What is “Stress"?
We all know stress when we see it (or feel it), yet it's hard to define. Society pushes us to attain wealth, power, and success along with a great personal and family life. "That's probably the biggest stressful dilemma in life. People are trying to pursue all of the material goods and all of the personal strivings. A way of describing stress is “the individual perception of losing control of his or her life” says a professor of cardiology of a famous institute. It is a mismatch between expectations and reality. It is also a fact that stress doesn’t just arise from unpleasant, aggravating events. Positive happenings like getting married, starting a new job, being pregnant, or winning an election can also tense you up. It is not the external events that are stressful but your perception of them. “Everything from headaches, stomach upset, skin rashes, back pain, racing heartbeat can be stress related. In fact, every organ in the system can be affected, from the skin to the heart.
Stress Management!
However, there are some conventional ways to overcome the edginess inside us, which we often read as well as try to follow.
a) Setting a realistic Goal (personal and professional) b) New Ways of Doing Things c) Structuring Relationships d) Humour in life e) Exercise and Music f) Don’t take out your frustration on wrong persons. g) Cut on caffeine & nicotine h) Nutritious Food i) Resolving Anger.
and many other ways.
But if you look at all of them, they are just mental exercise and not one of them can be done in a living and joyous manner because we try to become what we are not by forcing ourselves at a mental level. This is why we are not able to continue the above methods for too long and discard them as soon as we get temporary relief only to get trapped in the problem again. More than that, fighting with stress at the mental level is a lost battle.
Stress Management and Sahaja Yoga!
The only way to fight stress (imbalance) is to be in complete balance. To ascend in balance is what Sahaja Yoga is all about. But who would provide us the balance or the ascent? Will it come from outside? "Know thyself" is the main theme of all the scriptures. The power to change has to come from within our ownselves - One has to realize and understand oneself from within instead of tackling it from outside or forcing it mentally.
But how?
The answer is the awakening of that energy called ‘Kundalini’ which came from the all- pervading power of Divine love at the time of our birth, which is self-organizing and self-regenerating. Self Realization is the awakening of the Kundalini through the central channel, piercing the seven chakras and emerging at the top of the head (fontanel bone area) as a gentle "fountain" of coolness.
Each of the seven chakras has several spiritual qualities. These qualities are intact within us, and even though they might not always be manifest, they can never be destroyed. When the Kundalini is awakened, these qualities start manifesting spontaneously and express themselves in our life. Thus, through regular meditation, we become automatically very dynamic, creative, confident and at the same time very humble, loving and compassionate. It is a process, which starts to develop by itself when the Kundalini rises and starts to nourish our chakras.
The third chakra is the one that gives us the sense of generosity, complete satisfaction and contentment. On the left side, the main quality of this center is peace - clearing this chakra can relieve stress and tensions. On the right side, it looks after our liver which is the organ of our attention and power of concentration.
When enlightened by the Kundalini, the Nabhi chakra gives us our spiritual ascent, righteousness and inner sense of morality, and complete balance at all levels in our life.
But after Self Realization, everything can be cured through the purifying power of the Kundalini in meditation.
The sixth chakra is the chakra of forgiveness and compassion. Forgiveness is the power to let go of anger, hatred and resentment and to discover, in humility, the nobility and generosity of the Spirit.
A word about the three channels of energy: The left channel (blue) corresponds to our past, emotions, desires, and affectivity. Its termination is the superego, which is the storehouse of all our memories, habits and conditionings. The right channel (yellow) corresponds to our actions and planning, to our physical and mental activity. Its termination is the ego, which gives us the idea of “I-ness”, the sense that we are separate from the world. The central channel is the channel of ascent, it is the power, which sustains our evolution and guides us, consciously or unconsciously, towards the higher awareness of the Sahasrara (seventh chakra).
Sahaja Yoga was founded by HH Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi in 1970 and has since spread all around the world.
Through this process a person becomes moral, united, integrated and balanced. "Know thyself" is the main theme of all the scriptures - this becomes evident and one reaches the absolute understanding of oneself.
Thus, one becomes peaceful and joyous in life. The individual becomes collective like a drop falling into the ocean of compassion. This is the actualization of such transformation, which is taking place now, worldwide, and has been proven and experienced by hundreds of thousands in over 85 countries."
This inner awakening is called by many names: Self Realization, Second Birth, Enlightenment, Liberation, Moksha, Satori and it is the goal of all spiritual traditions of the world. In these modern times, through Sahaja ("spontaneous") Yoga ("union with one's Self"), this experience has become effortless and available to everyone, for the first time in the history of human spirituality.
Through the practice of Sahaja Yoga, our awareness gains a new dimension where absolute truth can be felt tangibly - on our central nervous system. As a result of this happening, our spiritual ascent takes place effortlessly and physical, mental and emotional balance are achieved as a byproduct of this growth of our awareness.
We then realize that we are not this body, mind, ego, these conditionings, emotions or intellect, but something of an eternal nature, which is always residing in our heart in a pure, undisturbed state - the Self or Spirit. The Spirit is the source of true knowledge, peace and joy. Self Realization is the actualization of this connection with our Spirit, which as Shri Mataji advocates, is the birthright of every human being.