The familiar smell of incense rode the rhythmic waves of traditional drums and brass bells through the hall, as people streamed in front of the statues.  Everywhere I looked I saw a fabric more brilliant and beautiful than the last one.  The statues wore colorful handmaid flower malas, and a host of fruits, rice, flowers, and other offerings sat in front of them.

My husband and I attended his culture’s biggest holiday this past weekend.  The festival honors the Goddess Durga, the divine mother and destroyer of evil.

She rides a lion and has 10 arms, each carrying a different tool to accomplish her task, which was to slay a demon who was terrorizing earth and heaven.

I’ve only got 2 arms, and I drive a Subaru, not a lion, but I definitely have my own “demons” to conquer and battles to fight.  I’m sure you do too.

Durga embodies universal power and peace, and can inspire you to choose your battles wisely, armor yourself with the appropriate tools, and persevere to victory in your own battles.

Picking a Fight or Choosing Your Battle?

My aim is to avoid violence and promote peace as much as possible.  It’s nearly impossible to go through life without some conflict though, even if it’s only internal.  Plus, there’s a difference between picking a fight and choosing your battle wisely.

Picking a fight is a reactive approach and often subconscious.  You might not realize you’re doing it or even know why. Often the reason for the argument is a proxy for something else, such as frustration over something entirely unrelated.

Choosing your battle involves thought about where to invest your time and energy in trying to make a change, based on your Dharma (Purpose).

Durga was created specifically for the task of slaying the demon, because only a woman could do it. According to the story, it was her Dharma to free everyone from the demon’s terror. Realizing this truth, she answered the call.

The demon you fight might be that inner critic that keeps you from sharing your gifts with the world.  Your battle might be overcoming the desire to stay at your desk (or on the couch!) instead of getting on your mat. You might need to slay your tendency to say “yes” to everyone’s requests just to keep the peace. Or maybe it’s victory over that messy office that you’re seeking.

These are all very privileged battles, as many are facing literal fights for survival in wars, natural disasters, hunger, and other severe hardships around the world and in our own backyards.

If you’re lucky enough to be able to choose amongst the non-survival battles, your Dharma (Purpose) serves as a guide for where to invest your time and energy.

For example, if your Dharma is to share your gifts and your inner critic or people pleasing tendencies prevent you from doing so, then overcoming them is a battle worth undertaking.  Which way the toilet paper hangs probably isn’t.

Selecting the Best Tools

Whatever the quest, like Durga, you have so many tools at your disposal. Durga holds a trident, a rotating disc, a conch shell, a missile, arrows, a thunderbolt, a bell, a rod, and a noose.

You have your body, breath, mind, energy, strength, courage, compassion, light, your heart.

You have the 8 Limbs of Yoga.

And so.

Much.

More.

And oh, the things you can do with these tools.

You hold the ability to move stress out of your body with postures, exercise, dance, and other mindful movement.

You can calm your anxiety or lift your spirits just through your breath.

You can meditate and learn to let go of negative thought patterns.

You own your voice and can speak your truth or ask for help.

You have the power to set boundaries and stop your energy leakages.

The possibilities are endless.

It’s easy to forget all that you have available to help you face your personal battles. Just like an actual toolbox, some tools might get buried under others.

If you haven’t used that one flashlight in a while, the batteries might have run out. Similarly, your authentic voice might be buried so deeply under your perceived need to keep the peace that you might have to dig to find it and dust it off before you use it.

Sometimes you need someone to hold that flashlight while you dig through your own tool box. At other times you just need some new tools. Often you need both.

Persevering to Victory

Not every battle is easy. It wouldn’t be called a battle if it were.

Durga took 10 days to conquer the demon. She had to get smarter and more creative each day as the demon found new ways to hide and disguise himself. She had to practice Tapas (Perseverance) to win the battle.

When you get busy and overwhelmed, or come up against a new, more complex problem, you can tend to reach for the same old devices over and over again, no matter the situation. Because those tools are easy to access, feel familiar, and worked in the past, it’s easy to think they will again.

When you keep using the same old tools for new, more complex problems, it’s like trying to drive in a screw or nail with a saw. It just doesn’t work well.

At the very least it will be a lot harder and slower than if you drew on a better set of tools, or just got some help.

That’s why a good teacher will encourage you to practice the hard postures and the ones you don’t like as well as the ones that do.

Yoga isn’t always about taking the easy road and being comfortable. It’s about using the tools of the yogic path to discern when to take the easy route and when (as well as how) to face your demons.

Sometimes you can’t escape life’s difficulties. Sometimes being a warrior—by facing the battles that your purpose requires of you—is the most kind and non-harmful thing you can do.

Like Durga, you can choose to answer the battle calls of your Dharma (Purpose) wisely, employ the best tools of yoga, and persevere to find victory, strength and peace once more.

Meditation is one of the best tools I know for discerning the path to victory in my personal challenges. Click the button to grab my guide, 4 Simple Secrets to Making Meditation Happen, to make meditation a part of your own tool kit.

This information is for educational and informational purposes only and solely as a self-help tool for your own use. I am not providing medical, psychological, or nutrition therapy advice. You should not use this information to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting your own medical practitioner. Always seek the advice of your own medical practitioner and/or mental health provider about your specific health situation.