Posts

Posted on

My Breath – My Friend

Image

My Yogic journey has always led me on a path of learning new things. Among them, I am always in awe of the human body and how it works. While each and every part of the body plays a role in the overall functioning of the body, it is the breath that fascinates me the most!

I have been practicing Pranayama since 2018, and every practice session has taught me something about myself. And I am still learning many new things with this practice.

I have two important questions for you:

  • An average adult breathes about 14 to 18 breaths per minute. With the heart’s average of 72 beats per minute, every breath has to provide enough oxygen for 4 heartbeats. Are we breathing deeply to provide enough oxygen to our hearts?
  • Let us take an average of 15 breaths per minute for this calculation. In one hour, we take 900 breaths, and in one day, we take a whopping 21600 breaths. How many breaths do we notice in a day?

Before 2018, I was unaware of my breath and what it was doing in my body. All I remember is when I visited a doctor, he placed the stethoscope on my chest and asked me to breathe deeply, and I did. That was the only way I remembered something about my breath.

I have now understood that my breath means a lot more things. It is my emotional quotient measurement tool. I can feel that my breath is either too fast, too slow, or very shallow, depending on my emotional state at a given time. This was a beautiful learning about my breath. My anger makes my breath go very fast and raises my voice high. I feel that I am unable to breathe freely when I feel stuck in life or when I feel sad about something.

Another important aspect is my posture. How am I sitting? Am I slouching? Is my spine straight? The body posture plays a major role in proper breathing and breathing in the required amount of oxygen.

Body posture is also an important requirement for Pranayama practice. It is only when the body is still and in the right posture, breath can be observed. This breath has another quality of being attached to our mind and hence our thoughts. The saying “chale vate chalam cittam” means that when the breath wanders (not being steady/ irregular), the mind is not steady.

My teacher said, “The manifestation of the mind is the breath. So, when you work on the breath, we can calm the mind”! How beautiful is this lesson and its meaning!

So, inferring from this, the breath has two jobs. They are:

  1. Breath is an expression of who we are – what we are feeling at a particular time – what our body posture is – what activity we are doing – what we are thinking – what our life situations are – what stresses/worries/scares/angers us! So we can learn to sit still, find a good posture, to simply observe this breath. And take some time to understand what this breath means, by taking the guidance of a teacher/yoga therapist. The observation can be like – my breath is shallow at the chest – I can’t feel my breath at my chest – I can’t feel my breath at my abdomen – I seem to be exhaling too quickly – I feel that I am choking and not inhaling enough.
  2. The second aspect of the breath is that it is a powerful tool than we can imagine. A simple pranayama course designed by the teacher can help the practitioner to correct their present breathing pattern and make it more beneficial to them. The breath is used to correct those observations about our breath – it is like using the breath to observe and also as a correction tool.

Isn’t that amazing?

So, we learn to sit still to observe our breath and understand our breathing pattern, which is related to our feelings, thoughts, and actions. “Becoming AWARE” of this connection between breath and other things in our lives is the most important understanding about our breath.

Then comes the most important part – THE SHIFT. Would I like to shift to better breathing?

If YES, we use our own BREATH as the tool for the SHIFT. Please take proper guidance from a certified and trained teacher for using your breath as a tool. And please do not practice using random online videos that ask you to inhale-hold-exhale-hold for a certain duration. Learn about your breath in detail first by taking proper guidance from a teacher before trusting some unknown face online.

That breath of yours is with you from the time you were born – from your first cry for air – and stays with you till your last exhale. Can you look at your breath as your friend who is your mirror (expressing all that you feel and think) and is also waiting to help you take control of your life?

** I am a trained Instructor and Yoga therapist. I teach Yogasana, Pranayama, and Meditation online.

Posted on

Yoga Toolbox – Using to your advantage

Image

The previous post mentioned that the 8 limbs of Ashtanga Yoga are a Yoga toolbox to help us navigate life challenges. Applying these tools in our everyday lives requires a certain technique, and we can connect with a trained Yoga teacher as our guide.

