Training Equanimity

In this practice, we’ll build from the body scan in Lesson 2, widening our focus to the entire body with an intention for equanimity.

We are practicing a specific kind of willingness to be with our internal experience. This means offering an equal interest to sensations, whether they’re experienced as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral.

It also means bringing a willingness to experience sounds, thoughts, and emotions that naturally come to our attention. For example, if you start the practice, then notice sounds of construction from outside, instead of getting frustrated or feeling the urge to give up and try again later, note these feelings and how they manifest in your body. The goal here is to observe and explore all sensations, even those that are unpleasant, to develop the skill of equanimity.

COUNTERING REACTIVITY WITH EQUANIMITY

Bringing equanimity to body sensations is a key component in developing equanimity in everyday life.

Difficult emotions seem to linger longer than positive ones. This is partly because difficult thoughts and emotions are often accompanied by unpleasant body sensations.

These unpleasant sensations are interpreted by our brain as something being wrong, which can reactivate a sense of distress, causing a feedback loop of reactivity. When we’re not aware of this reactivity, it can lead to a snowballing effect of increased distress and suffering.

By bringing equanimity to the body sensations themselves, we have the opportunity to disrupt this feedback loop.

In order to gain better awareness and control of how we react to our emotions, we need to first recognize our instinctive responses.

Deliberately noticing whether sensations are experienced as pleasant, unpleasant, or neutral during meditation practice can make it easier to notice these sensations – and recognize reactivity towards them – during the busyness of daily life.

Rather than feeling stuck or blaming ourselves for the thoughts and emotions that arise within us, we can recognize them for what they are: conditioned reactions.

GUIDED PRACTICE

Follow along with the steps below, as we guide you through a short five to ten minute equanimity practice.

Feel free to practice at your own pace with the following script or skip to the guided audio practice below.

Before you start

As with previous practices, set up in a stable, comfortable posture with your eyes closed or gaze softly lowered.
Notice the sensations of sitting to help ground yourself.

STEP 1: SLOWLY GATHER YOUR FOCUS

Gathering attention to the area just beneath the nose, or your chest and belly, settling here for one or two minutes, observing the full inhale, the full exhale, and any space between breaths.

STEP 2: EXPAND YOUR FOCUS

Gradually expand your focus to include sensations throughout the entire body.
You may notice sensations of hot or cold, stillness or movement, lightness or heaviness.

STEP 3: NOTE AND EXPLORE

Allow your attention to rest on one sensation and then the next, and so on.
Noticing more prominent sensations and more subtle ones.
Holding these sensations within a larger awareness – allowing each sensation to come and go.

STEP 4: MEETING SENSATIONS WITH EQUANIMITY

Some sensations may be experienced as pleasant, others as unpleasant, and still others as neutral.
Notice if you have a tendency to hold on to pleasant sensations or to distract or move away from unpleasant sensations, or in some way avoid feeling them.
Or perhaps there’s a tendency to ignore neutral sensations.
See if you can approach each sensation with a curious interest, treating all sensations as equally deserving of your attention.

STEP 5: MEETING SOUNDS AND THOUGHTS WITH EQUANIMITY

Rather than viewing sounds and thoughts as distractions or intrusions, allow them to be part of the experience, meeting them with equanimity – acknowledging them, without judgement, identification, or reactivity – then returning attention to the body.
As you maintain an open awareness, you may notice moments of stillness or silence. Allow these experiences to be part of your practice (letting them come and go in their own time).

STEP 6: RE-GROUND YOURSELF AS NEEDED

If you find yourself getting lost in thoughts or caught in reactivity, slowly bring your attention back to a stable anchor, such as your breath or your feet on the floor.
Take a moment to re-establish your intention for equanimity. Once your attention has stabilized, try re-expanding your focus to your whole body again.

STEP 7: WIND DOWN

When the practice ends, slowly open your eyes.
Observe the present state of your body and mind – perhaps there’s contentment, frustration, doubt, trust – knowing there’s no one way you’re supposed to feel.

Equanimity: Guided Audio Practice

This practice is led by Dr. Thomas Stark, psychiatrist and Clinical Lecturer at the University of Calgary. He has a strong interest in mindfulness-based programs and employs it in his work with Canadian Armed Forces veterans and RCMP members.

The next page includes a Workbench Exercise that gives us the opportunity to reflect on this practice.

PUTTING IT INTO ACTION