How to Manage Stress

Why We May Be Struggling to Meditate - and How Yoga Healing Modalities Help Us Find Peace - (and explain our existence and purpose of life)

Heal Me – My Beloved Father

After nearly two decades working with clients as a therapist and healer, I have experienced much transformation, and I feel it will be helpful if I describe what actually happens in the healing room and my findings.

We, made in God’s image, know how to heal, why then is there is so much illness and disease?

Stress is the common risk factor of 75-90% of disease and up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints. Stress can interfere with your physical functioning and bodily processes.

Stress, if not managed, and becoming chronic stress, can lead to many health problems, physically and mentally. The term stress, as it relates to the human condition first emerged in scientific literature in the 1930s and did not enter the popular vernacular until the1970s. Prior to stress in our vocabulary, the word nervousness was commonly used in the first part of the 20th Century, and similar, though not exactly equivalent concepts, symptoms were seen as imbalances in the nervous system and diagnosed as neurological disorders.

Well, modern life, with all its uncertainty is constantly stressful; fast-paced and our everyday filled with over-stimulation.

So how do we partake in life, like actually participate, whilst maintaining our equilibrium and cultivating an equanimous mind – And madness goes on all around us!

When you make time for self-care, and learn methods to balance a dysregulated nervous system, by accessing the parasympathetic nervous system – to rest and find harmony and ultimately to heal – you are moving out of the state of high alert.

We are made to deal with stressful, even life-threatening situations – a chemical response happens in our endocrine (hormonal) system, and then it dissipates, once the threat has passed and we are out of danger, until balance and harmony is restored.

However, if there is not harmony within us, and our default setting is in the fight or flight mode, as in chronic stress, so, too much, for longer periods of time, too often, and our natural state of peace is so far from our everyday of normal, then we are going to suffer, and pay a price.

Innate within us all; is love, peace and joy – Ever-New-Bliss.

How do we access all this?

We need to slow our world down, we need to listen – our soul; deeply hidden, is longing to be heard.

But we have to make time and create space for this – daily – to work on yourself every day.

In the ‘Treatment Room,’ clients and students come for healing and respite, using different modalities; of Yoga and Meditation, Reiki Healing or Spiritual Coaching as some examples, I am presented with a body and mind, in its present state, and I actually witness the transformation, as it happens. From a scientific perspective, if we focus on the physiological changes first; the way the breathing slows down and deepens, the body becomes noticeably heavy, as it ‘surrenders,’ – if the heart rate and blood pressure were monitored, there would be measured changes.

As relaxation deepens, the breath can slow so much, there are longer gaps – moments of suspended breathing where there is no breath at all – this means you are truly resting the heart; as you would in proper meditation.

The physical changes in the body have a positive consequence on the mind; the quality of our thoughts and emotions, the shift of our mindset as we experience the calm and tranquility of the quietude.

To take respite from the world, is where the deep healing can happen, at the level of the heart, at the level of the soul. Where all thoughts of the world cease, and you are with God (or Spirit).

The benefits on your nervous system will be experienced – I have had clients who do not want to leave, because they literally are not ready to press the ‘accelerator’ of life but need dwell in the peace that permeates all the moments of existence; that they have fleetingly felt.

Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in ‘Man’s Eternal Quest’ about ‘Nervousness – Cause and Cure’

‘Nervousness is no simple ailment; it is a deadly enemy with far-reaching effects.’ He said, that physically, it is very difficult to heal any disease so long as we have nervousness – and ‘Spiritually, an imbalance of life-force in the body makes it extremely hard for the devotee to concentrate or meditate deeply enough to acquire peace and wisdom.’

From the Yoga perspective, in particular the first two limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras; First - Yama and Second – Niyama, we are taught how to create self-control and mental peace, as a logical scientific path and the first two steps to form a foundation upon which we can build; for good posture, for interiorisation, for concentration, for meditation and ultimately Samadhi.

Over the years, there has been research into the complicated subject of stress.

And we are able to have what is known as a ‘healthy stress response’, which is described as a big response, followed by a rapid decline. However, looking into how we are when nothing is happening, into what we are carrying into ‘unconscious stress’ – this is hidden stress; and self-created – as opposed to some big event happening in life, and can be detrimental to our health and well-being, playing havoc with our balance and harmony.

So, there are obvious stressors, but many people are stressed even in the absence of major challenges.

We need solutions to the causes of this excessive hidden stress, and the consequent release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline – long-term exposure to high levels can negatively impact many bodily processes increasing the risk of health issues.

