According to the observation of Heartmath of Doc Childre and
Deborah Rozman, Phd. in the book: “Transforming
Stress” our technological world “speeds up our sense of time and results in
mental overload, emotional reactivity and overproduction of stress hormones.
This creates a deficit of coherence, harmony and fulfillment, because there is
not enough heart brought in to balance the mind. “
The emotional virus
During breaks at work in our daily lives, the conversation often goes to emotional venting about “them”. This “them” usually refers to the company, the boss, the management, the ex husband or wife, the government. You feel victimized and feel having lack of control. “They” are stressing you and therefore you have the right to blame “them”. One person’s negativity inflames another’s and pretty soon, you have an emotional virus spreading to all.
An emotional virus gets transmitted from person to person,
group to group, through words and energies. Judgments, blame, anger, negative humor
or self pity act as carrier waves of the emotional virus.
If you are around this kind of negativity a lot, you can end
up fuming, ready to incite a riot. But most likely, you end up miserable and
weary. You have taken on the emotional states of those around you. Your heart
and brain picked up the energy like a radio receiver. One person’s incoherent heart rhythm pattern,
which reflects their negative emotion, gets broadcast like a radio wave through
their electro magnetic field into the surrounding environment.
The body easily picks up on another’s feelings through a
kind of emotional telepathy, whether or not the mind is conscious of it. Your
body feels the incoherence and produces stress hormones in response.
Susceptibility
You are more susceptible to an emotional virus when you are feeling stressed or overwhelmed. At those times, it’s so easy to get sucked in others’ negative emotional reactivity that your heart rhythms stay disordered and your system stays in chaos, and it is easier for a virus of any type to get in. Many people find they get sick within a few days after a binge of anger or emotional upset. When you are emotionally run-down, it’s easier to catch colds or flu or develop problems in a weak or susceptible area. (Cohen, Tyrell and Smith 1991; Kiecolt-Glaser and al.1996).
By contrast when you are managing your emotions and your systems are functioning in greater coherence, your immune system is strengthened and more able to ward off infection and disease (Rein, Atkinson, and McCraty 1995, Mc Craty 1996). When you are in a heart coherent state, it helps protect you against other people’s incoherent energies. This doesn’t make you insensitive to others. Rather, increasing coherence gives you more compassion for their feelings and a more objective understanding of how to respond from an emotionally mature state of mind.
Stress is a system issue
People are so interconnected that stress has become a systems issue, personally and collectively, yet as a society, we are not dealing with it on a systems level. This is because emotions manage people more than people manage their emotions. Our interconnectedness means we can no longer just ignore other people’s stress and incoherent emotional energy. Nor can we attempt to control it by totalitarian rules. Emotions can be suppressed but they do not go away.
Therapists report that they are seeing increasing numbers of
people with mild or low grade depression from ongoing stress. People are tired,
worn out, and resigned to the idea that nothing will get better. All the negative information on TV, social
media, and the dissatisfaction in their own lives makes them feel hopeless.
The lack of understanding how to address emotions is the primary cause of today’s stress epidemic. People generally believe that the mind is in control, but in fact it’s the emotions that shape thoughts, choices and behaviors. It’s emotions that perpetuate fear and doubt.
Now, just in time, scientific research has revealed that the heart can be engaged to manage emotions and provide the new perceptions needed to transform stress, both individually and globally.
Taking responsibility
It’s each person’s job to ward off the stress epidemic. It’s your job to do what you can to change the environment of stress. You can create a more coherent environment – changing what you can and cushioning what you can’t – through the power of your heart’s energetic expression.
It’s through the heart that people change. People intuitively know this, but haven’t quite discovered how to do it because they don’t understand how this really works. Perhaps, like most people, you still try to resolve stressful issues from your analytical mind. The mind tends to fight against stress or get resigned to it. This leads to emotional drain, because it cuts off a part of your heart in the process. As parts of the heart shut down, it changes the feelings you can experience and also narrows your perception in communications with others. Feelings become numb, dry, depressed. Perceptions become pessimistic, cynical. Eventually, they can cause anxiety disorders, depression, or a low grade unhappiness.
You say you are happy and life is okay, but something is
missing in quality and fulfillment. That something is your heart. Since the heart is your source of vitality
and insight, it’s important that you learn how to protect yourself from a
stressful atmosphere without shutting off your heart sensitivities.
More coherent heart rhythms facilitate brain function, allowing you more access to your own higher intelligence, so that you can improve your focus, creativity, intuition and high level decision making.
