The Head or the heart?

We have a saying in Kerala: when the head is still there, the tail need not rule. The head is place highest on the human body. Every other organ – hands, heart, legs and genitals are below the head. Does this indicate a superiority of the head over the other organs?

Normally we have the higher authority seated at a higher level than his subordinates. If you follow any office seating hierarchy (take, a court for example).The judge is the supreme authority. He is seated at the highest level. The Indian parliament may be the only office where the ruling speaker is seated at a lower level. (Does this explain the unruly scenes that we have in parliaments?)

Apart from these considerations of higher placement, let us see what will happen if the other organs are allowed to indulge as they like, without giving due thought? Obviously, when a man has too many drinks, his intellect is warning him: do not drink. You have to drive. If he doesn’t listen and goes on drinking, he is exposed to a greater danger of a car crash. The reflexes will not be fast enough.

This applies to every other action. Our actions have to be guided by our intellect. This is particularly true so in interpersonal relations. We may have conflicts in our relations. If we react at the level of the heart, that is, just emotionally, we are likely to get caught up in a mess. It soon becomes a retaliatory game. A no-win situation. We need to stand apart, view the situation from an outsider’s perspective, suspending judgment or knee jerk reactions. Then we have more choices. This has to be patiently cultivated.

But sometimes, we do need to rely on the heart. It is to sense the intuition that we need in many situations. Falling in love, for instance. After knowing the person, for a long time. if we keep on analyzing him/her, we will ends up being frustrated, not being able to make a choice.

One is tempted to say it is not a matter of the head or the heart. It is a matter of functioning as a whole person. A balanced person, centered within. This comes about through relaxation and an acquired faith in oneself, in one’s own goodness. Previous articles have covered how we came to disbelieve our goodness.

We will soon discuss how Yoga explains the inter play of emotions and intellect.

Talking in the Right Way to Yourself

Hi All,

Ever felt desperate about the kind of self-development course or book that really delivers ? Most of us will have.

Well I too thought so until I read Dr.Shad Helmstetter's "What to say when you talk to yourself".

This book has the works.It feels a bit tedous as you mumble the self-talk given in the book, day in day out.It is grinding work, despairing sometimes, but I tell you, it is effective !

What he calls as self-talk is almost the same as affirmations.But he has explained it so covincingly that you immediately will want to try it out. Just keep at it, and you will be amazed at the results !

Another significant book on self talk is "Developing your Personal Power"

Waking up to a lovely dawn

We may have suffered countless indignities in the past. They may all be causing hurt inside us. The emotional wounds that we had suffered in our innocent childhood may have created ugly scars in our psyche that may be preventing us from embracing and enjoying life in its fullness now.

We may be ruminating over yesterdays' bad unpleasant events and carrying resentments into our heart, ruining our own day.

After spending countless money on therapists, counselors, Gurus, books and medicines, we still may be feeling we have not had any significant recovery or transformation.

But there is a way. And it is cheap; it does not cost a penny. You do not have to enroll in any online course, give your credit card details, or fill out countless questionnaires.

The secret is, here...

It is,

This, This, This, This... a zillion times This.

Enjoy your surfing.

Stress Relief Through Yoga

Stress may be defined as the mental and physical discomfort resulting from uncontrolled thoughts in one’s mind. This is the definition given by Dr.Hans Selye, the world famous authority on Stress. He has conducted extensive research on this problem that ails the modern world.

Let us see how stress develops and what its consequences are. The apparent stimuli are the external events that happen around an individual. Examples would be failure in exams, job interviews, failure to meet project deadlines, impending disasters like airplane crashes, being on the battlefront, fear of bomb threats, diseases etc.

We will consider a common instance: A salesman has to complete his minimum quota of sales. As the deadline approaches, he realizes that he has not achieved the required quota. He is assailed by thoughts: whether he will achieve it at all, will he achieve it within the time limit, will he be given a time extension, will he lose his job, will he get another, what will he do for his family’s provision,...As the number and variety of thoughts about potential disasters increases, his anxiety also increases. His heart beat goes up, his B.P. rises. In extreme cases palpitation occurs, speech may become incoherent.

One can well imagine the outcome of such a mental condition on his performance. He will not be effective in achieving his target. He may also end up in the hospital.

Thus stress, if uncontrolled, can result in poor results.

Let us look at how Yoga can remedy this situation. Yoga tackles stress from two areas: those of the body and the mind. Asanas and Pranayama help to tackle stress from the level of the body while at the mental level, meditation is the cure.

Asanas are postures which one assumes and holds for a specific amount of time. For example, Merudandasana is the pose in which one lies on his back, raises his legs up to an angle of 45 degrees, and holds them there for as long as he is comfortable. There are hundreds of asanas available which exercise different parts of the body. But since time is a limited commodity for the modern man, it essential to do only a few select asanas to derive the benefits.

While doing each asana, three points are to be borne in mind: Slowness, Awareness and Relaxation. When one performs asanas while adhering to the principles of Yoga as much as possible, the mind and body become more relaxed and calm. And stress cannot stay in a calm mind. It is akin to the disappearance of darkness, on the arrival of light.

Pranayamas are breathing exercises in which one seeks to develop awareness and control over the process of his own breathing. Inevitably this practice leads to calmness

Meditation: This is the second tool by which Yoga eliminates stress from the mind. This is primarily a mental exercise. In meditation one seeks to directly regulate and reduce the number of thoughts in the mind. We have earlier seen how reduction of thoughts helps to reduce stress. There are many methods of meditation, depending on one’s preferences, beliefs, religion and temperament. One method is to focus one’s attention on one thing. It may be an idea, an image, a smell, a sound, anything. Theists would find it easier to meditate because they can think of their beloved deity’s form. And love helps to focus the mind easier in an easier way. But it is not necessary that one be a believer to be able to meditate. One may meditate on a candle flame, a dot, or even on his own breath.

All said and done, if we agree that Yoga can indeed destress an individual, another question can arise: how is it possible to do yoga and meditation when you are stressed out, right in the middle of your job, say while dealing with tough clients?

The key is to maintain the thread of awareness that you had developed while doing your daily Yoga practice. One has to keep that awareness throughout the day. It seems a daunting task at first, but soon you will realize it is essential and in fact, enjoyable.

We become free to choose our responses to situations, because we become aware of what is going on inside us. A situation which previously had aroused anger in us would provide us a chance to make a new friend. One of my friends used to be frustrated and angry when caught in traffic jams. When he started doing Yoga and meditation, he became aware of how his own thoughts were causing anger in him. Awareness of his thoughts made him realize he should choose a better thought response to a traffic jam. So now he just takes a deep breath, lets the tension go, enjoys the situation and sometimes even jokes with other drivers.

Like all things, skill in Yoga also is just a matter of dedicated practice. It can be effectively used to reduce stress. Reduced stress will result in a better performance. When the individual improves his performance, the organization as a whole will benefit.