The inability to manage our thoughts proves to be the principal cause of suffering. Learning to tone down the ceaseless racket of disturbing thoughts is a decisive stage on the road to inner peace. When there is no control or discretion in expressing our negative emotions, we allow them to take charge of our sensibility and make us more vulnerable to emotional instability. This study shows the stark effect our emotional stability has on our physical well-being, 225 medical students took a personality test designed to measure their level of hostility. 25 years later, it was found that the most aggressive among them had suffered 5 times more cardiac events than those who were less irritable.
We can combat negative emotions by observing when they are building force and tuning your mind to its opposite positive quality as an anti-dote for example anger to patience. By habituating the mind to altruistic love, you gradually eliminate hatred, because the two states of mind can alternate but cannot co-exist..
We must understand that the nature of the mind is a continuously flowing current of thoughts. Thoughts are like waves of the ocean, they rise and dissolve and get reabsorbed into the mind. Recognizing the emotion at the very moment it forms, understanding that it is fueled only by a thought and allowing it to dissolve so to avoid the chain reaction it would normally unleash are all at the heart of Buddhist contemplative practice.
Yoga Poses for the Relaxations of Our Mind to Relieve Stress
Here is an exercise to help us tune into with our inner peace. We focus on the present moment without being carried away by the current of thoughts of the past and the future.
-Sit in a comfortable position, either crossed legged on the floor or on a chair. Try to remain still and focus your attention onto your mind.
-Try to bring your awareness to be present moment.
-Watch your thoughts rise and dissolve, without being affected by a single thought.
-Feel a waking presence in the gap between your thoughts, focusing on that silence that is free of any mental chatter.
-Gradually extend the interval between the dissolution of one thought and the rise of the next, maintain your awareness in this space.
-Feel the present moment, feel alert and mindful.
Yoga emphasizes on improving the quality of one’s mental fabric, its premise is to promote goodness and nourish a universal kindness. Modern psychiatry calls this “Positive Psychology” where positive attributes and emotional stability is cultivated to bring well-being and peace in everyone. Cognitive therapies such as mindfulness-based stress-reduction program of Jon Kabat-Zinn, is essentially focused on the present moment. Meditation techniques, balancing exercises and breathing rhythms are all key elements in yoga to increase one’s own awareness, connect with a mental calm and bring about serenity from the journey of yoga.
