What I learned from BIO 225

Ambitious strides led to mishap. But at least within the seven hours of said ambitious attempt I learned something. It wasn’t a complete waste. Three words: online. summer. classes. EW!!! In the beginning, I was prepared, organized, eager, and ready to eat up my physiology textbook. However, the textbook was the initial part of the issue. The day the class started my book got delivered to the wrong house (thank you, USPS).When I went to retrieve my book from the neighbors I realized they had moved. I had no access to my textbook. On top of that I realized that 16 weeks of intense material condensed into 8 weeks was not conducive to an A. As much as I wanted to prove to myself I could do it, I ended up dropping the class. Perhaps I dropped it fearing I would not achieve the results I could have attained in a normal semester. Maybe I just wanted a stress-free summer. Probably a mixture of both. But throughout all the commotion of getting organized, and from the time I spent studying the material, one bold lettered word captured my attention.

According to science, homeostasis is the “ability of the human body to maintain a constant internal environment.” To elaborate, “the constancy of the internal environment is the condition for a free and independent life.” I don’t know why but this word struck me, really dug under my skin where lies a magnificent chamber of reactions. We are walking, living, chemistry labs. Whether we are conscious of it or not, things are working, and trying to create balance. For instance, if your body temperature is too high, the body starts to sweat in order to get back to regular temperature levels. The body must have some way of compensating for a lack of homeostasis.[1]

I began to think that this concept of maintaining homeostasis does not only apply to the physical realm but also to the social and psychological realms. Other organisms, even groups of people, work forces, and institutions are working to achieve balance, or at least some form of it. And when outside forces attack our place of stability we are prompted to act or compensate to return to a state of comfort. The problem is discerning which methods of compensation are helpful and which methods are not so helpful. As seen in our own bodies, compensation may succeed, and we feel well, or compensation fails, and we become ill or diseased.  

Imagine you’re in a box where you are safe, and nothing can harm you. Now imagine external forces start to act on the box disturbing whatever it is your doing. You may feel resistance. Maybe your angry at whatever it is that is disturbing your yoga session in the nice little box. Next, you are prompted to act in hopes of reducing the disruption. You may try one of two things.

You may decide to pick a fight with whoever decided to ram up the side of your walls because it will fulfill the agitation you feel towards the situation. Except this only expends more energy, leaving you unfulfilled and less steady.

The second response is more effective. Instead of picking fights or trying to have the upper hand, what Michael A. Singer explains in his book The Untethered Soul is that we must let uncomfortable situations pass through us. There is no way we will ever win a competition with something that is beyond our control. In fact, when we try to win that impossible war, we only deprive ourselves of internal peace and happiness. “Only you can take inner freedom away from yourself or give it to yourself. Nobody else can.”[2]

I guess what my textbook's definition of homeostasis revealed to me was a new way in which I can view balance. Previously, I thought balance was successfully optimizing every single area of my life at once and having the perfectly curated morning routine. Balance used to mean making it appear as though I had all my emotional crap together. The physiological definition demonstrates that in order to live at the mental equilibrium you need the right tools to do so. Just as the human body contains mechanisms that regulate itself such as its organs, glands, tissues, and cells, so do we need to implement strong mechanisms or practices that help us to maintain stable lives.

Ideas and Tools for a Balanced Life:

1. Being Practical Yet Open

When it comes to living a peaceful life stability can be disrupted by setting impossible expectations for ourselves. It's having this controlled view of how we must progress in our lives. I often get caught up in the belief that the new habits or hobbies I start are going to produce immediate results. Like the time I tried learning the electric guitar believing I would swagger the world with my electrifying performances only to realize my dwarf fingers limited my ability to play certain chords. 

Being flawed humans, it's inevitable that at some point our energy and drive is going to burn out or circumstances will block our inertia. Rowena Tsai explains this through the Ultraradian Performance Rhythm. Here below is the relationship between our arousal and resting periods when we take on new tasks.

                                   

As you can see this is how our brain may naturally respond to the state of workflow. There is usually a large spike in attention span followed by a dip in stress and a necessary healing time. We may feel infatuated with ideas and our ambitions, but we must plan and allot for breaks- pace ourselves! (like I should have done for this summer class I signed up for) We should be aware that not everything will go according to plan but we can follow through if we set time aside to find solutions to our problems.  All in all let's try not to bite off more than we can chew.[3]

Lastly, balance is also about seeing gradual progress. It's accepting momentary failures with compassion and having grit to succeed. 

2. Let It Happen Organically

During the week when I was debating whether I should drop my class I was a ball of STRESS. I couldn't sleep, I had chest pains, and I knew this class was over working me. I kept dedicating time into something I knew could be done a more efficient way. I believe as humans we like to complicate things and often we ignore the obvious alternative route. What's crazy is that even though we know what routes are best for us sometimes we ignore them. It is hard to let go and trust that there is a better path for us, whether that be  choosing a different career or trying out some unconventional method.  But I found that once I hit the drop button on BIO 225 that everything began to shift kind of like a game of tetris. By scratching this class off my schedule I had time to venture into other subjects that I could learn on my own and spend more time with quality friends. You'll find the right things and the right people that are meant to naturally fit into your life. By letting go we can discover new lessons and be inspired by new environments. Let’s stop forcing the pieces to stick.

3.  Sum > Parts

Zeroing in on the working cells in our bodies you will see it is a beautiful chaos. I think we can start to view balance in this way. Life is bigger than just our sad seasons. It’s more than just great results and outcomes. Every moment is weaved into this fabric called the story of our life. We can take into account the entirety of life instead of weighing out its individual pieces. We can be fascinated in how someone succeeded despite their obstacles. Overall, learning to oscillate between moments of sadness or shame to moments of joy and confidence is truly an art form if we do so with grace and acceptance.

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[1] Silverthorne, Dee U. Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, 2007. Print.

[2] Singer, M. A. (2007). The untethered soul: The journey beyond yourself. Oakland, CA, US: New Harbinger Publications.

[3] Tsai, Rowena, director. How to Be A Productive Potato. YouTube, YouTube, 28 Dec. 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z2Jy1qvl08.