One way to break the pattern of stressful living and strive
for personal wellness is to change the responses to tough situations. There is,
of course, no way to make the situations less tough. Meditation and pranayama
provide a way of reducing the automatic and violent reactions to stress. You
can actually control autonomous systems like heartbeat and pulse rate, which
were thought to be outside the individual’s control. Knowing and practising
meditation can provide you with a silent space where you can retreat into
peace: slow breathing, steady heartbeat, low pulse. This space is always
available within a person who has learnt to meditate. While you cannot change
your job, family or your life-situation, you can certainly learn to breathe
more peacefully, thus reversing the process of excitation and avoiding the
emotional hijack. It is not possible to learn meditation by thinking about it,
any more than it is possible to learn swimming by talking about it. If you have
to swim, you have to get into the water. Learning meditation and understanding
your breathing patterns through pranayama are the best investment you ever
make. In India, there is no excuse not to learn these things. Stress need not
be the reaction to the pace of your life. You can learn peaceful responses that
protect your body.
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