Solutions are found in Yoga and the heart of Yoga which is meditation, in Yama and Niyama and the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga; Raja (or Royal Yoga). And in accessing the subtle anatomy of our Self, such as working with the elegant Chakra system, becoming more introspective and being in the silence. Creating a daily practice (sadhana), and being disciplined to work on ourself every day; being guided by the wisdom of Yoga and Yogic philosophy, and by investing in developing your spirituality – all lead to a more peaceful, intelligently lived life, where you are the Master of your Mind, which is actually the goal of Yoga.

Paramahansa Yogananda said ‘The sufferer of nervousness must be willing to analyse his condition and remove the disintegrating emotions and negative thoughts that are little by little destroying him. Objective analysis of one’s problems and maintaining calmness in all situations of life will heal the most persistant case of nervousness.’

Some causes of unconscious stress:  

Number 1: Uncertainty – the unpredictability of life – so much time and energy spent worrying about what is coming. This does make sense because we plan for the future – the brain has evolved as a prediction machine.

Paramahansa Yogananda has a talk on ‘Ridding the consciousness of worry’ he said ‘How tragic is this world! It is a place of uncertainty. But no matter what has happened to you, if you throw yourself at the feet of the Father and seek His mercy He will lift you up and show you that life is but a dream.’

And he says ‘prapatti’, which means to take refuge in God and ‘sharanagati’, flinging oneself on the Divine Compassion, these are paths of the highest knowledge – because they directly counteract the inescapable uncertainty of our mortal existence.

The fifth niyama, which Patanjali mentions more than any other of the yama and niyama – Ishvara-Pranidhana – complete surrender to God – allows us ‘To stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.’

But how do we know if we are experiencing anxiety due to uncertainty; because the insidious aspect of this stress is that it is often hidden from us. Uncertainty stress is said to be one of the most pernicious forms of chronic stress, it is subtle, quiet and pervasive and we can be unaware to its nature, over months, or years – putting us in a state of higher stress arousal – this stress lurking in the shadows, while we rest and even while we sleep, if we do not find ways to attend to it.

And one way is to practice the presence of God; which is principally a method for finding God. The practice creates peace of mind, and that state allows for the state of Yoga to arise – for God to manifest in our lives.

Research was undertaken to show how uncertainty can damage us, in the form of a computer game – there were certain outcomes; like finding a snake under a rock, which might cause a mild electric shock to the hand and there were three groups; one group never received the shock, one group half of the time and the participants in the third group received the mild shock all of the time. The most stressed, by measurement of, galvanic skin response, sweat gland activity, heart rate, etc, were the group receiving the shock half of the time, because they experienced the most uncertainty – their sympathetic nervous system on high vigilance, increased heart rate, dilated pupils.

This showed that it was not the actual shock that spiked stress, it was the uncertainty. This group also performed the worst and took longer to make decisions.

The learning is to become more tolerant of uncertainty – in our day, in our life and in our future.

To be aware of strong expectations, to remind ourselves to not get attached – to practice non-attachment. As it is translated from the Bhagavad-Gita – ‘Renunciation – the relinquishment of actions, desires and attachments that impede soul progress; is the compendious principle characterizing the Gita message.

A professor of Behavioural Science; Elissa Epel and an expert in the field of stress research writes, ‘Our bodies get worn down more quickly under chronic stress, and uncertainty is the most ubiquitous form of chronic stress. Thus, the antidote is; we need to turn off our threat response to uncertainty. We need to shift our mindset to accept uncertainty as the defining condition of our lives, instead of fighting against it or feeling threatened by it.’

By being non-attached to the world and attached to God, we can turn off our threat response to uncertainty.

This does not mean being passive in the face of challenges. In Paramahansa Yogananda’s, ‘Scientific Healing Affirmations’, he says, ‘Ask Gods aid, but realise that you yourself, as His beloved child, are employing His gifts of will, emotion and reason, to solve all difficult problems of life. A balance should be struck between the medieval idea of wholly depending on God and the modern way of sole-reliance on the ego.’

So this, (uncertainty), is just one psychological trait or habit that can cause stress, and impact our health and aging. And we will be looking at two more psychological causes of stress – but what about the physiological causes of stress – and these can be detrimental to our efforts to meditate – we tend to think of the psychological causes, for example; the death of a loved one, or divorce, or loss of employment.

Thomas Guillams, in his book on, ‘The Role of Stress,’ lists four general categories of stressors that can cause cortisol release and other hormonal changes:

1.      Life Events – that may trigger the physiological system in the body that mediates stress.

2.      Novelty – when something is novel.

3.      Unpredictability – threats to our physical safety.

4.      Loss of Control     

There is actually an acronym for this called NUTS: Novelty, Unpredictability, Threats, Sense of control.