Quick coherence techniques
1. Heart focus
Focus your attention in the area of your heart (it is the area close to the center of your chest, behind the breastbone). If your mind wanders, just keep shifting your attention back to the area of your heart.
2. Heart Breathing
As you focus on the area of your heart, imagine your breath is flowing in and out through that area. This helps your mind and energy to stay focused in the heart area and your respiration and heart rhythms to synchronize. Breathe slowly and gently in through your heart (to a count of 5 or 6) and slowly and easily out through your heart (to a count of 5 or 6) . Do this until your breathing feels smooth and balanced, not forced. Continue to breathe with ease until you find a natural inner rhythm that feels good to you.
3. Heart feeling
Continue to breathe through the area of your heart. As you do so, recall a positive feeling, a time when you felt good inside, and try to re-experience it. Allow yourself to feel this good feeling of appreciation or care. If you can’t find anything, it’s okay, just try to find a sincere attitude of appreciation or care. Once you have found a positive feeling or attitude, you can sustain it by continuing your Heart Focus, Heart Breathing and Heart Feeling.
Conclusion
The 3 steps together takes only one minute. One minute to transform your life in that moment, which can help make your next moments a whole lot better.
This time of the year, colds are common in people. Symptoms include runny nose, cough, congestion, headache, drowsiness, and an achy body. In Ayurveda, colds are viewed as a kapha and vata disorder. Kapha is due to the congestion qualities (cool, moist properties in excess) along with high vat, manifesting as a decreased appetite, chills and body aches.
Here are 6 tips to deal with a cold according to Ayurveda:
Rest – slow down and give your body the time to heal and balance. We have less energy during these winter months. It is a time when our energy wants to go inward so honor this and give yourself the space to relax and restore.
Avoid dairy Products – dairy increases kapha, which manifests as mucous. If you are feeling congested then it is best to avoid all dairy so you don’t add to this congestion.
Sip warm water – this will help you to flush your system as well as keep you warm throughout the day.
Eucalyptus Steams – in a large pot boil water with either eucalyptus leaves or add a few drops of eucalyptus oil once the water is steaming hot. Cover face with towel and bend over pot. Breath in the steam for several minutes. This should help clear up congestion.
Neti – Using a neti pot with salt water will help to flush out excess mucous from your nasal passages follow with breath of fire and alternate nostril breathing.
Ginger – This is one of the best remedies out there for cold because it combats the kapha and vata qualities out of balance. We suggest using fresh herbs such as ginger root, turmeric root, and cinnamon sticks if these are available to you. If not powdered can work as well.
Herbal medicine is an important aspect of Ayurvedic Healing.
Following an Ayurvedic routine can also help maximize wellness and also boost immunity to help ward off colds.
According to Ayurveda, each organ is at its highest functioning power during certain times. Reflect on different times in your day and utilize healing and balancing tools to bring clarity, routine, and ease mind this fall/winter season.
6-8 am Lunch (kapha) try gentle yoga, pranayama, or walking.
8-10am pancreas (kapha) have a breakfast, and allow digestion to occur.
10-12pm stomach (pitta) digest.
12-2pm heart (pitta) have a lunch and digest.
2-4pm spleen(vata) digest
4-6pm colon, kidneys, Bladder (vata) enjoy dinner
6-8pm lungs (kapha) walk outside.
8-12pm pancreas, small intestine, stomach (kapha+pitta) rest, digest, and sleep.
Adding simple things to your daily routine, such as practicing self abhyanga (warm sesame oil self massages). An hour before shower or any form of exercise. Eat a seasonal warm cooked meal on time. Avoid cold drinks and food during cold winter months.
Ayurvedic oil massage (Abhyanga) is another important aspect of a health and wellness routine.
Jalpa Patel (Jagadamba)
Jalpa Patel (“Jagadamba”) is a knowledgeable Ayurveda Practitioner who is passionate about integrating Ayurveda and Yoga for health and healing. View courses with Jagadamba >
It is very easy to overcome depression. It is not at all as difficult as one imagines. Mind has the mysterious power of magnifying a problem and making it appear formidable. Do not listen to the promptings of the mind. Reject them ruthlessly and throw them out.
Here are some practical hints that will enable you to triumph over this malady once and for all:
1. First try to analyse yourself thoroughly and find out the cause of the problem. Do not be hasty. Sit calmly and think over the matter. Spend some days over it if necessary. Put your thoughts down on paper and reflect over them. If necessary, get the assistance of someone whom you love and trust and who will be sympathetic to your feelings. Pray to God within to lead you to the right person.
Seeking support from friends, family or someone you trust can be the first step towards overcoming depression.
