Anxiety is the main culprit that invites diseases into our lives. Keeping the mind calm becomes critical in pandemic situations, and breath plays an important role in it. The right mental attitude, regular asana practice and Pranayama result in stabilising the mind.
In our class, we approach Pranayama and any breathing routine, slowly by starting with a few restorative asanas:
- Supines change the fabric of the mind. These restorative asanas help us get rid of the nagging thoughts and worries before doing Pranayama. (Pranayama should not be done under stress).
- Also, freedom of the body is blocked by worrying thoughts. Breath does not reach the required locations because of the blockages. When we supplement our practice with sound forms (a, e, i, o, u), these thoughts are kept at bay, as the sound forms come from a deeper frame of mind. These sound forms are important tools to settle our mind, stay steady and use our lungs optimally. They improve our exhalations and further expand and release our muscles and adapt to a better inhalation.
- As our breath improves, our mind becomes calm, and our intelligence overpasses a pressing situation, just like the elders in a family take over any difficult problems and protect the youngsters. Respect your intelligence (as you would your elders) in your everyday practice through Swadhyaya, Ishwar Pranidhana and Dinacharya. We must have the Satsang inside us for our intelligence to be active.
The supines, sound forms and mudras like Shanmukhi Mudra that we practise in class, are the key to a calm mind. Instead of popping pills, it is recommended to rely on these natural methods to develop our defence mechanism and fight diseases.