AN ENJOYABLE JOURNEY CALLED YOGA

Yoga represents a process through which one can learn how to live in the most integrated way. Therefore, it involves the process of identification and then elimination of all that would contribute to disintegration.

The term yoga is derived from yugil (Sanskrit), which means unite or integrate. It’s a combination of science and arts and a highly enjoyable journey towards perfection. One can trace the origin of yoga way back to the Indus Valley Civilisation, ie, at least 3,000 years BC. And for the past 5,000 years, it has remained as one of the most important facets of our culture.

With the goal of restructuring the society on spiritual values, through revival of ancient yogic discipline, Swami Kuvalayananda established the Kaivalyadhama Yoga institute in 1924, at Lonavla, near Pune. It is one of the oldest yoga institutes in the country and recently played host to the 6th International Conference on Yoga Research & Cultural Synthesis, where over 1,200 delegates participated from the world, including the US, France, Brazil, China, Germany, Canada, Greece, Argentina, Korea and Japan.

Yoga represents a process through which one can learn how to live in the most integrated way. Therefore, it involves the process of identification and then elimination of all that would contribute to disintegration. Hence, it becomes a continuous process, requiring constant vigilance, involving all the aspects of life.

According to O P Tiwari, one of the most recognised and accomplished masters of yoga and chief administrative officer of Kaivalyadhama, “Yoga, which is a science of personal growth for spiritual experiences, has simultaneously become a science of health and healing. All its techniques and methods are geared for bringing the healing touch to the body and mind, which suffer from ill-health.”

For this purpose, it has three main components.

First is the practical discipline (asanas, pranayama and dhyana). Asanas involve the increased awareness of various physical and physiological processes influenced by controlled stretching contraction and relaxation of various muscles, their co-ordination in balancing and during maintenance of posture. Pranayama similarly involves the manipulation of breathing mechanism along with the awareness of the pressure changes inside the chest cavity and abdomen. Dhyana increases the awareness of one's mental processes, including the thoughts, emotions and memory. It can make one aware how the constant restlessness at the level of mind contributes to the feeling of emotional stress, constant fear and insecurity. This increased awareness, combined with the techniques of dhyana, restores the psycho-physiological functions back to its healthy and balanced state.

Second component is the regulation of diet as well as daily habits involving the pattern of sleep, recreational activities and working habits. This helps remove all those irritants, which are responsible for the imbalance in the functioning of body-mind complex.

Third are the changes in one's attitude, behaviour and lifestyle, which help induce the feeling of sharing, warmth in friendship and concern, love and respect for the whole world. This acts as an antidote for the feeling of hopelessness, and loneliness. “If you do yoga keeping this spirit in mind and comply with all the instructions given to you, you would find that yoga not only gives you relief from your problems but also opens up a new way of enjoying your life,” adds Tiwari.

Many a time, when people talk about yoga, they focus their attention on the first component involving asanas, pranayama and dhyana. Thus they confine yoga to a small period of their daily life as if rest of the day has nothing to do with it.

Swami Kuvalayananda’s excellent work in the field of yogic culture attracted the attention of leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and today, Kaivalyadhama has branches in Mumbai, Rajkot, Delhi and Bhopal, USA and France.

Inputs from O P Tiwari