2. Do not listen to promptings from within that your problems cannot be solved and overcome. The Guru or the Divine within you, and the loved ones around you, can effectively solve or dissolve all your problems.
3. Know that for every problem that confronts you-however difficult and complicated it may seem to be-there is the requisite guidance, strength and wisdom readily available to you from the Divine dwelling in the chambers of your heart. God is nearer to you than your life-breath. Turn to the Lord with a childlike faith and experience the miraculous results.
4. The easiest way to tap the divine power within is to repeat God’s holy Name. Select any Divine Name from the scriptures and repeat it constantly, without a break. In this one method of spiritual practice all the holy scriptures of the world are unanimous. The power latent in the Divine Name is like the power latent in the seed. Just as the seed needs soil and water to enable it to germinate, so also the Divine Name needs to be constantly repeated to make its power manifest.
The Divine Name is the one sovereign, infallible remedy to get rid of depression once and for all. Take any Mantra, like Sri Ram, Om Namasivaya, Om Namo Narayanaya, Om Namo Bhagavade Vasudevaya, Om Sri Ram Jaya Ram Jaya Jaya Ram, the Mahamantra: Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare, Hare Krishna Hare Krishnna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare, and repeat it throughout the day and also just before you go off to sleep and the first thing when you wake up in the morning. It will protect you from all dangers and calamities.
5. Keep the body fit by doing regular physical exercises, and by participating in healthful activities. A hike in the countryside will be refreshing and invigorating both mentally and physically.
6. A pure, nourishing diet is very important for the health of both the body and the mind. Take more of fresh fruit and vegetables. Take health tonics. They are available from the health stores. Vitamin tablets from natural products will be found highly beneficial.
7. The nervous system must be strengthened by means of exercise, relaxation, pure food and regular prayer. A useful nerve and brain tonic may be prepared as follows: Soak 8 dates, a similar quantity of almonds and 4 cardamoms in a bowl overnight. In the morning remove the skin from the almonds. Reduce the ingredients to a paste, add honey and butter and take with warm milk. This delicious tonic rejuvenates the nervous system quickly. A teaspoonful of Amla powder mixed with a glass of warm water and taken twice a day will help tremendously in strengthening the nervous and physical system. Amla is one of the most important ingredients in the well-known Chyvanaprash tonic.
A healthy, balanced diet is important for not only physical health but also mental health.
8. Attend regular prayer services in a temple or Ashram. The holy vibrations will give you added mental and spiritual strength to cope with your problems.
9. Study the scriptures daily. This will give you discrimination, which will give dynamic strength to the mind. It will be your most effective weapon to deal with the promptings of the mind.
10. Check undesirable habits. Overcome them by developing virtuous qualities. Lead a life of purity and righteousness. Such a life will free you from all worry, fear and depression.
Replace negative habits such as overindulging the senses with positive habits such as meditation and spending time in nature.
11. The constant repetition of some beneficial formulae will strengthen the mind considerably. Such repetition is called auto-suggestion. Here are some proven formulae for this purpose. Repeat them as many times as possible during the course of the day, and when you are just about to fall asleep at night:
(a) I am Thine. All is Thine. Thy Will be done, O Lord.
(b) Let go and let God.
(c) What cannot be cured must be endured.
(d) Whatever has happened has happened for the best; whatever is happening now is happening for the best; whatever is to happen in the future will happen for the best.
(e) Through the Grace of God, I am getting better and better every day in every way.
(f) Even this will pass away.
12. Serve the sick and the needy through a service-oriented institution. If you take up some useful activity for the good of others, you will have no time to think about yourself. Losing oneself in selfless service is one of the most dynamic methods of overcoming depression. If you give cheer, joy and happiness to others, you yourself will receive cheer, joy and happiness in return.
13. Do not try to evade or run away from your problems, difficulties and trials. Face them bravely through calm reflection and discrimination, knowing that the Divine within is ever your guide, protector and savior. Know also that everything in this world that you now hold so dear is not lasting and will soon disintegrate and pass away. You are only a passing pilgrim on this earth plane. If you constantly reflect and discriminate thus, then all such emotions and feelings that have such a tenacious hold on your mind will be loosened, and an inexpressible freedom, lightness and joy will fill your heart.
14. Be content. Adopt a lifestyle of “simple living and high thinking”. A great deal of unhappiness today may be traced to unfulfilled desires. There is no end to desire. Each desire breeds a host of new ones. Modern man longs to own TV sets, video recorders, dishwashers, expensive cars, swimming pools and other items of luxury. Reduce your desires and lead a life of contentment and simplicity.
15. A constant attitude of gratitude to God for having provided you with your physical and material needs, will give you an abiding sense of contentment and peace, and free you from depression, cares and worries.
