July
2009
We trust the first Newsletter of June 2009 was a good read. We intend to bring to you messages of human and social transform-ation.
We bring you yet another message that we received in our medit-ation. We trust this message will help you transform the way you lead your life.
If thoughts can make us sad, then thoughts can also make us happy. We can then choose the way we want to feel like and bring in such thoughts!
We must know that thoughts do not have energy. They don't have any power. When we think, it is we who generate these thoughts and it is we who give these thoughts the power.
The Universe was conceived off a thought. So were all of creation which includes all of us. So, where does this thought come from?
Thoughts are simply a reflection of our past experiences which include our actions, reactions, responses and so on. It also integ-rates the way you felt in an experience. So, thoughts are necess-arily of something that transpired, something which is dead and has no energy in it. Thoughts are stored in the mind and where is the mind? Mind is everywhere, just like air, inside you and outside of you, around you.
According to the Yoga shastras, the mind is a combination of ether and air. This is the reason why the mind travels so fast and we see how, one moment it is here in Bangalore and the next mo-ment it is in another continent altogether.
So, when the mind is generating thoughts, it is essentially trying to bring back to life something that is dead and gone and making you believe that it is actually happening in the present. Such is the the power of the mind that by projecting a thought, it can get our hearts to beat faster and get us anxious, bite our nails and even get our digestive systems to go out of gear.
Today, there are so many people who live according to the mind's projections and they are severely incapacitated when they are fac-ing an anxiety attack, spending sleepless nights staring blank at the ceiling and are frequently driven into panic situations.
How then do we deal with the mind?
Recently I was reading a book authored by Dr. Wanye W. Dyer and he has quoted very well. He asks, why worry? There are two reasons why you must not worry; Don't worry, because there are things that are under your control and because they are under your control, there is no need to worry about them, right?
And then, there are these other things that are out of your control. Now these things that are out of your control are things that you can do nothing about and because you can do nothing about them, don't worry.
Recently, I learnt a practice which I want to share with you. When I have a thought that tries to take me away from my state of happi-ness, I simply tell myself, "my mind wants to think of things that do not bring happiness. I am not my mind and so I have nothing to do with it." I simply say this and notice that the mind then ceases to project thoughts.
so, if you are not listening to the mind, if you are not watching those thoughts, then who is? The answer is, nobody. So, when nobody is watching the thoughts, what happens to the thoughts? They simply whither away...they fall apart because you have not
given it energy. Thoughts also produce fatigue. They produce physical and mental fatigue. When you get fatigued, you can drive yourself as well as others crazy. And that's not the appropriate thing to do in any sit-uation.
I was recently asked by a patient turned friend to teach some practices to help relieve him of fatigue. At this juncture, I received in my meditation a set of simple practices which I was told, will totally relieve you of fatigue and help you energise the body almo-st immediately.
We are keen to share these set of practices, essentially yoga pra-ctices, which you can perform to eliminate physical and mental fatigue.
These are a set of 4 asana (physical postures) and 1 pranayama (breathing technique to increase prana or life-force in the body).
How do they work?
Vata is considered to be the cause of fatigue. Vata increases due to several factors. Vata aggravates due to man-made as well as natural causes. Man-made causes include; eating and sleeping late, eating fruits and vegetables that do not belong to that geographical area, excessive travelling, harbouring fear based emotions, excessive talking, etc. Natural causes of increase in vata include climate change, high velocity winds, sudden weather changes, etc.
What is Vata?
Vata is one of the three doshas (tridosha in Sanskrit). Dosha are condensed from the five elements of ether, air, fire, water and earth which help in maintaining the body as well as in the process of dis-integrating the body. Vata dosha is derived from combining of ether & air.
The characteristics of Vata is that of wind; unstable and erratic. Typically, senior citizens have increased Vata which is playing its role in ageing the body. This is prevalent in their forgetfulness, expressing fear and insecurity, loss of sleep, etc.
Hence the practice are ones that reduce Vata and thereby conserve energy. Well, they not only reduce Vata but also stabilise Pitta and Kapha. While Pitta is derived from a combination of Fire and Water which helps in transformation, Kapha is derived from a combination of Water and Earth which helps in absorption and nourishment to the body.
When to Practice?
The best time to practice Yoga is either early in the morning after you cleanse your bowels or in the evening on returning from work. Either times, your stomach must be empty of solids or liquids. You must have consumed any solids at least 2 1/2 hour earlier and liquids at least 1 hour earlier.
Where to Practice?
These practices can be done on a mat which is placed on the floor. Avoid performing them on your bed because the mattresses are thick and could be out of shape causing you to strain certain parts of the body.
To access the entire practice schedule click here.
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