Three other categories that cause stress and so worth mentioning are:

1.      Circadian disruption – such as insomnia, jet-lag, night-shift work.

2.      Glycemic dysregulation – such as from poor diet choices or physical inactivity.

3.      Inflammatory signals – such as from allergies or diseases, or physical inactivity.

These can affect our ability to meditate deeply, and stressful conditions in the body affect our mind.

Going back to Patanjali’s Yama and Niyama; the first niyama is Sauca – purity of body and mind and the third; Tapas – capacity for self-discipline. It is noted that Patanjali devoted most of the ten yama and niyama to the psychological causes of stress, which could be a reflection of how modern life has created more ways for us to create physiological stress in our bodies and brains than in ancient times.

There are things available to us now that can be harmful, and we might not realise it. And some of the physiological stressors can be just as insidious and hidden as uncertainty tolerance is in the realm of psychological stress.

The good news is, we can do something about them – through our regular daily Yoga and meditation practice (sadhana), we take control of our lives and make the changes we need to make.

Number 2: Loss of control; the second major cause of hidden stress.

Epel writes, ‘We spend a ton of mental energy attempting to solve things that are beyond our control. Our distress lies in that friction between what we believe should be possible and what is possible.’

Therefore, acceptance is key; accepting we cannot control other people, for example, or whether somebody has a blood vessel contract to cause a stroke.

We can use introspection to understand what we can control and what we cannot.

One of Robert Sapolsky’s seven recommended practices for stress management, was to get more control, more predictability in your life. It is generally acknowledged that a high sense of perceived control in life is associated with being happy, healthy and wealthy.

But control is a double-edged sword. Epel writes, ‘It works as a tactic when we have a stable, predictable environment, but not when we don’t.’

For any number of reasons, our predictable environment can be swept away at any moment.

So, we are trying to control uncontrollable things in the present, but we also sometimes try to control the past. We can experience extreme emotions and rumination, replaying over and over, thoughts or situations that have already occurred. In dialectical behaviour therapy, one practice offered is to simply remind yourself that this has happened, reality as it is.

Sri Yukteswar said, ‘Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.’

The practice is acceptance; kind acceptance of what is – Be compassionate with yourself. Acceptance is the piece of the puzzle that leads to stress resilience.

So the principles of surrender, renunciation and non-attachment, are all as relevant for loss of control as they are for unpredictability, and we are reminded how the ancient wisdom of Yoga can be made relevant for life today.

We have to renounce our desire for things to be other than what they unavoidably are – when we can do that, the associated stress disappears.

Number 3: Stress can be good.

A third important practice for dealing with stress, is to realise that stress can actually be a good thing if we can (1) Embrace uncertainty and (2) Accept what we cannot control and find excitement in challenges.

Kelly McGonigal in her book, ‘The Upside of Stress, Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at it,’ said ‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that any moment can become a turning point in how you experience stress if you choose to make it one.’ ‘The interesting thing about the science of stress is that despite the overwhelmingly accepted idea that stress is harmful, the research tells a slightly different story:

-        Stress is harmful, except when it’s not.

-        Stress increases the risk of health problems, except when people regularly give back to their communities.

-        Stress increases the risk of dying, except when people have a sense of purpose.

-        Stress increases the risk of depression, except when people see a benefit in their struggles.

-        Stress is paralysing, except when people perceive themselves as capable.

-        Stress is debilitating, except when it helps you perform.

-        Stress makes people selfish, except when it helps; when it makes them altruistic.

So for every harmful outcome that we can think of, there is an exception that erases the expected association between stress and something bad, and often replaces it with an unexpected benefit.

What makes these exceptions so interesting, is that they’re hardly exceptional at all. The things that protect us from the dreaded dangers of stress are all attainable.’

Nervousness then, might be a better term than stress; because we want to cure nervousness, more than stress. Stress, we want to learn how to manage, and recognize as a good thing. This is the third practice! And an opportunity to reflect on – How do I face up to challenges? And to remind ourselves that our true nature as children of God, is one of potentially limitless power – Lions, as opposed to the very limited power we have as egos, or sheep.

Epel’s metaphor, ‘Be the lion’ has to do with the situation of a lion chasing a gazelle. It is equally stressful for both, but the lion sees the situation as a challenge, whereas the gazelle sees the situation as a threat. And the physiological profiles of the lion and the gazelle are very different.

 She writes, ‘In this clear-cut example from the animal world, there is a lesson here for us. Most of us are not regularly being chased by a life-threatening lion, but our bodies are behaving as though we are. Too often we are responding to the stressors that pop up over the course of a day as though they are a survival threat to fight off or run from, rather than a meal to take down. Our bodies shoot into fight or flight mode, dumping cortisol and adrenaline into our bloodstreams, rocketing our nervous system into a state of fear and vigilance.’

