Continuing frrom where we left in the part I of this article....

Yoga is a child of Tantra. Most of the processes that we do in the inner limbs of Yoga on withdrawal (Pratyahara), concentration (Dharana) and meditation (Dhyana) are from the science of Tantra. To puit in a nutshell, 'tantra' should be taken to be today's equivalent to 'technology.' 

Swami Satyananda, formulated Yoga Nidra from the tantric concept of 'nyasa.' His reason to share it with a larger audience from the confines of a select few is to spread the benefits of Yoga Nidra to common man and enrich their lives. Let us salute and prostrate this Great Master for sharing this with us.

Yoga Nidra is practiced for various reasons and the most common ones are insomnia and stress relief. In deeper levels, it can be used as a greater tool for desire management through knowing how to frame and use RESOLVE during the process.

The process taps the brain to fulfill its purpose. The 'little man' in our brains is the point of focus as relaxation at all levels begins to dawn on us, once we know how to work on this 'little man' through Yoga Nidra.

Once we complete the work with placating 'little man,' we move to breath awareness at various energy centres. This helps us to get a peep into our psyche and various aspects withi us that we could be unaware of!

Later the session proceeds to induce visualisation, as the instructor takes us through various symbols, places etc., This evokes the response from our sub-consious mind. This also provides another window to understand ourselves.

In advance sessions, much more aspects of relaxation, visualisation and feelings(!) are induced. so, find out an authentic Yoga teacher or a tradition and learn Yoga Nidra or practice Yoga Nidra... What are you waiting for....

Relax.. breathe easy...achieve your goals in a stress free way...All the best.

Personal life today - I

Today, when we look at the life, there is not a single human being today who is not under the grip of stress. The boundary wall between ‘worry’ and ‘concern’ is fast collapsing…if you don’t have a worry, you are looked down upon.

We compare our lives with everybody else around and feel happy or sad. We easily forget that each of us is unique and struggle to fulfil someone else’s aspirations. This ‘someone’ else could be parents, spouse, children, friends etc. This attitude of pleasing everyone and the thought to draw a comparison chart are successful recipes to invite stress into our lives.

An analysis on stress in our lives can go on and on… Through a process called Yoga Nidra[1] we will learn to harness our desires to lead a much fulfilling life thereby using stress as a stepping stone rather than…

Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh envisioned the demands of our lives, more than 7 decades before and beautifully sums it up with the practical advice on hooking ourselves to time tested Yoga processes to get us out of this muddle: 

“Life today is full of stress and strain, of tension and nervous irritability, of passion and hurry. If man puts into practice a few of the elementary principles of Yoga, he would be far better equipped to cope with his complex existence.”

“Yoga brings perfection, peace and lasting happiness. You can have calmness of mind at all times by the practice of Yoga. You can have restful sleep and increased energy, vigour, vitality, longevity and a high standard of health. You can turn out efficient work within a short space of time and have success in every walk of life. Yoga will infuse new strength, confidence and self-reliance in You. The body and mind will be at your beck and call.”

“Yoga brings your emotions under control and increases your power of concentration at work. Yoga disciplines, gives poise and tranquillity and miraculously rebuilds one’s life.”

Today, we are mostly misguided by our notion that anything from the past is waste and out-dated. This very notion is possible only in an uneducated mind - a mind that is clolred by prejudices and conditioning. If we take time out to learn and practice Yoga processes from the tradition, we will be spared of visits to psychologists, psychotherapists as well as relieved from popping in anti-depressant pills.

Learning from the tradition is also a service that we do to ourself because we discharge our debt to the Rishis of yore. Our scriptures state that each individual is born with 5 debts i.e. rna - 1) Pitr rna, 2) Deva rna, 3) Rishi rna, 4) Bhoota rna and ) Manushya rna.

Thus, being born in this great country, BHARATA, at least we can approach our tradition with reverence and learn, thereby discharging one of the debts that we are bron with. BHARATA means 'that place where people are enthralled to be in the pursuit of knowledge.' We should feel proud of being born here and endowed with such rich culture and tradition. We shall dwell into the other 'debts' in the weeks to come.

[1] Culled out from the ancient tradition of Tantra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati