KATHMANDU: We have a tendency to continuously drift between the present and the past. Rarely do we live for the present, without really regretting the past or being anxious about the future. Similarly, qualities of our lives are dependent upon external variables. For instance, if something does not go according to our plan or goes haywire, we get disturbed inside and shelter negative emotions that impact the lives, sapping our energy in the process.
The grind of day-to-day life takes a toll, not only on the body, but on the mind as well. As a result, lethargy of the mind as well as the body takes over, severely hampering overall effectiveness. To counteract the negatives effects of daily stress, people all over the world have started indulging in the eastern practice of yoga. As a result, various different forms of yoga have propped-up and taking part in all of these practices is believed to have positive effects on one’s stress, anger and emotional well-being.
“I worked for the IT industry. I used to live in the States and earned enough to keep my family afloat. Everything was going well—good family, good pay and great career—but at the end of the day, I was not at ease. I had frequent bouts of back, neck and head pain. I was also constantly overpowered by negative emotions. That was when I realized that I need a change in my lifestyle. I started experimenting with a few different yoga techniques, but I started ended up following in the footsteps of Sadhguru.”
Fighting depression with yoga
Kaya was one of the volunteers at Isha International Day of Yoga at Annapurna Hotel. Recalling the basics techniques of Sadhguru, she declared that no matter how much effort we put into fulfilling our responsibilities, if we are working under tension and uneasiness, we become disturbed by these very aspects of daily life. Isha Foundation works to raise human consciousness, predominantly across India and Nepal. “The core idea is to help individuals find a balance in their day-to-day lives despite unrequited aspirations and sadness.”
“Before I used to try controlling my emotions but that did not last long. I got back to square one after few days and start demonstrating similar level of frustration as before. Then, I realized that the mind that was creating all these negative emotions and in the same mind, I was trying to fix it.” Adding further, she said, “Learning yoga techniques, however, helped me realign my system and the effects of the yoga started affecting everything I did. I finally feel like I am one with the environment that I inhabit and I think it is because of this synergy that I have learnt to deal with adverse situations in a calm manner.”
On a different note, she pointed out how yoga is different from meditation and passive acceptance environmental variables. “Passive acceptance makes us lazy and lethargic while meditation and yoga is all about creating a tool and practicing it in daily life to empower the personal self.”
A participant at Isha Foundation’s inner-engineering program, Biraj Rajbansi, talked about how yoga techniques taught him to be more effective. A pilot by profession, he faced lots of issues in his workplace. “Thanks to the inner-engineering program, I am handling situations quite well. Intellectual differences between my colleagues and me don’t bother me as much as they used to.” Rajbansi has experienced drastic changes in his attention span and concentration, which has helped him see the world through a different lens. These changes are not immediately apparent, he says, but can be felt as the day progresses. He practices yoga for 45 minutes each day.
“Yoga is all about achieving a balance between the mind and the body,” says Neeva Mathema Pradhan, trainer at Art of Living. Organizing the third ‘International Day of Yoga’ for students in Basantapur Dabali, she said, “Negative emotions originate from childhood. Children who face stress due to depressing situations- social pressure, monetary issues, harsh family situations and classroom competition- are directed towards healthier consciousness through yoga, which will in-turn lead to a balanced emotional level. This will translate into their adult lives afterwards and help create emotionally healthy individuals.”
“Yoga is not just the stretches that you do; it’s more about creating an attitude that makes you a happy and conscious human being.”
A trainer to Nepali corporate groups for more than six months through Art of Living, she recalled her own experiences with yoga. “I was a high-paid banker in the US for 15 years when I started facing difficulties keeping my energy up, fulfilling my responsibilities and calm myself down in the face of adversity.”
Everything changed for her when she heard about Art of Living, founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. The Art of Living courses are running across 155 nations worldwide.