‘And when that response happens full blown or even half blown with each stressful or unexpected event that comes along, our bodies no longer know how to come down from the stress.’

In his story, ‘The Lion Who Became a Sheep,’ Paramahansa Yogananda says, ‘The story fittingly illustrates how most of us, though made in the all-powerful image of the Divine Lion of the Universe, remember only being born and brought up in the sheepfold of mortal weakness. So we bleat with fear at the predators of sickness, lack, sorrow and death, instead of roaring with immortality and power and preying on mortal delusion and ignorance.’

We can learn to improve our response to do better, as with the other causes of hidden stress.

And introspect whether anxiety about the future, or the present, or the past, might be causing some hidden stress in your life.

Reflecting and practicing, surrendering those concerns to God, with a mental attitude of Prapatti ‘taking refuge,’ or sharanagati; ‘flinging oneself on the Divine Companion,’ or Ishvara-pranidhana; surrender to God. And then ask yourself, whether you notice a difference to how you feel about life and the world and your place in it?

So, it is not about eradicating stress, to be able to go deeper in meditation, but rather learning how to prevent ourselves from getting into a state of excessive stress or nervousness, then we can concentrate (dharana), we can meditate (dhyana), and God is able to do the rest in Samadhi.

Paramahansa Yogananda describes what happens then; ‘Like an ocean, the power of God sweeps in, surging through the heart in a cleansing flood, removing all obstructions of delusive doubt, nervousness, and fear. The delusion of matter, the consciousness of being only a mortal body, is overcome by contacting the sweet serenity of Spirit, attainable by daily meditation. Then you know that the body is a little ‘bubble of energy in His Cosmic Sea.’

Think of it like, once we have prepared the body (asana) (pranayama), and mind (yama and niyama), and withdrawn the disturbance of the senses (pratyahara), we then are ready to give our self to a Higher power; to the Divine, and this is how we experience true, proper meditation, and deep surrender.

This is the purpose of the eight-limbed path of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga – Raja (Royal) Yoga, and the how, of achieving the goal of Yoga; union with God.

In conclusion – I hope this has helped to give a better understanding of the importance of our effort to create a daily meditation practice, and crucial to be able to live in this world, with love, peace, joy and wisdom – leading to Self-realisation and ever-new-Bliss, as our goal of life.

We have tendencies and weaknesses, can be easily influenced and impressionable, in this state of vulnerability we can search outside of our self, being reliant on others opinions, or jump on current trends, oftentimes in desperation, thus over-complicating solutions we seek.

The answers are simple; we already have the answers, but lack guidance.

We must employ our common sense, understand everything is linked to how we think, and use our God given free will, with wisdom, ethical responsibility, intuition, and maturity.

A lack of; maturity, faith in our intuitive nature that transcends our five sense perception, and moral behaviour, will result in our intelligence working against us, and affect all of our relationships – the battle of life, so omnisciently told in the Bhagavad-Gita, will be one of greater suffering.

Be guided to the wisdom of Yoga and the heart of Yoga; Meditation, prayer and truth-filled affirmations, and set an intention, for life, to learn reliable, truthful ways, to develop your spirituality.

And become a sincere, disciplined, truth-seeker of life.

Become a Master of your Mind.

Be in the world but Not of it.

‘Everything you do should be done with peace. That is the best medicine for your body, mind, and soul.’ Paramahansa Yogananda

‘…you realise that all along there was something tremendous within you, and you did not know it.’ Paramahansa Yogananda

                           How to Manage Stress

Why We May Be Struggling to Meditate - and How Yoga Healing Modalities Help Us Find Peace - (and explain our existence and purpose of life)

                                               Heal Me – My Beloved Father

After nearly two decades working with clients as a therapist and healer, I have experienced much transformation, and I feel it will be helpful if I describe what actually happens in the healing room and my findings.

We, made in God’s image, know how to heal, why then is there is so much illness and disease?

Stress is the common risk factor of 75-90% of disease and up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints. Stress can interfere with your physical functioning and bodily processes.

Stress, if not managed, and becoming chronic stress, can lead to many health problems, physically and mentally. The term stress, as it relates to the human condition first emerged in scientific literature in the 1930s and did not enter the popular vernacular until the1970s. Prior to stress in our vocabulary, the word nervousness was commonly used in the first part of the 20th Century, and similar, though not exactly equivalent concepts, symptoms were seen as imbalances in the nervous system and diagnosed as neurological disorders.

Well, modern life, with all its uncertainty is constantly stressful; fast-paced and our everyday filled with over-stimulation.

So how do we partake in life, like actually participate, whilst maintaining our equilibrium and cultivating an equanimous mind – And madness goes on all around us!

