ANGER

There's a misconception that yoga and meditation make it so that we aren't angry (or sad, stressed, fearful, anxious...) anymore.

That couldn't be more wrong.

Anger is a human emotion, just like happiness or fear, for example. We get into the weeds when we think that all of our emotions should be positive ones. But anger isn't a negative emotion. Neither is joy positive. Both of them, along with every other emotion, do not carry inherent dualistic value. They simply ARE.

If you've seen the movie "Inside Out," (its sequel is in theaters now,) it's easier to understand how our emotions are responses to things that happen, and are often helpful for us. While sometimes emotions can get the better of us and become dysfunctional, they are usually there for a reason. Fear can make sure we don't hurt ourselves, while anger can be a catalyst for change.

Let me say that one again: anger can be a catalyst for change.

A lot of people are angry right now. We have been busted over the head with Supreme Court decisions that fly in the face of everything we were taught about our Constitution. This anger may be born from a sense of injustice, and from fear. If we're careful, we can recognize that and then--here's the good part--use the spark that comes from anger in order to address the injustice that it stems from.

If you're super stressed out and angry right now, take some time to acknowledge it first. Know that it isn't something to be squashed into the depths of your psyche, but to be observed. Then, when you feel ready, you can take that anger and use it as a motivator.

Do you remember the Angry Birds game? It's cutesy and simplified, but they were mad because the green pigs stole their eggs. So they worked together to dismantle the Pigs' structures and reclaim the eggs that were rightfully theirs. They could fly (and, apparently, blow up among other things, but I digress...) so they used their skills to redress the injustice.

If you're angry, and have sat to understand it, and you feel ready, consider what your skills might be that can help to bring justice back to where it is currently lacking. Don't allow despair to settle in here, set that aside and be here now, with the anger as a motivational force, and decide what acts fit within your skillset that can help.

Then go ahead and get started. Your anger might change somewhat, into an energy that helps to move you along this path. I can't give you specifics about how you should go about this because it's going to be personal. For me, knowing that the Hatha Yoga Pradipika tells us that "The Yogi should practice Hatha Yoga in a small room, situated in a solitary place, being 4 cubits square, and free from stones, fire, water, disturbances of all kinds, and in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully," (1.12) I must use the practice that has been so helpful to me to spread the word about injustice, and help to move towards that "country where justice is properly administered."

Specifically for me, I have the skills to help others avoid allowing their stress to overwhelm them and for their anger (or fear, or sadness, or whatever) to become dysfunctional. I have some young people in my life who I can encourage to vote (some of them for the first time) so that they can be well represented by those who want the same things for their communities that they do. I can support whatever causes and candidates I believe will bring this country back towards one in which justice is properly administered.

What can you do? How can you work to bring us towards "a country where justice is properly administered?"

{The image below is a depiction of Kali Maa, the Hindu goddess that destroys evil in order to defend the innocent. Apt, I think}