Balasana- A yoga-asana for stress and anxiety

Balasana is a very important yoga asana for stress and anxiety. It helps to slow down our thoughts and brings us inwards to our body.  It is also known as child pose as we lay down as a child in this position. It is also among the easiest yoga pose. In this post we will learn:

1. Precautions
2. How to do balasana
3. Benefits of the yoga-asana


Precautions:

The precautions are similar to what we observe in any yoga pose.

• Be empty stomach ( about 3 hrs after meal)
• And most importantly keep the mobile phone away during the practice

In case of issues mentioned below please refrain from the asana:

• Knee injury
• Hyper tension
• Pregnant women
• Diarrhea

How to do balasana:

Balasana is a sitting pose. It can be done when we are starting the yoga session or when we are making a transition from standing poses to sitting poses.
The steps involved are:

1. Sit on your knees and heels (similar to Vajra asana)
2. Take a deep breath. While breathing stretch your hands upward.
3. While exhaling bend forward along with the hands
4. Touch the mat by your forehead and hands stretched forward with palm down facing ground
5. Take a few deep breaths while in this position.
6. Afterward, come back to the sitting pose.
7. Repeat the steps for 2-3 times.

Benefits:

1. Helps to bring us to our body
2. Improves the flow of blood to the brain
3. Slows down thoughts
4. Relieves stress and anxiety
5. Makes spine flexible

The Heart Greater than the Mind

The mind is very powerful. But even more powerful is our heart. However, it takes a lot of practice to tap the guidance from the heart. The voices from the mind are generally louder than that coming from the heart. We need to calm down the mind’s chatter to seek wisdom from the heart. When tuned to the frequency of heart, we are home. A poem to have faith in the inner source of wisdom.

If the mind is Pandora's Box
The heart is golden fleece
If the mind is the sun,
The heart is the universe,
The heart is greater than the mind

If the mind can make cacophony,
The heart can make music.
If the mind can spin,
The heart can dance.
The heart is greater than the mind

If the mind can compare,
The heart can share.
It the mind can separate,
The heart can help to be intimate
The heart is greater than the mind

If the mind knows physics,
The heart knows chemistry.
The mind may desire one-day affairs,
Heart believes in a journey of a lifetime.
The heart is greater than the mind

If the mind comes up with self-criticism,
The heart comes up with self-love.
If the mind dwells in past & karma,
The heart takes you to the powerful present.
The heart is greater than the mind.

Shame, Shame

Like guilt, shame is another difficult emotion which has roots in the past. This is a culture implanted emotion and an individual can pay a heavy price for it. The experience & feelings with shame are captured below in the short poem: 

Eyes all around,

I am the focus.

Murmurs all around,

I am the focus.

Shame, Shame say they all

Through their looks and words.

I wish to vanish to unknown places.

But like an Ostrich, with no wings to fly

I bury my face in the ground,

Not only those who know,

But also by the unknowns,

Hunt me with Shame, Shame.

The cost of mistakes,

deliberate or non-deliberate, is too high,

Not limited to the real world,

The behavior spills to the online world,

Some comment, Some abuse, 

Shame, Shame everywhere.

The internal chaos swells,

As I sip & dip in self-criticism & questioning

Is there a blot on the portrait,

Or just a shadow for time being,

Am I good enough,

When will the shame, shame go away? 

The Bed & the Guilt

In any negative circumstances, we suffer most when we are alone with ourselves. Guilt is no different. Among any time in a day, the bedtime is worst for most of us. The bed is the place where our fears, guilt, shame etc. wreak havoc. We spend sleepless nights dealing with these emotions. The poem below beautifully captures our experience with guilt during the bedtime.   

The bed is the place where guilt grows.

Darkness falls,

Stories rise.

Body feels exhausted,

Mind seems activated

Events are revisited,

New narratives are created.

The bed is the place where mental fiction grows.

Such is the mind's role play,

All the parties to the case are present.

Hon'ble Judge is here,

Both, the prosecutor & the defense is here,

The annoying tick-tocking gavel is here, 

Unexpectedly, the witness is also here.

The bed is the court where arguments take place,

Mind unleashes new allegations,

Defense cripples with its versions,

The self remains a meek witness.

With no support from outside

We suffer in the silence of night

The bed is the place where the dispute grows

We twist & turn,

From this side to the other side,

As the stories are heard.

In these moments of loneliness,

Despite all the comforts,

We remain deprived.

