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A Yoga mentor shares wisdom from ancient texts and reveals techniques to help stay calm—or in the ‘Samattvam Sthithi’—in any situation
A negative emotion, anger sets off harmful reactions in the body that disturb our health. (AI-generated image)
You’ve been losing your temper more than usual lately and you regret the person you’re turning into. You’re trying to meditate, taking deep breaths, chanting affirmations, even practising empathy with a smile. But one scathing comment from someone, and your composure goes for a toss.
“Yoga helps not just to deal with anger, but do away with it. This is because Yoga brings about transformation of consciousness, which is deeper than mere change in body and mind. Transformation alters our very essence,” says Yoga guru Dr N Ganesh Rao, Founder of ACT Yoga.
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Drawing from ancient texts and decades of practising and teaching Yoga, Dr Rao shares how Yoga helps dissolve anger and stress. These insights are from his talks in the Chat on the Mat series and Feel Happy Program— initiatives of Yoga platform, Hellomyyoga.
ANGER—ONE OF THE MIND’S SIX ENEMIES
Anger is a disturbance of the mind. On the basis of ancient scriptures, we consider anger (krodha) as one of the shadaripu—six enemies of the mind—along with desire (kaam), greed (lobha), delusional attachment (moha), pride (mada), and jealousy (matsarya).
A negative emotion, anger sets off harmful reactions in the body that disturb our health. Since it as an affliction of the mind, Yoga works on it in two ways:
1) By strengthening the mind: First, it ensures the mind does not get angry, by providing an emotional foundation. Second is the response to anger. Both ways, Yoga helps to control anger.
2) Even when the mind gets angry, if you’re aware the mind is angry, you’re no longer angry! If you start practising awareness, which starts with practising meditation, you automatically achieve total control over all states of the mind, not just anger.
STRESS—HOW YOGA REDUCES IT EVEN BEFORE IT ARISES
Yoga is not just postures—the philosophy that Yoga provides is a guide when it comes to values, our approach to desires in life, goals, ambitions, and much more. With such a rich philosophy at our disposal, our perspective on life shifts. This reduces occasions for stress to occur in the first place.
In the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali, in all angas (limbs), the practices are geared towards making the mind healthy. When the mind is empowered this way, its threshold for stress becomes naturally very high.
HARNESSING THE BREATH-MIND CONNECTION
A fact that doesn’t get enough recognition is that between the mind and the body, there is the breathing. Philosophically, we explain this as koshas (layers of existence)—between Annamaya kosha (physical body) and Manomaya kosha (mental body), there is Pranamaya kosha (energy body). Prana in its grossest form manifests as breathing.
From the disturbed mind, for the disturbance to go to the body, it has to ‘pass through’ the breathing. Each kind of stress affects the breathing:
• When you’re angry, the breath is rapid, short and erratic.
• When you’re sad or depressed, the exhalation becomes longer, you sigh.
• When you’re surprised, you gasp.
• When you’re afraid, you choke.
This is where Pranayama becomes relevant. We reverse the cause-and-effect relationship. If your breathing is properly controlled, which is to simply make it slow and long, your threshold for bearing stress consistently increases. The mind then always remains calm.
As soon as you control your breathing, the mind returns to ‘normal’. So, Pranayama is perhaps the most perfect antidote for stress and for psychosomatic ailments.
MUST-DO BREATHING PRACTICES
Do at least these three practices at home, at work, or wherever possible.
1. Kapalabhati
An energising, heat-generating practice that raises the body’s BMR (basal metabolic rate) and is the answer to several health issues. People with hyperacidity and high blood pressure need to proceed with caution.
Begin with a few minutes and gradually build up to 10. Because it energises, avoid doing it before sleep. In the morning, on an empty stomach, bowel, and bladder is preferable.
2. Nadi Shodhan Kriya
This alternate-nostril breathing technique (Anulom Vilom) is the most important. It keeps you in Samattvam sthithi (equilibrium), as described in the definition of Yoga.
It limits emotional fluctuations because both hemispheres of the brain are harmonised. It also purifies prana channels in the body, so energy levels start going up, also awareness levels. Start with single-nostril breathing to open the channels, then proceed to both nostrils.
3. Kumbhaka
An advanced technique, this is the retention of breath between inhalation and exhalation (or the reverse) and it must be introduced at some point. In this holding-of-the-breath lies the magic of Pranayama, because it creates a temporary disconnect between body and mind, allowing the body to draw on its own healing resources. It is highly rejuvenating. The retention has to be done only to one’s comfortable capacity—don’t exceed it.
According to Hatha Yoga texts, all diseases, mental and physical, can be removed by doing Pranayama practices. It is the secret of good health, of maintaining youth and energy levels.
The author is a journalist, cancer survivor and certified yoga teacher. She can be reached at swatikamal@gmail.com.
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