The next question that pops up in my mind after reading and understanding the Ashtanga tools is (Check my post on the 8 limbs of Yoga). How do I apply the tools on a day-to-day basis? How can I monitor if I am in line with the toolbox or not? (Please read this on Yama and Niyama)

I wondered about giving a good example here to explain the usage of the Yoga toolbox tools. And here is one such usage:

BEING AWARE OF YOUR BREATH

There is this man, a senior citizen, who has been practicing Yogasanas and Pranayama under different schools. He joined my Pranayama class 6 months ago, and for the past 3 months, he has also been practicing Asanas with my guidance. He is very punctual, practices with sincere effort. He doesn’t feel uncomfortable taking instructions or small corrections from me; I am much younger than him.

One morning, before class, he shared,

“I used to worry a lot about things – how they will happen and when they will happen. But after I started Pranayama practice with you, I feel a change. Things happen on their own – at their own pace! And I am not worried about them.”

Another lady, a senior citizen too, agreed with him and said that she has felt something similar in her life too! There is less worry and things happen smoothly on their own!

I felt thrilled to hear these experiences from them!

My understanding of their experiences is this:

The body and mind have been doing things in Autopilot for many years. Habits learnt in childhood go on autopilot mode when we master them till the time you make an effort to change it with a conscious mind. An example can be car driving. When a person is learning to drive a car, they are more conscious about where their foot is – on the accelerator or brake, right? An experienced person may drive the car on autopilot mode and is able to manoeuvre the car easily even when someone else is not following the right way of driving.

With a constant practice to sit still with the breath, there is an awareness to their own breath! This awareness helps them to function in the present moment and not from Autopilot. Working from habits (samskaras) on a everyday basis denotes we are working from our experiences of the past and that we are not learning anything from our present experiences. When we are aware of our breath (Pranayama), there is an awareness to our present thoughts. The awareness to our thoughts help us understand the level of our Niyama – where are we with respect to being harmonious to our own self. This constant practice of being with the present, with the help of our breath, is the toolbox guidance to let us be free from worries. The simple act of practicing “sitting with our breath” can work indirectly to help us live life in the present moment. This can shift us in many ways. We can feel joy and happiness for small things and there is a lot of gratitude for every breath that we feel as it keeps us alive to enjoy this life! There is also a gentle shift to surrender to what is happening in life and an acceptance to what life is giving! Of course, we have our dreams and ambitions but we also learn to accept different outcomes than what we envisioned. All these happen slowly and gently as we sit with our breath every day, without expecting anything other than “to be with our breath”!

It is liberating! Maybe you can try “sitting with your breath at your own pace” and let me know how you feel!

** I am a trained Instructor and Yoga therapist and I teach Yogasana, Pranayama and Meditation online.

Posted on

Yoga Toolbox

Image

Yoga has many definitions across various commentaries and texts written by our ancestors. I am sharing a few here:

  1. Yoga is to do something efficiently – yogah karmasu kausalam
  2. Yoga is to achieve something in life which you have not done before or felt impossible for you – apraptasya praptihi yoga
  3. In Bhagavat Gita, Krishna says in 9.22 – Yoga kshemam vahamyaham – “I shall give you Yogam and Kshemam,” meaning I shall take care of your well-being and protect you.
  4. In another place in the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna says, “To have a balanced state of mind is Yoga – to treat victory and defeat with a balanced mind.”
  5. Yoga has a meaning “to join” – the body and mind, the breath and body – some people also feel to join our soul to our creator (Jeevatma becoming one with Paramatma)
  6. There is a beautiful definition by Shri Krishnamacarya – Yoga is a samskara, a ritual – a set of things to practice to become a better person physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Yoga is a set of tools that is our preparatory work for something bigger in life. When we know what “this big thing” is that we would like to achieve, we can use the tools of Yoga to get there.

I love this openness in this definition – Presently, I am doing a certain set of things. When I would like to achieve something bigger, when I set a new goal in my life, I need a set of new tools to help me get there. The tools available with Yoga make me ready for the new goal, which is completely different from what I am doing presently.

