The past week was full of painful events. The results of the US election and, personally, my 88-year-old father fell and was hospitalized. He's back home now and I made the quick decision to go the USA for one week to help my family. As you read this email, I'm with them, helping to navigate this new stage of life for all of us.

I reflect on stages of life and how we carry our practice wherever we go, no matter the circumstances. Times are difficult for many and for those who are living in more peaceful places, the rumble of instability isn't far off.

Where does our yoga practice fit into all of this?

A colleague of mine posted on Facebook the day after the US election, “what would Arjuna do?” If you're not familiar with Arjuna, he is the main protagonist in the Bhagavad Gita, referred to as the Gita, a prominent sacred text and central to the Vendanta and Vaishnava Hindu tradition. It is set as a conversation between Prince Arjuna and his guide, Krisna. It is a war epic in which Arjuna must make agonizing choices on the battleground to discover and perform his duty (dharma). I remember years ago hearing that what makes Arjuna a warrior is that he cuts through illusion to become an agent of action, performing his karma, and attributing those actions to bhakti, his devotion to Krishna.

We all have different dharmas in life; if we're teachers, we have a teacher's dharma, as children of someone, we have dharma with our parents. Sometimes our dharma isn't clear and this is the battle that Arjuna waged, exploring how to move forward in life. Arjuna found that through yoga, “yoga karamasu kaushlam,” meaning yoga is skill in action, that he would find the clarity, steadiness, and stability of mind needed to move forward in painful times.

Let's stay close to our yoga practice, with all its challenges, to move towards peace. It can sound trite but in reality, finding peace in our hearts can skillfully be pursued. Yoga practitioners are agents of change. Like Arjuna, in these stressful days, let's skillfully move towards equanimity within ourselves. Like Arjuna, in these stressful days, we can skillfully mover towards equanimity within ourselves. May our yoga practices awaken our awareness to our actions that benefit our human family and our planet.