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| Overcoming Dualities |
What are the
dualities that affect our well-being? Let us take real life situation to
understand this. We broadly find two categories of people in any work
environment.
THE FIRST CATEGORY HYPER-ACTIVE
The first category is of hyper-active people or go-getters and
second of hypo-active people or laid-backs. In the first category, a person
seems to be running the never-ending race against time and targets. His fast
and speeding system is fighting to cope with the daily stress.
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| Hypo Activity |
THE SECOND CATEGORY HYPO-ACTIVITY
In the second
category of hypo-activity, there is no paucity of time and the mind is
determined not to think anything productive or creative. There is inertia at
the level of mind. Any activity given to such an individual becomes a source of
tremendous stress.
Whether it is
hyper-activity or hypo-activity, both phases represent imbalance. For a
hyper-active person it is high ambition, accomplishments and desires which are
causing burnouts, fatigue and stress. On the other extreme, inability to work
and resistance to think is a cause of stress when one is asked to work manually
or think creatively. In fact, both these phases of over and under
are found in each mind in varying degrees. This is only one aspect of dualities
that affect our well-being. Other being heat and cold, pain and pleasure, hate
and love, success and failure and so on. If we observe carefully, each pair of
opposite comes with the effect stimulation and sedation. One part
makes us to excite and another drags us into depression. There seems to be no
balance. Therefore, all these phases of opposites accumulate stress in the body
in their own manner. The Solution to overcome these opposites is hidden in the
technique of Asana. That is why in Yogsutra, asana
is described as a practice to overcome the conflicts (pair of opposites
or Dvandvas)
Any solution applied
to one phase may not work for the other. Therefore, the technique of Asana
comes with the wisdom of stimulation and relaxation. Every Yogasana is a
combination of Stimulation and Relaxation. Each stimulation, through gentle
stretch ends the lethargy and opens the constriction and then the release of
stimulation brings relaxation. At the same time, relaxation with inner
awareness helps in recognizing the stress and its effective release form the
body. This combination of stimulation and relaxation is beautifully captured in
the practice of Cyclic Meditation (CM) developed by VYASA, research
foundation. It is the series of successive stimulations and relaxations that
can solve the complex problem of mind ingrained with dualities.
In our Hatha YogaTTC we teach cyclic meditation in order to help students assimilate the
mechanism of Asana as mentioned in the Yogsutra. Overcoming the dvandvas
or opposites through Yoga can greatly enhance one’s capabilities and overall
well-being.
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