YOGA FOR STRESS MANAGEMENT

Week 01_Module 01 : Introduction to Yoga for Stress Management – 1

Prayer from Mandukya Karika (3.44)

Laye sambodhayet chittam vikshiptam shamayet punah,
Sakashaayam vijaaniyat samapraaptam na chaalayet.
Om shanti shanti shantihi

Meaning:
When the mind gets to a state of drowsiness, stimulate
it and awaken it
When it starts speeding up and distractions set in, calm it down. (Repeat this
process) When the mind is silenced, let it remain that way.

It says when the mind goes drowsy, sleepy, stimulate it. Then the mind gets distracted, relax and calm
down the distractions. Do it again, again. Punah Punaha,. Then it starts going deeper and deeper
recognize the deep-rooted stresses and release them. Finally reaching the stability and calmness
and peace. Do not disturb. That's a beautiful verse, given by one sloka of Mandukya karika.

The basic challenge of stress:

We know that the modern society is fast changing in all fields, It is reflected in;
Science, Technology, Management, Economics, Business, Arts, Music, Dance, Sports
Everywhere you can see these changes. Along with changes and achievements, it also brings its
own challenges.

Along with the technological advancement, we also had many challenges. For example,
 Pollution (Air, Water, Sound, Forest degradation etc)
 Stress

Challenges like pollution in the western world was taken care of by bringing in various
regulations, management and technology solutions.

But the challenge of stress was not managed equally well. It keeps increasing in reflected in
many ways;

• Lack of personality development and societal responsibilities

• Student unrest
• Drug culture
• Alcoholism
• Terrorism

These leads to multiple hazards, physical (health issues) and mental (psychiatric

problems) What is stress in human system?

According to Hans Selye, Stress is a nonspecific response to the demanding situations.

We all encounter various demanding situation in life. How we respond varies from person to person,
but all of us respond, so it's called phylogenetic response.
How do we address the problem of stress?
The modern science is limited to understanding of the physical universe, and we went on
understanding this physical world as the first phase of our understanding of the whole creation.
Scientific discoveries and technological progresses by bay of development and advancement
in medicine and treatment procedures were not adequate enough to address the problem of
stress, because of its one-dimensional understanding of this world, ie, only in physical terms.

The phenomenon of Stress is not merely physical. It is multidimensional in nature,

Mental restlessness, emotional upsurges, psychological conflict all are part of it.

Challenges are multidimensional; physical, mental, emotional, intellectual. And

hence the solution
also needs to be multi-dimensional in nature. Multi-dimensional challenge cannot be solved with one-
dimensional solution. That's why we consistently failed in meeting the challenge of stress.
Solution required a multi-dimensional approach.
That's what Yoga offers.
Yoga is multi-dimensional in its approach and
can offer the complete solution.
Yoga is a process of raising ourselves from our instinctive animalistic level to become normal human
being to super human being and eventually help us to rediscover the divinity within us. It is not just a
set of practices of Asanas or Pranayamas. It is a science of holistic living.
Yoga is a holistic system that helps one’s holistic development and establish a better social order and
peace on earth.