I write this as someone who fails at times what I know - because of lack of practice - but when I get reminded of the benefits, in my own struggle, I feel I need to share the experience with rest of you who are struggling like me.
To some Happiness and Peace comes naturally like essence of scent to a scented flower, and to some, because of circumstances beyond their Control, Genetics, Environment, etc, it takes a lot more effort to achieve that. We should not mock why others are different and weaker, because Nature has not made everthing equal, and in ones own right, everyone has some strenght which no one else has!
When you do a physical exercise that raises your heart-beats, makes you breathe rapidly and/or deeply, it forms an "anti dote" towards your stress hormones.
So after you have jogged 2 miles very hard, you would notice that when you lie down in exhaustion, the most beautiful moments of your relaxation and temporary deep sleep happen.
Yoga has the same principle except it goes more deep into your core - the innermost beings of your mind and soul. Then it allows time for this to happen in subtle and prolonged way - like watching a movie and living it through its characters.
The tradeoff between a Western Style quick exercise and slow paced Yogic style needs to be chosen based on your inclination, availability of time, and also the need of your body and mind.
As one works one's way through Asanas, and allowing breaks, to rest so that breath and Heart beats slow down, one is suppose to do relaxation as well - by meditating which involves Auto Suggestion, Visualization and Patterninzation techniques (see some of my earlier postings, if I have commented on them).
So the repeated steps of doing this relaxations is a buildup of a crecendo of Total Relaxation, when after 1 or 2 hours of Yoga, one goes into Final Relaxation, which goes on like this.
You scan your body and Auto Suggest by saying to your mind and yourself that your different
parts of body are relazed. Move and shake your body part, and mentally scan. This way cover each and every part of your body from outside and inside.
After that visualize the most beautiful thing you know, be it God's face, Moon, Sun, Reflection of Moon in water, Sunrise, Mountains, Water-Falls, Ocean, or just the eyes of your beloved. And try to focus on them. It is Ok to get diverted but you can go back to doing Auto Suggestion and Patternization.
By Patternization, I mean just doing a montonous repeatitive pattern of thinking..like watching your breath go in and out, and slowly seeing it going from deep breathing to shallow breathing amd sometime you may see the "Aha" movement where breathing is almost gone. This is towards the Ekleva Kumbha - which can go for long and one needs to be real careful.
Patternization can be like tracing Aum with your Third Eye while you Inhale or Exhale. Or tracing "horizontal' 8, or the infinity sign overlaying the eyes of your beloved - be it Krishna's or Rama's eyes. It could be Christ or Buddha's eyes. Or you could even do this with the lips like a dipped "O". One can do this with Cross or even with a Crescent Moon. There is no tying of this Yoga business with any Religion. This is the truth open to all Humanity, and one can adhere to their Religious Symols if it helps promote Love, Peace and Harmony within and outside.
So what happens, when you are close to a Stressed out Maniac? And you do not have time to do Yoga or even Jog or do Pushups?
With this knowledge, you start with breathing deep and slowy. Specially exhale slowy and keep doing it. Slowy you would see that your breath has become shallow and you are getting relaxed. W haever is your objective, keep using the gist of that in some convenient form for Autosuggestion. And keep doing the same for the visualization.
Yes, I forget to do these things, but the same things when reminded, have helped me from fighting great odds.
Even you treat the world to be the Only Reality and to be TRUE for EVER, and do not comprehend the reality of the SuperSoul or Brahman, these things would help. And if you have the knowledge that you are part and parcel of the Brahman, like a child to his father and mother, you would be taken care of for Eternity, because your soul is Eternal!
God Bless You All.
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