16. Select any suitable method, or a combination of methods, and put them into immediate practice. You will succeed without difficulty, Nil desperandum. Never despair. There is a magazine of enormous power within you. Tap that power diligently and come out victorious. Then share your knowledge with others.
17. Strictly avoid viewing scenes of violence, sex and murder on TV. Avoid places of gambling and liquor, evil company, and literature that deals with violence, sex and crime.
18. Performance of daily Agni-Hotra and recital of the all-powerful Sri Hanuman Chalisa are very effective remedies to overcome depression and suicidal tendencies.
Blessings in Disguise
Adversities, trials, difficulties, calamities, diseases, afflictions, pains and sufferings are all blessings in disguise. They strengthen the will and increase the power of endurance. They turn the mind more and more towards God. They instil in us discrimination and dispassion. They draw out all our latent faculties. They force us to perform even beyond our ability. They develop all talents and capacities lying dormant within us.
It is easy to bask in the sunshine of prosperity. The crucial test is your reaction under adversity and hardship. God wants us to enjoy eternal bliss and peace. For this purpose the body and mind have to be thoroughly purified and strengthened, so that they may be able to bear the pressure of His matchless bliss and peace. This process of purification and strengthening cannot be effected without one confronting adverse conditions and circumstances.
Furthermore, nature’s law of cause and effect operates with relentless precision. The wise and discriminative person will allow the effects of this past actions to bear fruit by meeting all the conditions of life with patience, good cheer, calmness and faith in God.
What is the role of permaculture in a yoga community based on 86 acres of agricultural land? Below is an excerpt from an online article published by Permaculture Magazine.
At the Sivananda Ashram Yoga Farm in Grass Valley, California, daily life can be an interesting and exacting experience. For one, things are done differently than the ‘status quo’ and strict yogic guidelines are followed. We follow a vegetarian diet and stick to a disciplined schedule that involves daily meditation and yoga.
Spiritual community is at the core of the lifestyle at the Yoga Farm. The primary focus and mission of the Sivananda organization is the dissemination and propagation of classical yoga. We teach yoga from a holistic perspective and it is a way of life rather than solely physical exercise.
Our director and head teacher Swami Sitaramananda often jokes that the Yoga Farm ‘grows yogis’. For a long time, that statement was exclusively true. Until relatively recently, the Yoga Farm didn’t produce crops for harvest, despite the fact that the 35 hectare (86 acre) property is designated as agricultural land to the U.S. government.
The Yoga Farm was established in 1971 and the first garden was planted in the early ’90s. Since then we’ve expanded our garden, added a greenhouse, llama/alpaca/goat pen, solar panels, orchards and lavender fields. These projects and more were possible because of the dedication of our volunteers. It is the spirit of volunteerism that allows the community to flourish.
Everyone who lives at the Ashram, even the director, is a volunteer. And to be honest, we are often short handed. For this reason, it can be a challenge to see certain projects come to fruition – especially permaculture projects.
A permaculture service day volunteer helps plant a peach tree guild with clover, oregano, lupine, daffodils, lavender and more
We’ve implemented small and slow solutions where we can: struggling fruit tree guilds here and there, dappled hugelkultur and sheet mulching in the garden, experiments with polycultures, composting, no-till methods in the lavender fields, fertilizing with on-site pond algae and llama manure … the list goes on. Often, projects are started and then fall apart until somebody comes along and revamps it.
Despite these challenges, community continues to present itself as the most valuable resource. As many permaculturists and gardeners know, many hands makes light work. Many hands also makes that work more enjoyable.
As somebody who wants to see permaculture projects thrive, I’ve learned that collaboration is vital. Guided by permaculture principles, below are some practical ways that we’ve expanded our permaculture department with the help of our community.
A Yoga Farm staff member uses a hula hoe to weed around the bases of young lavender plants, leaving the rest as groundcover
Observe and Interact
Interestingly, the Sanskrit word ‘Śuśrūsate’ translates to ‘the desire to listen to’ and ‘to serve’. The two meanings go hand in hand. For me, that is an indispensable lesson. When I first arrived at the Yoga Farm, I wasn’t good at listening. One could say I was overzealous in wanting to implement permaculture.
I got frustrated because there wasn’t enough time or people to do it at the scale I wanted. My ego got in the way and I started criticizing everything around me for not being ‘permaculture-y enough’. The longer I stayed, watching and participating in the community, I realized that my narrow ideas of ‘how it should be’ were limiting my capacity to see ‘what could be’.
