The word 'health' in Sanskrit means to be established in one’s self. The body, mind and spirit have to be in harmony. We have seven layers to our existence, that is body, breath, mind, intellect, memory, ego and the self. So, we need to learn about all these and the techniques to keep them healthy and in harmony, and that's what Yoga and Sudarshan Kriya is all about. With a few minutes of meditation, our whole system gets rejuvenated.
There are four sources of energy. The first is food, second is good sleep, and third is breathing, fourth is meditation. By attending to these four important sources of energy, we can restore our health. There are many benefits of breathing exercises:
- Violence-free society
- Disease-free body
- Confusion-free mind
- Inhibition-free intellect
- Trauma-free memory
- Sorrow-free soul.
90% of the impurities in the system go out through the breath, but we use only 30% of our lung capacity. Breath is linked to our different emotions; when we are happy we breathe differently, when we are stressed we breathe differently, when we have anxiety, the pattern of our breath is different. By manipulating the breathing you can change the emotions, and change the endocrine system. That's what an Art of Living course, the Part I Course of the Art of Living, teaches you - various types of breathing exercises, combined with meditation and several other techniques of self-awareness which uplift the spirit. And millions of people around the world are doing it; it has been so effective and so heart-warming to see their transformations.
You know, I will use the example of a cell-phone. A cell-phone needs charging. You need to charge your cell-phone. When the charge goes off, you dial the number and keep saying "Hello Hello" and nothing will happen because the battery has died out. So you need to recharge your batteries. And you have to "change" your SIM card, and if the SIM card has no charge, the call will not go through. So meditation is like charging the SIM card, breathing is like charging the battery of the cell-phone. So, both are essential in order to communicate with ourselves, and the universe around us.
We speak through our vibrations. If our vibrations are all stressed up, then we convey only stress and create repulsion among people around us. That's why so many conflicts happen. When we cleanse our presence, I would say, through pranayama, through Sudarshan Kriya specially, and meditation, our vibrations become so pleasant, so palatable, so positive and we create positivity in our environment. And that's so essential today.
In Europe alone, 30% of the population is under depression, and what the scientists, sociologists say that in another 10 years, it will come to 50% of the population, and that's alarming! We can't let half the population become depressed. We need to do something now to bring change in our lifestyles, with some of these techniques in your day-to-day routine that would enable us to be free from stress, tension and allow us to smile more and more. You can even control all your addictions; whether it’s smoking, taking drugs or alcoholism with the Sudarshan Kriya. It energizes you on a daily basis.
Energy and enthusiasm is needed in any business or work that you do, right? If you are a professional, you need energy and enthusiasm. If you are an artist, you need imagination and enthusiasm. And if you are a businessman, you need intuitive power and enthusiasm. With meditation, your intuitive power improves, and enthusiasm wells up and creativity gets enhanced. So, I have found it useful to people in all walks of life. Of course, the religious and spiritual people are able to go deeper in their prayers.
