Paramhansa Yogananda often told his students,
“Circumstances are always neutral. It is our reaction to them that gives them their meaning for us, making them appear either good or bad, pleasant or unpleasant, useful or beautiful.”
I had an interesting experience of this principle about a year ago, in Pune, India, that helped me understand this principle. We were conducting a silent guided seclusion retreat for participants from Pune and Mumbai. At the beginning of the retreat, we asked what motivated them to participate in a silent retreat. They answered, almost uniformly, that constantly being around people, especially families, had stressed them; and they were longing to relax and de-stress in solitude, away from family and the city, with no one to intrude upon their seclusion.
A few days later, we were conducting a stress-relief workshop for officers from the Indian army. On being asked the same question “What do you find induces stress in your life?” the uniform answer was, “We’re away for months from our family and friends. There is too much solitude, hardly anyone to interact with socially, since we are away from the cities and on the border, and we feel lonely.”
These two answers, where circumstances so disparate from each other induced the same feeling of stress in different people, helped me see the truth of Yogananda’s statement. The circumstances that brought stress to one group were the same that the other group ardently desired, in order to be happy. It is our reaction to circumstances, much more than the circumstances themselves, that dictate our joy levels in life!
Yoga and meditation give us tools and techniques which enable us to bring our level of consciousness under our own control so that we can respond to life’s many challenges from a place of calm and joy. Through the practice of the yoga teachings, we learn that when our consciousness is uplifted, life always appears bright. That is why, one of the yogic maxims is “When you change, your whole world changes.”
In addition to scientific meditation techniques that bring calmness and deep concentration, Yogananda taught practical methods to develop our will-power and recharge our energy levels. Calmness, deep concentration, will-power and an energetic outlook toward life are key to success in each and every challenge that life gives us.
A Simple Exercise to Try:
Try, for example, this simple exercise called the “double-breath with tension and relaxation” which is a great aid to de-stressing immediately on the physical as well as mental levels:
- Inhale sharply through the nose, with 1 short and 1 long inhalation (double breath)
- Tense the whole body until it vibrates with energy
- Hold your breath and the tension for five seconds
- Exhale forcibly through the mouth, with one short and one long exhalation (double breath)
- As you do, throw the tension out
- Repeat several times
As you do even this exercise a few times, you might find yourself instantly refreshed. The techniques of yoga are so effective because they work with the natural laws that govern our body, mind, and consciousness.
Click here to see this technique demonstrated.
Join us to Learn More!
REVITALIZE YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS MEN’S RETREAT
March 21-24, 2019
Learn tools to revitalize your consciousness, anytime and anywhere. The retreat will cover practical meditation techniques, yoga postures, affirmations and specific mental and physical diet suggestions that will help rejuvenate you on physical, mental and spiritual levels.
