How to Deal with Anger

Red light

1. Stop, calm down and think before you act.

Yellow Light

2. State the problem and how you feel.

3. Set a positive goal.

4. Think of lots of solutions.

5. Think ahead to consequences.

Green light

5. Go ahead and try the best plan.

Yoga Sadhana for Wellness

Your body is a car given to you by God to go places, if you let it collapse in to a junk, then you have a problem. Most people look after their cars better than their own body. But don’t forget that just like your car, your body needs regular checkups too. Make sure all small aches and pains are taken care of. Do something to maintain your health, learn to breathe properly, exercise regularly, walking, yoga. It is important to follow a healthy schedule. Everyone should learn to meditate; it takes you to a quiet place in your mind. To build a healthy mind, it is necessary to learn to breathe properly, or some form of pranayama. Be connected to whatever is your conception of a higher power; be in touch with that everyday, it will always take care of you.

When you are tired, get some good sleep and rest.  If you are feeling lonely, try to go out and meet friends who make you happy.  If you are on a treadmill and tired, don’t go overboard. Take regular physical breaks through the day. Switch off for 15 minutes for 3-4 times in a day. Don’t let the body burn out. It is also very important to get at least 7-8 hrs of sleep, it can add years to your life.

As far as weight is concerned, don’t get obsessed with your weight. One should not have unrealistic expectations. At 50, you cannot expect to look like you did in your 20s. Do not get swayed by media and filmstars. Learn to accept and love yourself. Consult your doctor for your appropriate weight. Don’t starve yourself, eat a balanced diet which contains all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. We need to put high quality fuel into our body to let it function without breakdown. Avoid junk food which causes indigestion and other health related problems.

Mind, Body and Soul: A Holistic Approach to Health

Sushruta Samhita, the ancient Indian work by the physician Sushruta, describes perfect health as a state where all body parts function at their optimal level and where the body, mind and spirit are in perfect balance and in a state of bliss.  This is the highest goal. 

Health is a state of physical, mental and social wellbeing, not merely an absence of disease or infirmity.^* Really speaking, health is not a state but a continuous adjustment to the changing demands of life and the environment.  Positive health implies perfect functioning of body and mind in a given society.

Ayurveda defines health as ‘svasthya’—to be one’s own spiritual self.  It is the state of equilibrium of the three doshas or mind-body energies that govern our external and internal environment―vata (wind); pitta (bile); and kapha (phlegm), along with a contented state of the senses, mind and soul.

All the ancients believed that no attempt should be made to cure the body without treating the mind and soul.  To be healthy is to have the ability, despite an occasional bout of illness, to live with full use of your faculties and to be vigorous, alert and having a joie de vivre, even in old age.  This concept of operational health has been termed ‘wellness’.  It is a sense of all-round wellbeing.

Rules for Eating

• Sit down peacefully to eat. Close your eyes and allow your mind to leave aside all other subjects and return to the food before you.

• Choose the fuel for rebuilding your body with care.

• Thank the universe for creating the food that will give you the energy to accomplish your goals.

• Focus on the sight, the smell, the feel and finally the taste of the food you are eating.  As you chew, be completely assured that the food is gently repairing all the cells of the body.

Happiness Traps

         Expect too much from others. 

         Not accepting yourself as you are; wanting demand too much of yourself.

         Not being content with anything.

         Feel you are not contributing.

         Not Feeling incuded.

         Play politics and being manipulative.

         Feel you cannot prevent another’s suffering (Eg mother’s pain)

         Constant craving for food.

         In a rush all the time; in a hurry. Toomuch hurry

         Excessive anger.

         Lethargy and inactivity.

         Too much tiredness.

         Ignoring others and harm the world (selfishness).

         Being too self-absorbed.

         Promising more than you can deliver

DHARMIC LIVING

Dharma is the law of right living. Unless you live by your own internal standards you can never be happy. When you bend the rules you reduce your chances for true, pure happiness. 'Flexibility is bending rules without breaking them’, proclaims a smart hoarding, showing a gymnast’s impossible stretch. It all depends on what your internal monitor will allow.

LEAVING A LEGACY

We all fear extinction. So we seek to leave a legacy that will endure, a footprint, which will leave the world a better, happier, place. To be born a man, is a privilege, let us thank the God for this gift of life.

Affirmations for Social Bonding

I have a harmonious relationship with most of the people I meet.  I am lovable and love others.

            I enjoy the pleasure and happiness of others. I am conscious of the metta bhavana (joy in the happiness of others) and consciously cultivate it.

            I look for what is positive in others.

            I consider most situations to be learning experiences.

            I make others feel comfortable.

            I am aware of the needs of others to be appreciated and I make it the basis of my relationships.

            I am sincere.

            I express negative emotions in as non-destructive a way as possible.

            I draw a magic circle around those who interact with me, to include in safety and affection all those who touch my life.

Life Enhancing Experiences

·          Receiving affirmations from significant others.

·          Going on a holiday with loved ones.

·          Enjoying nature.

·          Completing a task to your satisfaction.

·          Overcoming obstacles.

·          Being loved.

·          Doing something anonymously for others.

·          Acting courageously.

Life Destroying Experiences

·          Fear of losing your job.

• Anxiety about not being able to keep up with your peers.

• Working every day so long and so hard that you are barely able to think.

• Working in a hostile atmosphere where there is competition.

• Receiving discounts from those you love.

• Betrayal.

• Feeling trapped.

• Feeling abandoned.

Raudra (Hostility) Rasa

People with hostile personalities have five times the death rate before the age of fifty than people who are less prone to these negative emotions.  Cardiologist Cleyer Freidman suggests that time-pressure is at the core of the hostility, as is a sense of insecurity. Both fuel this feeling.