I like to apply this definition to Asana practice today. Any new Asana I am learning is not about performance, but it is my new goal. I am going to place my body in a new posture than what my body has been used to so far. I may be stuck to my couch all my life, and if I have to stand straight, hands by my side, feet together, toes pointing forward, shoulders relaxed, neck straight, looking forward without slouching, spine straight – OMG! This is something new for my body. Now, standing straight is a Yoga Asana. When I practice this and become comfortable, I start putting my body in another new position, like Uttanasana, to bend forward. I may struggle with this new posture as my body is not used to it, but I persist with my practice and stay with my body till Uttanasana becomes comfortable.

Why do I have to do this? One is physical body flexibility. Movement keeps the body fit and healthy. There is better lymphatic drainage and blood flow.

Another aspect of looking at it, I can apply this idea to life situations. When I set a goal in life, I am asking for a new life situation. This may involve interacting with a different set of people and doing an entirely different set of things than before. It may also involve moving to a different place.

Let me explain with an example:

When a person prays to visit Lord Ayappan at Sabarimala, they take a vratham for 48 days – they live life differently than before – they start waking up early, have cold showers, do prayers and chanting to Ayappan, eat simple meals (no spices, onion, garlic), walk barefoot, lie on the floor at night. They live a different life for the 48 days, which is their Yoga. They put themselves in completely different situations than before.

For some people, this becomes a way of life even after the 48 days. For others, they shift into this life for 48 days and then change their ways again.

My point is this – Yoga is something that helps us change! The set of tools that Yoga holds within, as proposed in the Ashtanga Yoga, namely Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, and Samadhi, helps us to navigate life changes. What tools to use and how to use them is an art, and we can take the help of a “trained teacher”. Let us start looking at Yoga as a platform that offers a range of tools that we can learn to use with guidance to navigate the ever-changing life situations!

Yoga is certainly not a Physical Performance Activity – it is not Gymming!

Posted on

Dreams

Image

A dream can be a deep desire, probably a message from the soul. I had one such desire when working as a Software Programmer 30 years back. It was like an obsession. I lived and breathed that desire, aka dream. That dream was to work with the company Microsoft. My work involved programming in C++ on the Windows platform, and I was completely fascinated with the Windows system. It felt magical to use it. Every waking moment was spent visualizing it, and every moment of sleep was spent dreaming about it.

I never thought that I could let go of that dream. But I did. When I conceived my daughter, there was a sudden shift in priorities for me. I didn’t know how it happened. It was just a quick decision to stay home and enjoy my life as a mother. It was a conscious decision.

Throughout my pregnancy, I held a nagging doubt in one corner of my heart – “Did I do it right? – What will I do now? – What happens to my dream and my desire to work with Microsoft? – What about my financial independence?”

I shifted into the role of a mother easily and there was never a dull moment with my daughters. I was absolutely happy to be at home and with my daughters. I was able to hold space for them as they grew through their teens and into adulthood.

But I think I was holding on to that “Microsoft dream” for many years. I also had moments when I felt that I had wasted my Engineering education and had given up on my financial independence.

There was a shift in my thinking when I started walking the path of yoga. I understood that knowledge is never wasted and I am happy to share that I am able to apply many of my learnings from my college days into use now.

The failure of my “Microsoft dream” was a necessary part of life, and my growth. It taught me to look beyond the frameworks of a dream or a desire. What I thought was a message from my soul turned out to be an infatuation with a technological aspect.

Today, I am able to feel messages from the soul more clearly and it feels more grounding, calming and many pathways open up when I understand the messages. Soul messages are connected with the Universe energetically and hence every right understanding of the message leads me to the right person / path.

The failure of that dream was a necessary part of my life journey. I embrace that failure.

I embrace my life, as it is being offered.

Posted on

I manifested this Interview

In March 2021, Gayatri Aptekar interviewed a few amazing women under “Celebrating Shakthi” on the occasion of Women’s Day, on her Instagram page. All the women she interviewed inspired me and shared their stories with courage and vulnerability.

I made sure I joined all the interviews when they went live. I was so thrilled with the idea of being interviewed. I imagined myself being interviewed by Gayathri. It was a moment that brought me so much joy! And then I forgot all about this interview stuff.

Fast forward to December 2024 – Dr. Kavita Rajesh messaged and asked whether I would be interested in being interviewed for her Second Innings YouTube channel. She is on the quest to interview those people who have changed their career paths and found something that aligns with their mindset and abilities.