The bed is the place where the endurance grows

As the tick-tock quiets,

A fresh breeze surrounds.

The self or the witness whispers,

Guides us to adjourn the court.

With a note "to be resumed tomorrow"

We let it go for the day.

The bed is also the place to let it go

Rejuvenating through Yoga

How many of us feel we are very busy with any kind of fitness activities?..almost every one of us. Our life in the modern world is fast paced. Every day is like a marathon starting from the point we get up to the point we get back to bed. We are in hurry everywhere be it driving, doing office work or any personal work. What else we are doing in between? We are busy on our gadgets browsing, chatting, shopping, networking etc.. According to a survey we spend nearly 3 hours on our mobiles. It is easier to spend time & of-course money through our mobiles but it is very hard for us to find time for ourselves.

What else has an impact on us? I am referring our environment here- the weather, air, food, water. The seasons now have extreme temperatures. Food is anything but natural. It is plucked days before it is served on our plates. It is genetically modified, have fertilizers, have pesticides & artificially ripened. You can imagine why you don’t get whole nutrition even after eating balanced food regularly. Similarly, our air is polluted with vehicular or industrial emissions and dust.

No wonder why diseases like high BP, stress, insomnia, anxiety, heart problems, chronic headache, asthma, gastric disorders etc. are on rising. The effect of toxins is such that some of us don’t even feel fresh after proper sleep. In such a given environment, we need daily rejuvenation. We need something to flush out the toxins every day.

Given our busy life & our environment Yoga is one of the best available options to lead a healthy life. It is a complete mind & body exercise. Actually, it is beyond mind & body. It needs about 30 mins a day which is even less than the time you will commute & get ready for a gym..no playground or no teacher..you don’t need a companion or friend. There are enough good quality resources available on the internet which you can refer to. You can do it all on your own..all you need is a blanket or mat, a well-ventilated room & an empty stomach.

Benefits of Yoga include flexibility, balance, better digestion, healthy aging, stress reduction, better sleep, concentration, resistance against diseases etc. The asanas help to activate our dormant glands and thus flush out toxins from the body. The benefits of yoga go beyond the body. We all know neuro-plasticity. Yoga can rewire the brain. It can upgrade our mind by making or breaking neuron connections for a healthy mind. It can help you overcome inner resistances & habits. The qualities like self-acceptance, empathy, stillness, and kindness would find a place in your heart automatically.

It is important here to mention that it is your journey to find your true self on your own. By this, I mean Yoga is not fixed to a set of asanas, pranayama & meditation. It is exploratory in nature & you have to take this journey through the eight limbs-Yama, Niyam, Asana, Pranayam, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyan and finally Samadhi. Even Patanjali didn’t mention how to take journey onwards from Dharana to Samadhi. It is you who have to take this forward.

Do it yourself & explore yoga in union with the supreme soul.

Embracing

Dealing with these difficult emotions and accepting that the past can’t be changed, our best bet to healing is embracing. Embracing opens our heart & mind. It makes space for all kind of emotions and thoughts. We are humans, not robots. We are designed to feel various kinds of emotions and to think anything. These are our normal tendencies or nature. When we go against these natural tendencies, we are in trouble. Embracing is a poem which can guide us to accept our nature with open arms.

Embracing is intriguing

It is neither winning

, nor it is losing.

Though on a higher plane,

It requires "no effort".

It is being indifferent

to the thunderstorm on a dark night.

Just as being observant

to the fluttering of butterfly in the sunshine.

Embracing is intriguing.

The path of embracing is difficult to pursue

Neither fixed nor defined.

The path is flexible and undefined

Yet is difficult to pursue.

It is a pursuit to nowhere far

But confined to the present nearby

It is to be patient

In the moments of doubt

Just as restraining

In the moments of arguments

It is a willingness to pursue

The path of embracing is difficult to pursue

Embracing is like a standing tree

One with nature.

Stable in pleasant weather

Just as flexible in stormy weather.

Waiting for the rain at a single place

Just as observing days & nights at a steady pace

Neither demanding an early sunrise

Nor demanding a delay in sunset

Cohabiting with the surrounding

Seeing the self in others

and others in the self.

Embracing is one with nature just like a tree.

Empathy

Strange but not rare,

Empathy brings strength.

When you see,

And feel,

Others' vulnerabilities,

The two stories meet,

Pain divides,

Perseverance multiplies,

Little hearts twinkle,

With extra shine,

Strange but not rare.