolation. There was no social media, Internet or air travel. Communities during their time tended to build strong local community and rely on each other much more than we do today. We now have access to people across the world with far reaching travel but we are more alone than ever before. It’s as if we have exchanged quantity for quality. Mental difficulties, especially anxiety and depression are commonplace. Our thoughts and energy are scattered and purpose in life is obscured. Just like lifting weights will build physical strength, adapting to unexpected and unwanted circumstances builds our mental strength. The only thing we can really control is our own thoughts and actions. A keystone to a real yoga practice is building the mental and emotional capacity to “align” with conditions we would normally find objectionable. When I accept life as it comes, rather than try to avoid, manage and change conditions to best suit me, I build my mental strength.

Building Spirit

The contrast between spirituality of years ago and to today is extreme. The media and most of society show me I need a vast array of people, places and things to fit in and to be happy. In Yoga we say this is “Maya”; an illusion. No matter how long I seek and no matter how many things I acquire, I am always left wanting. Even worse, I am ungrateful for what I have. I may be satisfied for a short time but there will always be the next object of my desire. We call this the horizon effect.

Spiritual strength and adaptability grow when we learn to pull our attention and energy away from the external world of people and things and focus it inward. In the world of those who live for instant gratification and narcissism, Spiritual strength does not exist. However, it is our spiritual strength that cultivates the ability to adapt to our physical and mental experience. The faster I can align my body, mind and spirit with conditions that I might otherwise find unacceptable, the less stress I put on myself. Stress is said to be the source of all disease. It is a complete energy suck that drains my body and mind of the resources it needs to repair, revitalize and renew.

This is the foundation of the concept of fasting. Doing without offers an opportunity to cleanse, renew and re-appreciate. Fasting needs not only be a food fast. Consider a complete media fast or technology fast. Consider a speaking fast; then notice your impulse to say something in reply to what others say to you. In the spirit of St. Francis, it is better to hear than it is to be heard. It is better to understand than be understood. Fasting practices are a reset. They ground us and bring us back to a place of clarity. I can then redirect that energy to where it is supposed to go and I can live in peace.

Ego says that when everything falls into place, I will have peace. Spirit says when I have peace, everything will fall into place. Our society has put a high priority on things but the one who’s top priority is to build Spirit attains the most valuable wealth. It redirects away from the focus on material things to building an internal connection of Self to God, the Universal Spirit or Nature. Notice what people, places and things are weighing you down. Let them go to gain clarity. Be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

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About Sandra Gergler

I'm Sandy ; owner of Bhakti Yoga South Jersey. I spent 10 years as a Chemistry Teacher. My background in education is being applied to maintaining the most up to date curriculum for the Bhakti Studio’s 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Program. I use the scientific basis of the benefits of yoga as the foundation of the BYSJ instruction.. I bring professional academic instruction to BYSJ teacher training as well as workshops on yoga meditation and nutrition

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