I was super thrilled and said a big yes! What I visualized in March 2021 manifested in December 2024.

I started understanding this manifestation principle only in recent times.

When I want something in my life – when I want to manifest something in my life – I have to learn to vibrate in the frequency of what I want! I have listened to this statement from many people but to feel and understand what it actually meant was a beautiful life experience.

Looking at myself in 2021 – I was posting content about flowers, sunshine, plants, clouds, bird stories, what happened in my apartment, my kitchen window views, kolams, and coloring pages. All my Instagram posts were about nature and what I observed around me. Special effort was taken to keep “all of myself” behind closed doors.

Slowly and gently, I took the plunge to show or write about my vulnerable side – what challenges have I gone through? – what were my low moments? – I started to write more boldly about all that is me when I found that group of people who stood by me even when I showed my vulnerable side.

I started writing from my heart and wrote about many things that I was holding within me for a long time. I started writing for myself. This was one huge step forward. I started sharing my life story through my Instagram posts. I shot videos of my Yoga practice, even when I didn’t do the Asana properly, and courageously posted them too! Many of my drawings were imperfect and lacked symmetry, and yet I posted them and found myself enjoying the share!

When I became courageous enough to share my story, I had shifted in my mind space! I was vibrating at a frequency that matched “me being interviewed”! I was doing all this without thinking about any interviews. When I became the person who was ready to open up and share my story, the manifestation happened. The interview call came. It came when I was ready and brave enough to share my story. It came when I had shed my inhibitions.

I manifested an interview by becoming the person who is brave enough to share her story!

Watch my interview here:

Posted on

The effects of Yoga practice

I have heard this comment many times in my life – “After you started practicing Yoga, you have changed”.

When I persist and ask them “What change did you notice in me?”, they all point to me being “over-sensitive”! Phew!

For a long time, I thought “being sensitive” came under the category of “Don’ts”!

I have been through phases in my life where I successfully spent more time hiding all my emotions and expressions so that the other person would have no idea of what I was feeling. And I thought that smiling through every moment of my life was the way to live life!

I thought I was supposed to be like the log of wood that is cut off from the tree and that remains there just showing a physical presence!

It took me many hours and months of spending time with myself to understand who I am, what kind of person I am, and what role I am playing here on this planet. I learned to observe what I was doing without being too critical.

My first after-effect of Yoga practice which I noticed and that others noticed too is my sensitivity to things. The first level of sensitivity that I saw was at my physical body level – I could feel the onset of a headache much ahead of time. I noticed sensitivity to certain food items and I was able to understand the deeper issues behind it. I used to talk to my stomach and other organs after a heavy meal to help them with the digestive process and I felt that it worked great with digestion. While the others kept talking about my increased sensitivity as something that is not so great, I was thrilled with this recent understanding of my body because I was feeling so good!

I was able to understand my body’s need for rest and I just rested even if I was unable to sleep. I could understand the need to switch off the “information overload” through news channels. I was able to tell a big no to all things that I felt like an overload on my senses!

I felt I am not scared anymore to feel a discomfort or to speak my mind. There is a lot of regulation at the emotional level and I am able to distance myself from situations to understand it differently.

I also became sensitive to other people’s energies and I realized that I was absorbing them all many times without understanding the effect. It took me many sessions of working with my energy to draw strong fences. I learned how not to absorb energies that drain me and also to protect my own energy from draining!

There is another point of view that I would like to touch upon here – when I started practicing yoga doing asanas, pranayama, and pratyahara, I went through a phase of pain and discomfort in my body. People asked me why I was suffering from pain when I was practicing yoga so diligently. I didn’t have an answer then. But I knew deep in my heart that I had to continue practicing to the best of my ability and the comfort level of my body. I took rests in between – I went for physiotherapy – applied heat packs and cold packs – and stayed with my body till it healed that discomfort. It took about 2 years for me to find peace within my body to do the asanas with ease.

Of all the learnings in the past 2 years, understanding my sensitivity and respecting that sensitivity has become my biggest strength! It is like I receive signals from the body like a powerful radar, as soon as it is emitted. I feel super duper-powerful. It made me see the beauty of creation which is our human body and how sitting with it mindfully can help us understand more about ourselves!

