Yoga Rescue For Social Media Overload

These last couple of weeks, I have encountered so many friends in despair over the state of the world. It's not hard to get to that point when we are faced with pleas for help for brutalized war refugees and people unconstitutionally detained in our own country, while seemingly demonic (there, I said it) and severly underqualified people move into positions of leadership, and deals go down behind the scenes. Injustice screams to us in headline after headline, and you want to feel empowered with the information and resources to help. No, we can't just "om" it all away. Why? Because we have a heart. Because life on this planet is a shared experience. Because as we deepen our awareness, connectivity to the matrix of life is ever present.

One of the causes of disease according to Ayurveda, the life science that encompasses yoga, is the misuse of the senses. When we are taking in sensational images and alarming snippets of despairing possibilities, our life force becomes depleted. The unnatural light emitted from screens, and using screens at night, interfere with our biorhythms. The rapid jumping of attention from one alarming topic to the next sets the mind into a pattern of dispersal, and the current increases, bringing more of the same.

The term we use in yoga and Ayurveda to describe the vital life force in the body is prana. One key aspect of prana is that it follows awareness, and when our awareness is moving outside of the network of the body and into the networks of the internet for extended periods of time, we start to lose our vitality. This is the fear response, that sense of lack, that kicks every part of us into turmoil to try to fill in where the prana has leaked out.

The remedy is to reverse this outpouring of prana, and strengthen out ability to direct awareness toward that which is nourishing. I don't mean unplugging from it all and hiding out on retreat (although that is a nice thing to do occasionally), I encourage establishing good habits, and noticing ways we can build vitality while being engaged in the struggle for what we value most.

Here are five ways to rescue your prana:

1. Create real outlets for your own ideas. Keep the channels open that allow thoughts to move freely in and out of your system. For example: write free form in a journal (no one ever has to read it!). Make art and music. Set up some time to be creative.

2. Pay attention to your biorhythms. Go to bed early, and turn off the screens well before bedtime.

3. Begin your day with some deep breathing. Charge your pranamayakosha - your energy field by connecting to a bigger source. End your day the same way.

4. Don't multitask while taking in the news- or the newsfeed. Be mindful of how much time you are actually spending on this intake (set a timer!), and be equally aware of the times you are eating, driving, having a conversation, cleaning, etc.

5. Go outside and move. Nature recharges out life force. Movement stimulates processes of elimination. Beauty is healing.

Of course, there are so many more ways we can care for and protect our prana. But these are just a few basic ideas. Wishing you health and happiness.