When you make time for self-care, and learn methods to balance a dysregulated nervous system, by accessing the parasympathetic nervous system – to rest and find harmony and ultimately to heal – you are moving out of the state of high alert.

We are made to deal with stressful, even life-threatening situations – a chemical response happens in our endocrine (hormonal) system, and then it dissipates, once the threat has passed and we are out of danger, until balance and harmony is restored.

However, if there is not harmony within us, and our default setting is in the fight or flight mode, as in chronic stress, so, too much, for longer periods of time, too often, and our natural state of peace is so far from our everyday of normal, then we are going to suffer, and pay a price.

Innate within us all; is love, peace and joy – Ever-New-Bliss.

How do we access all this?

We need to slow our world down, we need to listen – our soul; deeply hidden, is longing to be heard.

But we have to make time and create space for this – daily – to work on yourself every day.

In the ‘Treatment Room,’ clients and students come for healing and respite, using different modalities; of Yoga and Meditation, Reiki Healing or Spiritual Coaching as some examples, I am presented with a body and mind, in its present state, and I actually witness the transformation, as it happens. From a scientific perspective, if we focus on the physiological changes first; the way the breathing slows down and deepens, the body becomes noticeably heavy, as it ‘surrenders,’ – if the heart rate and blood pressure were monitored, there would be measured changes.

As relaxation deepens, the breath can slow so much, there are longer gaps – moments of suspended breathing where there is no breath at all – this means you are truly resting the heart; as you would in proper meditation.

The physical changes in the body have a positive consequence on the mind; the quality of our thoughts and emotions, the shift of our mindset as we experience the calm and tranquility of the quietude.

To take respite from the world, is where the deep healing can happen, at the level of the heart, at the level of the soul. Where all thoughts of the world cease, and you are with God (or Spirit).

The benefits on your nervous system will be experienced – I have had clients who do not want to leave, because they literally are not ready to press the ‘accelerator’ of life but need dwell in the peace that permeates all the moments of existence; that they have fleetingly felt.

Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in ‘Man’s Eternal Quest’ about ‘Nervousness – Cause and Cure’

‘Nervousness is no simple ailment; it is a deadly enemy with far-reaching effects.’ He said, that physically, it is very difficult to heal any disease so long as we have nervousness – and ‘Spiritually, an imbalance of life-force in the body makes it extremely hard for the devotee to concentrate or meditate deeply enough to acquire peace and wisdom.’

From the Yoga perspective, in particular the first two limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras; First - Yama and Second – Niyama, we are taught how to create self-control and mental peace, as a logical scientific path and the first two steps to form a foundation upon which we can build; for good posture, for interiorisation, for concentration, for meditation and ultimately Samadhi.

Over the years, there has been research into the complicated subject of stress.

And we are able to have what is known as a ‘healthy stress response’, which is described as a big response, followed by a rapid decline. However, looking into how we are when nothing is happening, into what we are carrying into ‘unconscious stress’ – this is hidden stress; and self-created – as opposed to some big event happening in life, and can be detrimental to our health and well-being, playing havoc with our balance and harmony.

So, there are obvious stressors, but many people are stressed even in the absence of major challenges.

We need solutions to the causes of this excessive hidden stress, and the consequent release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline – long-term exposure to high levels can negatively impact many bodily processes increasing the risk of health issues.

Solutions are found in Yoga and the heart of Yoga which is meditation, in Yama and Niyama and the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga; Raja (or Royal Yoga). And in accessing the subtle anatomy of our Self, such as working with the elegant Chakra system, becoming more introspective and being in the silence. Creating a daily practice (sadhana), and being disciplined to work on ourself every day; being guided by the wisdom of Yoga and Yogic philosophy, and by investing in developing your spirituality – all lead to a more peaceful, intelligently lived life, where you are the Master of your Mind, which is actually the goal of Yoga.

Paramahansa Yogananda said ‘The sufferer of nervousness must be willing to analyse his condition and remove the disintegrating emotions and negative thoughts that are little by little destroying him. Objective analysis of one’s problems and maintaining calmness in all situations of life will heal the most persistant case of nervousness.’

Some causes of unconscious stress:  

Number 1: Uncertainty – the unpredictability of life – so much time and energy spent worrying about what is coming. This does make sense because we plan for the future – the brain has evolved as a prediction machine.

Paramahansa Yogananda has a talk on ‘Ridding the consciousness of worry’ he said ‘How tragic is this world! It is a place of uncertainty. But no matter what has happened to you, if you throw yourself at the feet of the Father and seek His mercy He will lift you up and show you that life is but a dream.’

And he says ‘prapatti’, which means to take refuge in God and ‘sharanagati’, flinging oneself on the Divine Compassion, these are paths of the highest knowledge – because they directly counteract the inescapable uncertainty of our mortal existence.