Posted on

The beautiful month of Marghazhi

Image

Rashmee had asked me about the significance of kolams and Marghazhi Masam (the Tamil month of Marghazhi). And I agreed to ponder 😀

Step 1 – to understand when does this Marghazhi Masam happen in the Divine timeline

We human beings have 24 hours in one day. The Devatas (Divine world) have one day, which is equivalent to one year in human life. Utharayanam begins on Jan 15th, coinciding with Sankaranti—this marks the beginning of daylight for the Divine World.

From the Net:
Uttarayanam is the period when the sun moves northward, marking the transition from winter to summer. The term comes from the Sanskrit words Uttaram and Ayanam, which mean “northward movement”. This happens after the winter solstice, which marks the beginning of Uttarayanam. Uttarayanam is the start of the harvest season when days are longer and nights are shorter. It’s also considered a time of spiritual awakening, when people are said to be more open to divine grace.

Dakshinayanam denotes that it is the night time for the Divine World and it starts around June 21st around the summer solstice. Dakshinayana is a Hindu astronomical concept that refers to the six months when the sun moves south of the equator. During this time, nights are longer and days are shorter. Dakshinayana has significant cultural and spiritual implications. In Hindu cosmology, it’s a time to honor Brahmans and perform rituals. In Ayurveda, it’s associated with cooler temperatures and dietary guidelines. Dakshinayana is marked by religious activities, including worship, fasts, and yagnas.

So the first half of the year is day for Divine and the second half of the year is night.

I heard this story in one podcast and I liked the relevance.
Vishnu is the Lord of Protection. When Dakshinayanam begins, Vishnu goes to rest and the other Devatas take turns to protect our Earth. First comes Ganesh Chaturthi, Janmashtami, the Pitrus, the Devis during Navratri and Diwali, Karthikeya and Shiva during Shasti and Pournami of Karthika masam. All these Divine forces take turns to protect till Vishnu wakes up from his rest.

This Margazhi masam is the time when Vishnu is about to wake up – His theta wave time 😀 People come forward to celebrate the waking up of the Lord and hence this Dhanur masam aka Marghazhi masam is synonymous with the celebration using music. People conduct Music and Dance festivals throughout this month so that the Lord wakes up to pleasing music. These celebrations are like the wake-up alarm / Suprabhat for Vishnu. People also decorate the entrances to temples, and homes with beautiful Kolams/rangolis. Lamps are lit in the early morning hours as this mortal world tries to wake up Vishnu from His rest. People also sing bhajans praising the Lord and walk the streets of the city waking up others and asking them to join in this celebration.

Lord Vishnu wakes up grandly and showers His blessings on His devotees on Vaikunta Ekadasi. He then takes up the job of protection for the next six months till it is time for Him to rest again and this cycle continues.

Another reason this Marghazhi is special is that during this time the Ozone layer comes very close to the Earth and waking up early and being outdoors, we can greatly benefit from the fresh air of the Ozone layer. This is also one of the reasons why we have so many outdoor activities during Marghazhi’s early morning hours. I don’t have any data or research to prove that the Ozone layer is close to the Earth, but I have heard about this. So making a mention here – hopeful of clarity on this concept soon!

Another aspect of Marghazhi:
Andal who was one of the 12 alwars desired to marry Vishnu and sang 30 Pasurams or poems called Tiruppavai in Tamil where she urges her sleeping friends to wake up and do a Pavai Nonbu (she prayed in her own way to get married to Vishnu) by singing these poems.

There is also a celebration of Shiva in this Marghazhi on Tiruvadhirai star! The celebration is called Arudhra Dharisanam where people visit Shiva temples to pray and be blessed!

So, to put it all in one place – Marghazi – the time to wake up Lord Vishnu from His rest – by singing Tiruppavai (Andal did marry Vishnu – so to reach Vishnu we use the Tiruppavai sung by His consort) – we visit temples and we sing early morning bhajans – we decorate homes with kolams – and maybe the Music Festival is an expansion on that idea of celebrating this month!

On the whole, this month signifies our growth and shift towards the Divine!

Posted on

What is my Yoga?

Image

When I want to be commitment-free but am tied up with personal commitments towards my loved ones, may I know that is my Yoga!

