BellaOnline Forums Health and Fitness Yoga Yoga and Ants

I finally went to an actual yoga class today - there were only 3 other students there and it was quite nice. Relaxed, plenty of space, good exercise. My arms and legs were shaking on several of the moves which is good, it means I was pushing myself a bit.

I got there first and while I was waiting on my mat I noticed a cute little red ant who was going back and forth along the side of my mat. Apparently I'd blocked his route, whatever it was, and he was trying to figure out how to get around it. He was carrying a little ant baby. Then I noticed there were a few more ants who were camouflaged because they weren't carrying anything.

I had about five minutes to watch my little ant friend, wonder why they were on the move. Maybe someone had put ant spray on their old home? They were trying to relocate somewhere safe. I thought about moving my mat to let them by, but I figured I'd wait until the yoga instructor got there so I could show her what was going on, and then move.

So two other students show up, then the instructor does, and I mention the little ant. She comes over, peers down at it, and then squashes it with her thumb!!

I realize people kill ants all the time, but I'd been playing with it for five minutes and curiously thinking about it - so to have it just squished suddenly like that was surprising.

I did then move my mat so the rest of them could move on to their destination.

Aww...

Many Buddhists will not squish bugs if they can help it. That does seem to fit better with yogic states of mind.

I alternate between compassionate treatment of ants, and wiping them off counters and washing them down the drain, depending on situations. Sometimes, when I am ending their current incarnations, I focus on wishing them their true desires and expanded consciousness, and hope that is helpful. They may be responding with "f@#% you!" with their last little ant breaths... I hope not.

If I watch an individual ant, striving to survive and do her part in the world, I cannot kill that one. It is a "person" to me. I can't help but to wish it well.

In my teens, I spent a week or so with a group in a lovely horse camp in the mountains. We rode horses in the wilderness every day, and it was wonderful. At night we slept in outdoor cots. The first night, we were exhausted after a long ride. I got in my cot and as I lay there I noticed that many large black ants were walking all over me. I was literally too tired to do anything about it, so I wished for the best and fell asleep. As I faded out, I could hear other campers exclaiming and cursing about the ants, and spraying them with bug spray. The next morning, I awoke with a few ants still on me, but in mellow mode, and no harm done. The other campers were all bitten and stung, and had a wakeful and miserable experience that night.

I don't recall what happened the following nights. Somehow the problem was solved.

But this (and other experiences) indicates to me that in the ideal feeling/frame of mind, we can attract harmony with bugs and other aspects of nature.

Cheers!

Sabira -

I was wondering that too, if creatures can sense your mood, because during much of the yoga hour I was thinking about the innocent little ant and how he was just trying to move the baby to a new home. He didn't think he was doing anything wrong.

And then when we went into the final "meditation" phase of the class, I felt a tickle on my hand, and it was a little ant there! It was being friendly. Everyone else was taking about how the ants bite and are nasty, and here this little ant was keeping me company. I did shake it off, to send it on its way, but I wondered if they weren't biting me because I was being gentle with them.

Now the class is going to think of me as the crazy ant-loving lady

If you wanted to address it scientifically, we release different chemicals when upset or afraid, and many living creatures are able to pick those up and respond.

It is possible that ants can also pick up on our feelings and thoughts in other ways. I know my cats do! (I am a crazy cat lady :-)

I think it is very beneficial to have intimate understanding of animals, plants, and other aspects of nature. It increases our ability to experience and express compassion and appreciation.

Cheers!

Cool story Lisa. Is this the same instructor that later talked about gratitude? If it is that is so funny.

Sabira that is a great point about how our mood reflects on how others animals or humans treat us.

Some people could stand in a garden full of butterflies and never have one butterfly land on them while others can stand in the middle of nowhere and a butterfly will show up out of nowhere and start playing with you. It's amazing what you notice and the experiences you have when you are more positive and grateful every day : )

I agree with Monica, this is an interesting story I had a couple of differing reactions when I read your first post Lisa. As a yogi I'd want to help or at least not hinder the ants, yet as an instructor I'd want the room to be comfortable and ready for my students.

If there were time I think I would have grabbed a sheet of paper and scooped them up and taken them outside. It would have felt weird to me to squash the ant in my studio and then tried to teach a class!

Well this week there weren't any ants that I saw so it didn't come up again.

Maybe she was worried that I was saying "Look an awful ant! What kind of an instructor are you to have ants in my nice clean yoga world!" So maybe she thought she was trying to help me.

When really I was saying "Look a cute little ant! Look at how it's confused about what to do, because my yoga mat has interrupted its natural path in life!"

And then she walked over and went SQUISH with her thumb. It was just so surprising to me, that my little ant friend had been stomped. Like a meteor falling out of the sky on my chipmunk in my yard that I'd been feeding, right while I was watching it.