Equanimity in Hormonal Flux

Equanimity, or upekkhā in Pali, was central to Dipa Ma's teaching: the capacity to meet all experience—joy and suffering—with unchanging peace. Hormonal health is inherently cyclical; some days cortisol is high, some low; some weeks mood is elevated, some depressed. Rather than fighting this natural variation (which creates additional stress hormones), equanimity invites acceptance of the full spectrum. This is not resignation but mature recognition that the body operates in cycles, as all nature does. Dipa Ma's equanimity practice prevents the secondary suffering created by resistance to normal fluctuation. When someone approaches their menstrual cycle or circadian cortisol rhythm with equanimity instead of resentment, they reduce the psychological stress that amplifies hormonal swings. Over time, this mental steadiness exerts a regulatory influence on the endocrine system itself—glands that are not being fought against tend naturally toward balance. Equanimity becomes a biochemical intervention.