The fifth niyama, which Patanjali mentions more than any other of the yama and niyama – Ishvara-Pranidhana – complete surrender to God – allows us ‘To stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.’

But how do we know if we are experiencing anxiety due to uncertainty; because the insidious aspect of this stress is that it is often hidden from us. Uncertainty stress is said to be one of the most pernicious forms of chronic stress, it is subtle, quiet and pervasive and we can be unaware to its nature, over months, or years – putting us in a state of higher stress arousal – this stress lurking in the shadows, while we rest and even while we sleep, if we do not find ways to attend to it.

And one way is to practice the presence of God; which is principally a method for finding God. The practice creates peace of mind, and that state allows for the state of Yoga to arise – for God to manifest in our lives.

Research was undertaken to show how uncertainty can damage us, in the form of a computer game – there were certain outcomes; like finding a snake under a rock, which might cause a mild electric shock to the hand and there were three groups; one group never received the shock, one group half of the time and the participants in the third group received the mild shock all of the time. The most stressed, by measurement of, galvanic skin response, sweat gland activity, heart rate, etc, were the group receiving the shock half of the time, because they experienced the most uncertainty – their sympathetic nervous system on high vigilance, increased heart rate, dilated pupils.

This showed that it was not the actual shock that spiked stress, it was the uncertainty. This group also performed the worst and took longer to make decisions.

The learning is to become more tolerant of uncertainty – in our day, in our life and in our future.

To be aware of strong expectations, to remind ourselves to not get attached – to practice non-attachment. As it is translated from the Bhagavad-Gita – ‘Renunciation – the relinquishment of actions, desires and attachments that impede soul progress; is the compendious principle characterizing the Gita message.

A professor of Behavioural Science; Elissa Epel and an expert in the field of stress research writes, ‘Our bodies get worn down more quickly under chronic stress, and uncertainty is the most ubiquitous form of chronic stress. Thus, the antidote is; we need to turn off our threat response to uncertainty. We need to shift our mindset to accept uncertainty as the defining condition of our lives, instead of fighting against it or feeling threatened by it.’

By being non-attached to the world and attached to God, we can turn off our threat response to uncertainty.

This does not mean being passive in the face of challenges. In Paramahansa Yogananda’s, ‘Scientific Healing Affirmations’, he says, ‘Ask Gods aid, but realise that you yourself, as His beloved child, are employing His gifts of will, emotion and reason, to solve all difficult problems of life. A balance should be struck between the medieval idea of wholly depending on God and the modern way of sole-reliance on the ego.’

So this, (uncertainty), is just one psychological trait or habit that can cause stress, and impact our health and aging. And we will be looking at two more psychological causes of stress – but what about the physiological causes of stress – and these can be detrimental to our efforts to meditate – we tend to think of the psychological causes, for example; the death of a loved one, or divorce, or loss of employment.

Thomas Guillams, in his book on, ‘The Role of Stress,’ lists four general categories of stressors that can cause cortisol release and other hormonal changes:

1.      Life Events – that may trigger the physiological system in the body that mediates stress.

2.      Novelty – when something is novel.

3.      Unpredictability – threats to our physical safety.

4.      Loss of Control     

There is actually an acronym for this called NUTS: Novelty, Unpredictability, Threats, Sense of control.

Three other categories that cause stress and so worth mentioning are:

1.      Circadian disruption – such as insomnia, jet-lag, night-shift work.

2.      Glycemic dysregulation – such as from poor diet choices or physical inactivity.

3.      Inflammatory signals – such as from allergies or diseases, or physical inactivity.

These can affect our ability to meditate deeply, and stressful conditions in the body affect our mind.

Going back to Patanjali’s Yama and Niyama; the first niyama is Sauca – purity of body and mind and the third; Tapas – capacity for self-discipline. It is noted that Patanjali devoted most of the ten yama and niyama to the psychological causes of stress, which could be a reflection of how modern life has created more ways for us to create physiological stress in our bodies and brains than in ancient times.

There are things available to us now that can be harmful, and we might not realise it. And some of the physiological stressors can be just as insidious and hidden as uncertainty tolerance is in the realm of psychological stress.

The good news is, we can do something about them – through our regular daily Yoga and meditation practice (sadhana), we take control of our lives and make the changes we need to make.

Number 2: Loss of control; the second major cause of hidden stress.

Epel writes, ‘We spend a ton of mental energy attempting to solve things that are beyond our control. Our distress lies in that friction between what we believe should be possible and what is possible.’

Therefore, acceptance is key; accepting we cannot control other people, for example, or whether somebody has a blood vessel contract to cause a stroke.

