"Yesterday I was clever so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise so I am changing myself" - Rumi
I recently took a class on the basics of Lifestyle Medicine, which uses evidence-based lifestyle interventions to address chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis, hypertension, and cancer. Whereas conventional medicine addresses the symptoms of disease with pharmaceutical treatments and procedures, Lifestyle Medicine treats the underlying causes of disease before the symptoms escalate. Rather than pills, these interventions focus on the consumption of a whole food, predominantly plant-based diet, regular physical activity, restorative sleep, stress management, and social connections. It also seeks to reduce the use of risky substances such as alcohol, tobacco, and illicit drugs. Although it is part of conventional medicine, Lifestyle Medicine’s approach, with its emphasis on personal choice, is empowering, taking control of our health out of the doctor’s office and into our own hands.
The promise of staying healthy and avoiding chronic disease through lifestyle interventions is attractive, as it offers a way to live a long and healthy life free of pharmaceuticals and medical procedures. In practice, lifestyle interventions can be hard to implement and challenging to maintain. Their efficacy is dependent on dose which requires significant changes in several areas of a person's life. The guidelines for diet, exercise, and sleep are somewhat austere, so a person needs focus and dedication to make, as well as sustain, these behaviors.
We all hope to live a long life, free of the pain and disability that comes with many chronic diseases. How each of us goes about fulfilling this desire depends on what we value, our beliefs, and our sense of agency. Some take a passive approach to their health, preferring to wait until they have symptoms before seeking treatment. On the other end of the spectrum are those who take a proactive approach and arduously follow strict guidelines, such as those prescribed in Lifestyle Medicine. Others might get stuck between awareness and inertia, constantly worrying about health but failing to take appropriate steps toward prevention.
Very few of us lead pristine lives. We can all find ourselves doing things that aren’t healthy. At any given time we are faced with competing desires that complicate our ability to make choices. Desire, a state of mind that defines what we think will make us happy, is a strong engine that has considerable influence over our behavior. Desire is initially sparked by a pleasant feeling tone that is connected to a particular narrative. Although feelings of desire are a natural part of being human, they operate outside of our awareness and can drive us to behave in ways that are contrary to what we believe. The key is not to suppress desires but to notice their pull, take a step back, and listen to the narrative to see if it rings true.
Desire creates a sense of urgency that leads to gripping, clinging, and attachment. It narrows our focus and clouds the mind. As we tighten our grasp on what we think will make us happy, our perspective narrows and our vision is obscured, leading us to do things we know are not in our best interest. This can create divisiveness in our relationships. As we cling to our desires, we become resistant to change, wanting things to remain exactly the same. In the endless pursuit of desires, we become more concerned with our ability to hold on to what we want rather than enjoying what life has to offer at the present moment.
The opposite of desire is not apathy or indifference, but detachment, the ability to let go of what cannot be controlled. Our ability to detach is cultivated as we remain open and aware of our current circumstances and learn to adapt, loosening our grasp on the way we think life should be. Our capacity to adapt is built on a foundation of somatic awareness and reflects our ability to self-adjust in an appropriate manner to changing circumstances. Whereas desires can make us rigid, adaptability keeps us agile so that we can course correct when life demands we do so.
Adaptability involves choice. It is the skill of redirecting our attention so that our choices align with our values, beliefs, and what is important in our lives. It picks up where self-regulation leaves off, when we come into the present moment by noticing body sensations and directing the breath. Whereas desires drive us to follow unexamined narratives, adaptability enables us to make mindful assessments so that decisions are made from a stable and wise mind. Adaptability allows us to move forward with intention while remaining open and unattached to the outcome. Whereas desires get us stuck in a rut, adaptability helps us find our own groove so that we can flow with life with a sense of ease.
The first step in cultivating adaptability is to enhance our capacity for discernment, which enables us to digest our experiences. First we identify the thoughts that are driving our behavior, then we determine the best course of action. Discernment helps us distinguish between what we can change and what is out of our control, while enabling us to make wise choices that will meet the demands of the moment.
There is no lack of health advice in our culture. The wellness industry generates trillions of dollars by tapping into our desire to live a long and happy life. It’s easy to get caught up in promises of a life free of disease and discomfort. Adaptability helps us resist the pull of such promises by guiding us to skillfully examine what works best to keep us healthy, given where we are in life. Health is not an endpoint, but an ongoing state of being that is in continual flux. We would like to believe that we can avoid suffering simply by following a certain path, but this is not the way of the world. Life will always throw us a curveball. Adaptability enhances our capacity to respond when life throws us off course so we can change when needed while accepting what is out of our control.
Lifestyle Medicine holds tremendous promise for treating and preventing chronic disease. All interventions, whether they be pharmaceutical or behavioral, can only go so far in helping us be healthy. We all experience ebbs and flows, periods in which we feel strong and energetic and those when we are ill. Adaptability is critical in helping us discern the difference and to act accordingly. There is no intervention that can guarantee longevity or complete immunity to disease. What endures is our capacity to approach life with open awareness and a capacity to skillfully digest our experiences, moving with intention while remaining detached from the outcome. Perhaps our capacity to adapt is our most powerful lifestyle intervention. It can help us find a groove that will allow us to flow through life with ease, focus, and intention.
In yoga, adaptability is our capacity to move between stability and mobility. Many believe that yoga is all about becoming more flexible, but hypermobility is just as damaging to the body as being stiff and immobile. We need instead to focus on finding a balance between stability and mobility, building strength while remaining agile and responsive to what comes up on the mat. Sometimes in our practice we need to move fluidly, other times we need to be strong. Adaptability is all about moving between these two points, responding wisely to the demands of the moment.
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