Yoga for Addiction by Katy Cryer;

Author:Katy Cryer;
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: New Harbinger Publications
Published: 2020-09-28T23:37:24+00:00

The Second Arrow

In Buddhism, the concept of the second arrow is discussed. The idea is that when we are hurt, the first arrow causes pain, and this pain is unavoidable. For example, if someone rejects us, snubs us, or steals from us, or we stub our toe, we will feel pain from these hurtful arrows. But the true suffering happens when we shoot ourselves with a second (or third, or fortieth) arrow. We stub our toe and then think of all the reasons that happened. We blame the chair for being in the wrong place. We blame our partner for putting the chair there. We blame ourselves for (once again) being clumsy or hurried or not mindful. All of these arrows—the second, third, fourth, fifty-millionth—are optional and self-inflicted.

Self-awareness will help us stop at the first arrow, or, if we can’t do that, prevent as many arrows as possible. As we continue our self-study, we will become faster and faster at stopping ourselves. We will start telling ourselves things like, Ouch, what my partner just said really hurt! This is triggering. I’m going to sit with this pain and practice empathy for myself before I respond. And by doing this, we will create the ground for more love and understanding in our lives.

In yoga, my work with self-study began first with my body. I learned about the balls of my feet, the sensations of my outer hips, and how great it feels to finally relax my jaw after gripping it for several hours. Remember, recovery comes when we can learn to live in the present moment, and yoga teaches us to do this first by teaching us to feel our physical sensations. But as I studied the sutras and the ethical framework they offer, I learned that knowing myself transcends understanding my body. I began to understand that how I behave and think, and how I treat others, are at least as integral to my yoga practice as the stretch in my hamstrings. Twelve-step recovery is all about our behaviors and actions and, as it turns out, so is yoga once we go beyond the poses.

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