We can use introspection to understand what we can control and what we cannot.

One of Robert Sapolsky’s seven recommended practices for stress management, was to get more control, more predictability in your life. It is generally acknowledged that a high sense of perceived control in life is associated with being happy, healthy and wealthy.

But control is a double-edged sword. Epel writes, ‘It works as a tactic when we have a stable, predictable environment, but not when we don’t.’

For any number of reasons, our predictable environment can be swept away at any moment.

So, we are trying to control uncontrollable things in the present, but we also sometimes try to control the past. We can experience extreme emotions and rumination, replaying over and over, thoughts or situations that have already occurred. In dialectical behaviour therapy, one practice offered is to simply remind yourself that this has happened, reality as it is.

Sri Yukteswar said, ‘Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.’

The practice is acceptance; kind acceptance of what is – Be compassionate with yourself. Acceptance is the piece of the puzzle that leads to stress resilience.

So the principles of surrender, renunciation and non-attachment, are all as relevant for loss of control as they are for unpredictability, and we are reminded how the ancient wisdom of Yoga can be made relevant for life today.

We have to renounce our desire for things to be other than what they unavoidably are – when we can do that, the associated stress disappears.

Number 3: Stress can be good.

A third important practice for dealing with stress, is to realise that stress can actually be a good thing if we can (1) Embrace uncertainty and (2) Accept what we cannot control and find excitement in challenges.

Kelly McGonigal in her book, ‘The Upside of Stress, Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at it,’ said ‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that any moment can become a turning point in how you experience stress if you choose to make it one.’ ‘The interesting thing about the science of stress is that despite the overwhelmingly accepted idea that stress is harmful, the research tells a slightly different story:

-        Stress is harmful, except when it’s not.

-        Stress increases the risk of health problems, except when people regularly give back to their communities.

-        Stress increases the risk of dying, except when people have a sense of purpose.

-        Stress increases the risk of depression, except when people see a benefit in their struggles.

-        Stress is paralyzing, except when people perceive themselves as capable.

-        Stress is debilitating, except when it helps you perform.

-        Stress makes people selfish, except when it helps; when it makes them altruistic.

So for every harmful outcome that we can think of, there is an exception that erases the expected association between stress and something bad, and often replaces it with an unexpected benefit.

What makes these exceptions so interesting, is that they’re hardly exceptional at all. The things that protect us from the dreaded dangers of stress are all attainable.’

Nervousness then, might be a better term than stress; because we want to cure nervousness, more than stress. Stress, we want to learn how to manage, and recognize as a good thing. This is the third practice! And an opportunity to reflect on – How do I face up to challenges? And to remind ourselves that our true nature as children of God, is one of potentially limitless power – Lions, as opposed to the very limited power we have as egos, or sheep.

Epel’s metaphor, ‘Be the lion’ has to do with the situation of a lion chasing a gazelle. It is equally stressful for both, but the lion sees the situation as a challenge, whereas the gazelle sees the situation as a threat. And the physiological profiles of the lion and the gazelle are very different.

 She writes, ‘In this clear-cut example from the animal world, there is a lesson here for us. Most of us are not regularly being chased by a life-threatening lion, but our bodies are behaving as though we are. Too often we are responding to the stressors that pop up over the course of a day as though they are a survival threat to fight off or run from, rather than a meal to take down. Our bodies shoot into fight or flight mode, dumping cortisol and adrenaline into our bloodstreams, rocketing our nervous system into a state of fear and vigilance.’

‘And when that response happens full blown or even half blown with each stressful or unexpected event that comes along, our bodies no longer know how to come down from the stress.’

In his story, ‘The Lion Who Became a Sheep,’ Paramahansa Yogananda says, ‘The story fittingly illustrates how most of us, though made in the all-powerful image of the Divine Lion of the Universe, remember only being born and brought up in the sheepfold of mortal weakness. So we bleat with fear at the predators of sickness, lack, sorrow and death, instead of roaring with immortality and power and preying on mortal delusion and ignorance.’

We can learn to improve our response to do better, as with the other causes of hidden stress.

And introspect whether anxiety about the future, or the present, or the past, might be causing some hidden stress in your life.

Reflecting and practicing, surrendering those concerns to God, with a mental attitude of Prapatti ‘taking refuge,’ or sharanagati; ‘flinging oneself on the Divine Companion,’ or Ishvara-pranidhana; surrender to God. And then ask yourself, whether you notice a difference to how you feel about life and the world and your place in it?

So, it is not about eradicating stress, to be able to go deeper in meditation, but rather learning how to prevent ourselves from getting into a state of excessive stress or nervousness, then we can concentrate (dharana), we can meditate (dhyana), and God is able to do the rest in Samadhi.