When I want to be outdoors in the sun but I am indoors with work, may I know that is my Yoga!

When I want to create content or record my practice sessions but I end up taking a nap, may I know that is my Yoga!

When I want to read about something so that it will be helpful in my therapy sessions but I go to the kitchen and make meal preps, may I know that is my Yoga!

When I want to learn new things – like attend a workshop to enhance my knowledge but all I do is prepare Idly Milagai Podi because it’s over, may I know that is my Yoga!

When I want to do this or that but I am unable to do it because of some reason, may I always remember that what I am doing right now is my Yoga!

Then the big question is: When do I do what I want to do?

May I learn how to prioritize my work based on

  • what has to be done ASAP?
  • what can I delegate?
  • what am I avoiding?
  • what gives me joy?

May I be aware of what I want in my life and understand how to incorporate it into my routine…
May I learn the art of effective communication so that I can kindly convey my thoughts and plans…
May I learn that it is impossible for me to do all the things I have in mind, all the time…

Yoga has its base from the word “YUJ” which means to “To Join”. Think of what do you want to bring together in life with this practice of Yoga! For some who are spiritually oriented, it could be the work of Jeevatma meeting the Paramatma! For people who are constantly running around and doing some work all the time, it could be the time to bring the body, mind and breath together!

Yoga comes from a place of self-study – to understand what I want to do – to be aware of what I am doing – to check if they align – to learn how to move towards “what I want to do” – then there is a “Yuj” – a joint – a coming together of thoughts and actions, mind and heart!

Posted on

The RaGa experience

Kalpakalakshmi Charitable Trust had their yearly fundraising program and I was delighted to be a part of it! After the introduction, details, and the excellent philanthropic work the Trust did were put across to the audience, I was in for a musical treat! Secretly this musical treat was something I was looking forward to the whole of last week!

Image

The musical treat was the live concert by Ranjani and Gayatri – called the RaGa sisters! They were as different as two human beings could be! Their voices had different tonal qualities! Their alapana techniques were very different too! Just like how they color coordinate their saris – the body color and the border color of the sari interchanges for the other’s sari – they went on to say how their differences are brought together in a beautiful musical blend of voices that sing with joy and with an intention to share that joy!

I was deeply reminded of my Appa as I sat through the concert by the RaGa sisters – I listened to one after decades!

Appa, popularly called KSV of MFAC (Mylapore Fine Arts Club) was known among the music circle as the person who identified many talents and promoted them too! Appa served as an Honorary Secretary at the MFAC for many years and we lost count of it! For us, he was forever there at the Sabha – we referred to the MFAC as the Sabha! Listening to this concert is a kind of tribute to Appa for instilling this music presence in me!

When my sister and I were born, Appa named us Uma and Rama – he had great hopes for us to become musical geniuses and deeply desired for us to perform on stage too! We were initiated to Carnatic music, as was the case with all the little girls of that decade! When we shifted houses, we couldn’t continue learning from the same teacher because of the distance and slowly we sort of let go of the music lessons!

Life took us sisters through a different path and we never were able to make Appa’s dream of performing on-stage a reality!

What if I am not a performer of music? I can appreciate and joyfully enjoy thoroughly the play of swaras on my senses!

The experience at this concert is highlighted by the fact that I am feeling the deep healing quality of the music! All the Chakra cleansing that I do every morning seems to happen here very easily as I allow myself to soak in the rhythms and melody of the music that was played!

I was also admiring the postures of the musicians who sat through in spine-erect positions throughout the performance – The way breath moved through the RaGa sisters as they sang – I am able to notice all these and appreciate them as a Yoga teacher and practitioner!

I started learning “sa-pa-sa” when I was 7 years old. I learned from a few teachers during different phases of my life. There are songs that I hold close to for various reasons. I can still sing the Swarajathis and Geethams without any book reference! I feel that there is music in me and I can feel that and I appreciate the effort of my Appa and my music teachers!

That concert was a magical experience for my whole body and senses, my energy and chakras! The person I am today experienced this music as a dance of my soul! I am grateful for that experience!

