The human body is meant to enjoy bliss. Most people have no idea how good their body is designed to feel. That is because the body does not come with a user’s manual. Ancient Indians attempted one by introducing the concept of yoga. Annie Besant wrote of this ancient science in Patanjali’s Yog Sutra: “Yoga is a science, and not a vague dreamy imagination. It is an applied science, a systematised collection of laws applied to bring about a definite end. It takes up the laws of psychology, applicable to the unfolding of the whole consciousness of man on every plane, in every world, and applies those rationally in a particular case. Yoga embraces both body and mind. It helps you to learn who you are.”
As renowned yoga practitioner B.K.S. Iyengar wrote, “Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured.” It gently stretches every part of the body and silences the restless mind, helping it to expand to its most efficient self. It is about daily and constant practice.
It is steady work, consistent effort in the direction of a perfect union of body and mind. It can enhance energy, strength, beauty of the body, mind and soul. This is the Maha mantra which can increase awareness of our emotions. For instance, when we get angry, 36 toxic chemicals pour into the blood.
Heart rate, pulse rate and blood pressure shoot up. All parts of the brain are switched off except what we need to kill or run — the fight or flight response. Breathing slowly and peacefully improves our awareness of such disturbances, while filling the body with the chemicals of happiness and peace — endorphins and serotonins.
The Bhagavad Gita says that, “Yoga is the journey of the self, through the self, to the self.” Learn yoga from a master who will put you on a way to a blissful life.
The writer is the author of Everyday Happiness Mantras
