“My students often ask me to describe equanimity. I tell them I cannot do better than to tell the story of my greatest teacher of equanimity – my cat, Mr. B…One day, Mr. B was sitting in my front yard, calmly surveying the neighbourhood like a little sphinx, all knowing, and all seeing. Head up, eyes scanning slowly up and down the street. Two doors down, something unusual happened. My neighbour’s large and ferocious German shepherd, Queenie, got out of the house. She was in turn, surveying the scene on the street when her eye caught sight of Mr. B. Queenie stood perfectly still for a moment, ears up. She crouched. Then she charged, like a rocket, directly at the composed little figure of Mr. B. 

Mr. B did not budge. Did not blink. He stared with utter non-concern at Queenie’s raging approach. A foot or two from Mr. B, Queenie, completely taken aback by the cat’s unflinching ease, skidded to a stop and ran back to her own yard. Mr. B put his head back on his paws. That was that.

This is equanimity.”

Stephen Cope, Yoga and the Quest for the True Self.

When you are on your yoga mat, there may be many “ferocious dogs” charging at you. The ferocious dog of pain can appear at any moment, especially if concentration on breathing and relaxing lapses and attention is focused on achieving an ideal pose. When pain arises, practice equanimity. Stop, breathe, watch the sensation, assess it, measure it, look at how best to deal with it. What you may find is that the pain subsides on its own. If it doesn’t, then shift position, and change what you are doing, in a careful, mindful way.

Being mindful means noticing emotions that arise from the pain – maybe fear, agitation, anger, or worry. Again, watch the emotion, you may find it dissipates on its own. Be aware. Be calm. Look straight at the pain, and the emotions, watch them rage at you and then disappear. 

Effort is a combination of 
1) motivation, 
2) enthusiasm, 
3) dedication and 
4) will. 
Effort must be combined with awareness, or your yoga can become hardened.

When applying effort in asana, there are external and internal elements. 
The external elements are: 
1) geometry,  
2) alignment, 
3) strength, 
4) flexibility   
The internal elements are: 
1) awareness,
2) grace, 
3) respectful kindness, and
4) focus.
When practice begins, efforts are focused on the external components, with a concentration on physical resistance. Work in this area needs to develop patiently. It can take a long time…it will depend on application and perseverance…

While this work continues, further progress can be achieved by directing effort to the internal components… the flowering of awareness…its aim is to work on the scattered nature of the mind and attention and bring about poise…

It is a feature of attention that when it is undisciplined it will drift and fade and will often align itself to elements of our conditioning that are not in our best interests. When we enter an asana, for example, we are distracted by the mind’s tendency to focus on the physical challenge, by all kinds of inadequacies and doubts as to whether or not we are doing the pose correctly, by the desire to adjust the body and fidget, by pride and competitiveness, by such thoughts as “When is this pose going to end?”, or “I don’t like doing this”, etc

All of this chaotic activity takes away the subtle power from the centre of the asana. The internal control is lost and the effect becomes dissipated. To counter this: enter into the asana in a skillful way, fix the eyes on an object and do not shift the gaze for the duration of the asana. Alternatively, close you eyes.

Keep your awareness on your body, don’t allow thoughts to intrude. When feelings arise, note them, then let them go. If discomfort arises, adjust your pose so that it is relieved of pain. Let your thoughts be kind ones, encouraging and supporting yourself. Let go of judgments and criticism. Allow the pose to occur, without pushing, striving or forcing. Breathe easily & deeply. This is effortless effort.

“Those who enter the gates of heaven are not beings who have no passions or have curbed the passions, but those who have cultivated an understanding of them.” William Blake

In the book “A Path with Heart”, Jack Kornfield reminds us that every spiritual path shares similar difficulties: strong emotions. He suggests a way of working with these (useful on & off the yoga mat) which is ‘naming’. 
Start by focusing on the breath, watching the inward and outward flow. When your attention is captured by a strong emotion, you make this your point of focus. Feel it fully and name it - for example ‘fear’ , ‘sadness’, ‘peace’, ‘sleepiness’, anger, or any other strong feeling. Watch it until it fades & then return to the breath.

“You must practice naming very softly, giving 95% of your energy to sensing each experience, and 5% to a soft name in the background,” says Kornfield. Naming is not a way to judge & push away undesirable experience, but is a way of being present with what is. We can even watch desire, addiction, greed, ambition & craving: watch it and name it, and when it subsides, return to the breath.