Stress affects virtually everyone. Whether it is occasional or long-term stress. By living in hectic times, stress has become an increasingly inflected word in society. Tension, heart palpitations, anxiety, nervousness, fear. These are also emotions in case of a stressful situation.
HOW DOES AN ORDINARY PERSON COPE WITH STRESS?
Someone reaches for a cigarette, someone else has a coffee or a champagne, someone takes it out on the kids or has a fight with a colleague or a partner. Not to mention lighter or “heavier” intoxicants. These are crutches that do not address the cause of stress and, on the contrary, in the long term, create dependency, worsen interpersonal relationships and, ultimately, the quality of one’s own life. When you think about what causes stress, it’s usually something that messes up your schedule, your expectations don’t come true, unexpected situations trigger unexpected emotions. The winter season, especially before the end of the year when there is still a lot to do, is sure to bring such situations. How to prevent stress? There is no one-size-fits-all guide for this; everyone has to find his or her own. A calm mind is a prerequisite for coping with any situation.
YOGA AS A SPORT, PHILOSOPHY OR “HEAD CLEANER”
Yoga has become very widespread and popular in our country in the last 15-20 years. The most popular are the physical exercises, asanas and most practitioners started practicing yoga for health reasons. What is the difference between practicing yoga and other physical activities – sports? It’s hard to say, maybe only in what I know from my own experience. After a sport, be it running, skiing, hiking, aerobics, one feels pleasantly tired. When you overdo it with activity, you have a muscle cramp the next day. After a yoga class, practitioners leave with a smile on their face, pleasantly relaxed, refreshed. Yoga energizes and harmonizes the body and mind. It’s hard to describe the state of being thirsty for a drink. Similarly, with the practice of yoga, the experience has to be acquired by everyone himself. Patanjali is the author of the oldest treatise, the Yoga Sutras, dealing with yoga, its techniques and principles. The teachings of yoga have been handed down from teacher to disciple for centuries. Pupils lived with their master, learning and doing chores together. The master guided them to understand the mystery of life. One of the paths of yoga is Raja Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga, it has eight parts. The eight stages of Rajayoga lead to the systematic acquisition of inner peace, purity and self-knowledge.
THE FIRST STAGE IS THE PIT – SELF-CONTROL
It contains 5 moral principles, of which ahimsa – non-violence stands first. Non-harm includes not killing, not only people, but not killing any living being. The yogis’ approach to vegetarianism stems from this first principle. The life of an animal is as valuable as the life of a human being. Moreover, the animal senses when its end is near, it secretes hormones of fear and stress. These remain in the meat, and humans consume them without perceiving this energetic component of the meat. This, too, can be a cause of fear, neuroses and psychoses.
SATYA – TRUTH, TRUTHFULNESS IS THE SECOND PRINCIPLE
Telling the truth is often an art. Especially when it comes to sensitive messages. The important thing is to choose the right words and put the right energy into them so as not to hurt the other. The spoken word can cause more pain than physical violence. Truthfulness and honesty with yourself is also important. Pretence, excuses. You can seemingly deceive others with these. It is not for nothing they say: “A lie has short legs, or When you lie, you lie to yourself.”
ASTEIA – NOT STEALING
It is the third principle and it does not only apply to tangible property. It is also about intellectual property, thwarting another’s opportunity, even plundering nature.
BRAHMACHARYA – PURE WAY OF LIFE
Most often translated as sexual abstinence. It is said that every animal can eat, drink and beget children. Man has a higher level of consciousness and can make choices.
APARIGRAHA – NON-ACCUMULATION OF POSSESSIONS
One of the difficult principles in this commercial world full of advertisements. It has to do with the fulfillment of desires, needs. It is a question of what we really need of all that we have accumulated around us and how to get rid of it, how to recycle it.
Just think about these five principles and realize how you have it in your life. This is where stress can come in too, the tension of wondering what all you could be doing differently, more simply. With the end of the year, it’s as if you’re closing one chapter and planning to start the New Year with a clean slate. Even these first 5 principles can inspire you to become a better person.
We’ve delved a bit into yoga theory, the source is the system “Yoga in Daily Life.” Yoga techniques help calm the mind, provide perspective, expand consciousness, and clear the head. In the head is the seat of happiness or sadness.
The schedule of exercises can be found here.
Ing. Katarína Bohdalová, owner of RAJ zdravia