One click with the famous RaGa sisters :D
Posted on

Stress – looking through my glasses

Read a definition of stress by WHO here

When I first heard the word “Stress,” I had assumed it to be connected to something unhealthy for the body. Of course, I know a little bit better than that now 😀

After I began my Yoga journey, I started looking at my body with awe and wonder, for all the amazing functionalities we take for granted. I read a lot to understand the various bodily functions and how they are integrated into this functional human body. As I started teaching Pranayama and Asana, one thing kept coming up a lot – people came to me and told me that their doctor had advised them to learn Pranayama or Yoga because they were stressed out a lot!

Then I started reading about this “stress” – what are the conditions in which a person can feel stressed? What conditions/symptoms of the human body are being diagnosed as stress?

This is what I understood from my experience and from what I read:

Stress can be good and then it can be bad too. Let me explain: Imagine how people ate in those days – seated cross-legged on the floor, praying before starting a meal, and praying at the end, without indulging in screen time or talking. This process of eating where we define the start and end point can be defined as good stress i.e. we define the time duration of doing an activity with the start and end prayer. Trying to eat at the same time every day also helps the body to know when to produce that acid in the stomach.

Another example is a cold shower – we teach our body to feel the cold water on our body for a specific duration and then we are out of it. This cold water is only for the duration of the shower and when we know the start and end time, our body processes it better!

I would consider all work that we do with an awareness of when we start and when we end as “Good stress” or “Good activity”.

Now imagine this girl X, doing work from home. She wakes up and does some housework – cooks and eats, cleans the house, and then logs in for her work by 9 am. But her office work is so demanding that she is unable to make time to eat her lunch. So she eats in a bowl as she keeps staring at the laptop screen. She takes a small break in the evening only to be available for a work call late in the night. And this pattern continues almost the whole of the week.

Her body understands all these happenings as – Stress begins Monday at 9 am login and it never ends till Friday evening. The everyday logout for sleep is not registered as the end of stress as the mind is still working out on what has to be done the next day – what calls are there for the next day – the work mode continues as there are no definite start and end points for that office work from home.

So, it becomes very essential that we define our start of the work with an indication to the body or tell out loudly “I start my work now” and end this work with a loud “I end my work now”

Tell loudly to your body “I am relaxing now” “I am going for a walk now” “I am going to eat now” or “I am going to read a book now” – Defining what we are doing with start and end points helps the body to understand the processes better.

More examples:

“I am starting to cook now” – Finish cooking, sit down somewhere comfortable, and make a deep sigh or a “ha” sound – “I completed cooking now!”

“I am logging into my office work” – Do work for 3 to 4 hours – Make a deep sigh or a “ha” sound – “I am logging off so that I can eat lunch.”

“I am going to eat now” – Keep gadgets, laptops, TV away from you when you eat. Focus on the joy of eating, enjoying the textures of the food you eat – Finish eating, and let out a deep sigh with a sense of satisfaction and gratitude towards food. It also helps not to feel guilty about the food that we have eaten – “I finished eating now!”

So, this can be my conclusion to this definition of Stress:

  • Take some moments at the start of the day to have a basic plan for that day.
  • Have a small indication to tell your body when you start an activity and when you end that activity.
  • Reduce screen-level distractions so that the body can understand moments when there are fewer sensory inputs. If the television is ON the whole day and night or if there is mobile phone addiction, then the body is unable to make out moments when the sensory organs can relax. It is important that we make some moments for sensory rest during our day full of activities. Sleep time sensory rest is not enough for the body to relax.
  • Have a small routine to indicate the start and end of activities done which your body can learn and follow every day. It can also be a small prayer or simply a “start” and “end”.
  • Please teach your body that there are multiple activities in a day and every activity has a definite period of execution. When we don’t release our body from one activity and move on to the next activity and then the next and have the television with news from all over the world in the background, the body is confused as to what is happening and what activity is important. Imagine if this state continues over days – the symptoms that the body expresses are the outcome of stress!
  • In short, we can stop this hyped “multi-tasking” and focus on doing single tasks with focus and enjoyment. And then move on to the next task.

No multi-tasking – Define activity period – Breathe with awareness – Give conscious rest to sensory organs!

I hope this helps you – please take care of yourself – you are all that you have!

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started