The 12-day “Rhythm of Life” programme, at Sanjeev Krishna Yoga is a stellar program that focuses on breathing, stretching, along with understanding and guidance on the right meditation techniques and nutrition, aiming to improve your health and general wellbeing and teaching you to manage your own health better. Yogalife undertakes the program and tells you all about its life changing benefits…
Day 1
The session began with Guruji Sanjeev Krishna explaining yoga as not being all about stretches but about being in that harmonious state of wellness. Yoga is knowledge, which basically empowers us to bring harmony into our lives. Knowing the art and science of these principles from a state of ignorance leads it to the goal without doing anything. It is mastering that makes the difference.
He likened the human body to a mobile phone and succinctly explained the theory (read in detail about it in our print edition of October 2017). To use the mobile to its optimum you need hardware as well as software. You see displays on the screen when the battery is full, and when it is low, the display will be dimmed, energy is low. The physical exposure is determined by two things, compatible software and default software. Yogic science is also similar. Your body is the hardware that works on energy and our battery is the breath we take; the irony here is that 90% of the people only know to charge their mobile batteries but not optimize their own energy. We are always locked up with weak emotions, so learning the art of breathing is one way to energize us. And in an energized state all our displays of emotions will be happy, content, and positive and will be negative, weak and will manifest in anger, grief, frustrations etc. when our energy is low. The default software of human personality is our parentage and that defines our adulthood. The important aspect is our compatible software that is comprised of our knowledge or education, our understanding about the world, our experience, and this is who you are.
Whenever there are imbalances in your compatibility you suffer. How do you develop that compatibility between a default and compatible software to optimize display on the screen? This is where yoga comes in; it is an art of understanding, to develop harmony; if you don’t know how to manage yourself you are creating issues for yourself. Why yoga features highest in the management of health is because modern treatments of health are based on hardware problems. A problem is addressed without looking at it holistically. Psychosomatic diseases are not hardware issues they are based on compatibility issues. So, you are just treating the hardware where the root cause is the software. Here is where the yoga centre gives you the knowledge to identify illness from the core whether it is depression, cholesterol, auto immune anxiety, or any other disease. It is the art of management; if you’re ignorant you are the patient, if you are knowledgeable you are the doctor.
Our bio organic magnetic system is made up of our will, determination along with the fuel like food, water etc. and this is what keeps us energised or charged. Yogic management is all about food, nutrition, exercise, breathing and mental discipline. Meditation is all about relaxation, concentration and expanding the human consciousness to be with your true nature. There are many dimensions to a human personality – body, breath, mind, intellect, emotions, and these should all be synchronised for optimising performance.
Guruji ended the introductory session asking all of us to focus on our breathing by placing hands on our abdomen, chest/diaphragm and shoulders and observe the movements while breathing in and out. Each breath has to be noticed as stress causes rapid breathing and ends up tiring us so breathing to its optimum is very important for a relaxed state of mind. The air that you inhale through the nose should go all the way down to your abdomen. A majority of the inhaling should be done by the diaphragm to ensure deep and optimised breathing.
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Day 2
Guruji started the session by talking about conscious and unconscious breathing. He told all of us to close our eyes and be aware of our breathing. The unconscious action of breathing is controlled in the brain, which mechanically regulates the rate depending on the state of the body at any time. The conscious breathing is commonly practiced in meditation, yoga in the form of pranayama.
The lungs are the largest organ in the body. Practicing a conscious breathing technique each day for few minutes will help you discipline yourself for it to eventually reach the point where this breathing technique becomes unconscious! This will help you to put yourself into a relaxed and calm state of mind and body!
Every inhalation infuses oxygen into the body and some of this oxygen transfers its surplus electrons and a certain quantum of energy into the bioplasmic body. Every person is surrounded and interpenetrated by a luminous energy body called the bioplasmic body. Mystics and healers call it the aura or chakra.
The bioplasmic channels allow for the flow of vital energy or prana that nourishes and invigorates the whole body. Disease appears first in the bioplasmic body before it manifests itself in the physical body. Therefore, by treating the bioplasmic body, we can often effect a cure in the physical body. This is possible with the Pancha kosha Shuddhi – Sharira, prana, mana, gyana and Ananda. It is about cleansing the body at a physical, energy level, mental, spiritual, and blissful level.
Pranayama is even ranked above the asana as the most important part of the yoga practice. Prana means life force or breath sustaining the body; Ayama translates as “to extend or draw out.” Together two mean breath extension or control.
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Day 3
Day 3 began with the three-energising pranayama’s followed by the introduction of two new pranayama’s by Guruji.
Bhastrika, is a traditional breathing exercise that helps to increase Prana or life force in your being. It’s used to energize the body and clarify the mind. Performing a few rounds, a day can help increase your digestive power and boost your metabolism. It’s often used to energize the body and clarify the mind.
Kapalbhati pranayama is very effective in curing stomach disorders, obesity, digestive disorders and problems related to stomach. Those trying to lose weight can practice Kapalbhati regularly and see 100% results. Both these pranayama’s purify the body from head to abdomen.
This was followed by yogic breathing, a deeply balancing pranayama.
Healthy food, healthy habits and a good conduct are vital to overall wellness and a stress-free life.
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Written by Viki Shah