Zee Media Bureau/Dilgrace Kaur
We all go through good and bad times; some we cherish, some we regret. But during a lifespan, what matters the most is to keep yourself composed during the turbulent times, and deal with whatsoever comes your way. Attaining spiritual and mental peace is a luxury, rather a blessing, that can help you live a glorious and beautiful life.
Yoga, an ancient form of exercise that meant spiritual discipline to those who desired to procure true inner peace, is seen with a similar motive even today and is practised by over 20.4 million people.
Following are the five simple steps for achieving inner peace with yoga:
Body awareness: The journey to inner stillness begins with getting a true understanding of your body and reconnecting with it. When our energies are collected and focused on posture work, the intensity of mental distractions is naturally diminished.
Body and breath awareness combined: Sense your breath and feel it. Focus your attention on the pace at which you inhale and exhale. Put your hands behind and sit with their support. Inhale air then move forward and exhale. Breath awareness transcends awareness of the body.
Breath awareness alone: During periods of relaxation and meditation, breath awareness transcends body work altogether. Metabolism slows down and physical demands become lesser. Then, awareness of the body becomes transparent and the mind is filled almost exclusively with sensations of breathing. It is then that one can learn the art of effortless breathing.
Breathing combined with mantra: A mantra quiets the mind in the same way that all forms of relaxed concentration reduce mental noise. It replaces distractions with an object of concentration. The mantra focuses attention deep within the mind, at the place where thoughts arise, rather than at the levels of body or breath. With this core level of support, meditation feels especially quieting.
Mantra alone: Silence is an experience of being. When mind is restfully focused, a transformation occurs that engages us with this experience of being. We become a witness, an observer—most importantly, a silent observer. We see the mind resting in its focus. But we do not speak about it, even to ourselves. We enter a realm of silence that exists unceasingly within us, uninfluenced by passing thoughts and desires.
(With inputs from an article by Rolf Sovik who is the President and Spiritual Director of the Himalayan Institute and a clinical psychologist.)
