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Is it possible to get rid of accumulated stress with the help of yoga and find harmony and balance? I have been worried about this question for a long time, and I decided to check it out for myself.
The moment was perfect: the change of job, the breakup with my best friend gave rise to a prolonged depression in me with low mood, anxiety and insomnia. I was looking for a way to relieve stress. “Look at me: I am calm as a rock,” a friend of mine once said when I shared my problems with him. “Go to a yoga class, it will help you!”
Happiness is a beginner’s course at The Art of Living, founded by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
Pass the tests
- What sport suits you best?
Yoga here is a complex of practices aimed at getting rid of stress and clamps, finding peace, joy and increasing the level of vital energy. It includes asanas (exercises), pranayamas (breathing exercises) that regulate the flow of vital energy – prana, meditations that affect the state of mind, knowledge (wisdom aimed at developing the ability to cope with stress), seva (selfless service, participation in social projects ) and satsang (a joint pastime with a discussion of knowledge and singing bhajans – songs in Sanskrit with a guitar). From all this, not just a system, but a whole way of life is formed. In the description of the course, it was stated that it will help eliminate stress, improve health, improve relationships with people, increase mental clarity, unleash creativity, and even get rid of bad habits. Well, I thought, let’s see how much happier I’ll be in these few days.
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Day one: “I belong to you”
The hall gathered 50 people and two teachers – cheerful and friendly young men. They communicate with us simply, directly and with humor. They introduce those who came like this: each of us approaches the other, looks into the eyes and hugs, saying the words “I belong to you!”. Teachers ask us a question: why did you come here? What do you want to get from the course? From the hall comes: “For peace, happiness, meeting interesting people.” “Now let’s go ahead and forget about it,” says Philip, crossing out the participants’ answers on the board. “Don’t expect anything, just be in the present moment.” We play a variety of mindfulness games that help us focus and be XNUMX% present, running and jumping like playful children. In general, we plunge into a state of joy and serenity.
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- They ventured into yoga
It’s yoga’s turn. We do some simple asanas. Then we master breathing techniques. We go through three stages: we open the lungs and gain vivacity with the help of pranayama (pranayama is the control of vital energy with the help of breathing exercises), we increase awareness with the help of bhastrika (breathing, pushing air out of the lungs with effort) and “cleanse” the mind with the help of Big Sudarshan Kriya. This is group or individual breathing in a certain rhythm, which sets the recording of the master’s voice. At the end of an hour of practice, we plunge into a meditative state, the body completely relaxes. Sudarshn Kriya cleanses the accumulated “garbage” – stress and toxins – and fills with calmness and vitality. It was not easy for me to do Sudarshan Kriya for the first time. Thoughts made it difficult to concentrate on the present moment, mercilessly tormenting the mind. But on the last cycles of breathing, the control of the mind finally weakened, the thoughts were released, the tension was gone, I gave vent to my feelings and began to cry. After the kriya, there was a moment of complete relaxation: we lay with our eyes closed with the lights off. And when they slowly got up and opened their eyes, they felt a blissful calmness.
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Particular attention is paid to breathing, because it affects the psychological state, that is, emotions and stress levels. Calm and deep breathing calms the mind and relieves tension in the body.
Day two: dive
I take care of myself. So far, there are no significant changes in the state of consciousness. But in the process of practice, negative thoughts go away. Today we play again, again we communicate about the main and necessary things, answering the questions “Who am I? Why did I come into this world? What do I expect from life? After yoga, again Sudarshan Kriya, for the second time: today it is easier, thoughts are no longer so intrusive, and after practice I feel joy and lightness.
Day three: relaxation
On the third day, I notice that tension has finally left the body, breathing has become calm, deep. Anxiety has not gone away, but as if moved away and quieted down. I come to class like home: almost native faces meet me.
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Day four: happiness
Today, in addition to yoga and communication, we have one large common table. Each of the five groups into which we were divided prepared a treat and, during a theatrical skit, introduced their restaurant and their dishes. At the end of the day, we joined the tables and sat in one big circle, treating each other. Today I finally relaxed, calmed down and caught myself thinking that for the last five hours I have been happy. The main thing is to save this state in the future.
After happiness
I continue to do breathing practices at home, do selfless deeds, for example, I go out with the guys from the Art of Life for subbotniks. Once a week I go to yoga with asanas, Sudarshan Kriya and satsang. I notice that I have a lot in common with fellow yoga students: they are very open to the world, spontaneous and enjoy every minute. We can, for example, ride the subway or walk down the street and … sing. Well, I can conclude that since taking the course, my life has gained more harmony, awareness, peace and joy. But this is the real ingredients of happiness.