Once my mind and emotions calmed down, I was able to take a step back and really listen. I was able to surrender and let go of my preconceived notions and judgements. I learned that before trying to change a system, it’s best to learn how it works.
A group of garden volunteers smile in the sunshine.
I learned that the primary driving force behind the community was yoga and selfless service, not permaculture. Although permaculture was valued and desired, it was seen as a means to an end. It was only one of many methods to reach the organization’s mission of inner and outer peace.
This new-found clarity helped me collaborate with others without agitating the community structure. To do that, I had to stop trying to assert my own structure. As soon as I aligned with the systems already in place, the next steps became obvious.
“Your inherent nature is joy, ānanda, which is eternal. That is the message of yoga and vedānta.” – Swami Vishnudevananda
The 3 Gunas
Yoga offers us valuable guidance on our journey towards peace of mind. The formula is simple and can be described as a way of working with the three gunas or qualities of nature: 1) break through the tamas; 2) calm down the rajas; and 3) nourish the sattva.
All the objects of this universe contain the three gunas. The gunas operate on the physical, mental, and emotional levels and obscure our true nature, veiling the Light within. We become attached to physical conditions, stuck in stressful thought patterns, and feel unable to free ourselves from repeated negative emotions.
The light of consciousness,
the Atman, reflects through the physical body, the mind and its emotions, just
as a brilliant and pure crystal has no color of its own. When a colored object
is brought near, it reflects the same color and appears to be that color—blue,
red or whatever it may be. In the same way, the Atman is colorless and without
qualities yet is veiled by the physical body and mind.
Yoga
teaches us that we are neither the body nor mind. We are not our thoughts. The
gunas are only veils to our true Divine nature, the Light of Atman.
We must break through tamas
Tamas is resistance to change. The mind seeks stability in the face of constantly changing circumstances (karmas), finding security in addiction to food, alcohol, relationships, and other kinds of behaviors. Without the capacity to discriminate good from bad, we become dependent on external objects and ways of thinking. We may not even like the thing but will choose it anyway out of apathy and ignorance. Tamas veils the Self, providing only a dim view of our true nature. We must make a conscious choice to extract ourselves from Tamas. It takes a good strong kick to move the mind from its tendencies.
We must calm down rajas
Rajas is forceful change. Rajas is ego-driven toward the external, actively engaging the world. Its extreme is to control situations and to meet expectations. One directs their energy outward to effect change that reflects a certain prescribed vision.
Rajas is the energy of action and passion, and of external projection. It singles out an aspect of life that the ego likes and goes towards it to the exclusion of everything else. We become attached to our actions. It is said that fulfilling one desire only reinforces that desire and leads to ten new desires. When these conditions are not met, one falls into disappointment and disillusionment (tamas).
We must nourish sattva
Sattva is wisdom to accept change. We accept that change is in God’s hands and that we do not control change. Sattva is to know that we do not know. Sattva reveals, allowing us to penetrate into the true picture of reality. It is the energy of moving inward and upward, letting go of our attachment to external objects and ever-changing outcomes.
Sattva allows us to see the mind’s tendencies with clarity. With more balance and harmony in our mind, we remain peaceful in the face of difficulty, allowing ourselves to make wise choices rather than reacting to situations beyond our control.
To overcome the egoistic veils of ambition, pride, projections and opinions, desires and expectations, we must nourish sattva through selfless service, devotion, control of the senses and mind, and meditation on the Self. We must learn to detach from external conditions, to question our mind’s thought patterns, and to stop functioning out of habitual conclusions.
Summary
Our journey is to transform ourselves from negative to positive, from restlessness to peace, from darkness to light. Peace of mind is difficult to attain because our minds are always changing. Like the woman who has lost her needle inside of her house, but looks for it outside, we restlessly seek for happiness outside when all the time, the Truth lies within.
Swami Sivananda says, “Fear not. Grieve not. Worry not. Your essential nature is peace. Thou art an embodiment of peace. Know this. Feel this. Realize this.”
Questions for your Self-study
How do you react to change?
Do you try to control your environment? The situation? Others?
Do you find that change causes stress? If so, what aspect of change causes you stress?
What are your Yoga practices to nourish sattva?
You can leave answers to the questions in the comments section below.
Swami Dharmananda is assistant director of the Yoga Farm for many years and is in charge of the karma yoga program. He is a faculty of the Sivananda Institute of Health (SIHY) and is one of the main teachers of Yoga Philosophy and Meditation at the Ashram. He took sannyas vows in 2013 and is keenly interested in yoga psychology and philosophy, presenting the classical teaching in a practical and accessible way to people of all faiths and backgrounds.
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