Paramahansa Yogananda describes what happens then; ‘Like an ocean, the power of God sweeps in, surging through the heart in a cleansing flood, removing all obstructions of delusive doubt, nervousness, and fear. The delusion of matter, the consciousness of being only a mortal body, is overcome by contacting the sweet serenity of Spirit, attainable by daily meditation. Then you know that the body is a little ‘bubble of energy in His Cosmic Sea.’

Think of it like, once we have prepared the body (asana) (pranayama), and mind (yama and niyama), and withdrawn the disturbance of the senses (pratyahara), we then are ready to give our self to a Higher power; to the Divine, and this is how we experience true, proper meditation, and deep surrender.

This is the purpose of the eight-limbed path of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga – Raja (Royal) Yoga, and the how, of achieving the goal of Yoga; union with God.

In conclusion – I hope this has helped to give a better understanding of the importance of our effort to create a daily meditation practice, and crucial to be able to live in this world, with love, peace, joy and wisdom – leading to Self-realisation and ever-new-Bliss, as our goal of life.

We have tendencies and weaknesses, can be easily influenced and impressionable, in this state of vulnerability we can search outside of our self, being reliant on others opinions, or jump on current trends, oftentimes in desperation, thus over-complicating solutions we seek.

The answers are simple; we already have the answers, but lack guidance.

We must employ our common sense, understand everything is linked to how we think, and use our God given free will, with wisdom, ethical responsibility, intuition, and maturity.

A lack of; maturity, faith in our intuitive nature that transcends our five sense perception, and moral behaviour, will result in our intelligence working against us, and affect all of our relationships – the battle of life, so omnisciently told in the Bhagavad-Gita, will be one of greater suffering.

Be guided to the wisdom of Yoga and the heart of Yoga; Meditation, prayer and truth-filled affirmations, and set an intention, for life, to learn reliable, truthful ways, to develop your spirituality.

And become a sincere, disciplined, truth-seeker of life.

Become a Master of your Mind.

Be in the world but Not of it.

‘Everything you do should be done with peace. That is the best medicine for your body, mind, and soul.’ Paramahansa Yogananda

‘…you realise that all along there was something tremendous within you, and you did not know it.’ Paramahansa Yogananda

                           How to Manage Stress

Why We May Be Struggling to Meditate - and How Yoga Healing Modalities Help Us Find Peace - (and explain our existence and purpose of life)

                                               Heal Me – My Beloved Father

After nearly two decades working with clients as a therapist and healer, I have experienced much transformation, and I feel it will be helpful if I describe what actually happens in the healing room and my findings.

We, made in God’s image, know how to heal, why then is there is so much illness and disease?

Stress is the common risk factor of 75-90% of disease and up to 90% of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress-related complaints. Stress can interfere with your physical functioning and bodily processes.

Stress, if not managed, and becoming chronic stress, can lead to many health problems, physically and mentally. The term stress, as it relates to the human condition first emerged in scientific literature in the 1930s and did not enter the popular vernacular until the1970s. Prior to stress in our vocabulary, the word nervousness was commonly used in the first part of the 20th Century, and similar, though not exactly equivalent concepts, symptoms were seen as imbalances in the nervous system and diagnosed as neurological disorders.

Well, modern life, with all its uncertainty is constantly stressful; fast-paced and our everyday filled with over-stimulation.

So how do we partake in life, like actually participate, whilst maintaining our equilibrium and cultivating an equanimous mind – And madness goes on all around us!

When you make time for self-care, and learn methods to balance a dysregulated nervous system, by accessing the parasympathetic nervous system – to rest and find harmony and ultimately to heal – you are moving out of the state of high alert.

We are made to deal with stressful, even life-threatening situations – a chemical response happens in our endocrine (hormonal) system, and then it dissipates, once the threat has passed and we are out of danger, until balance and harmony is restored.

However, if there is not harmony within us, and our default setting is in the fight or flight mode, as in chronic stress, so, too much, for longer periods of time, too often, and our natural state of peace is so far from our everyday of normal, then we are going to suffer, and pay a price.

Innate within us all; is love, peace and joy – Ever-New-Bliss.

How do we access all this?

We need to slow our world down, we need to listen – our soul; deeply hidden, is longing to be heard.

But we have to make time and create space for this – daily – to work on yourself every day.

In the ‘Treatment Room,’ clients and students come for healing and respite, using different modalities; of Yoga and Meditation, Reiki Healing or Spiritual Coaching as some examples, I am presented with a body and mind, in its present state, and I actually witness the transformation, as it happens. From a scientific perspective, if we focus on the physiological changes first; the way the breathing slows down and deepens, the body becomes noticeably heavy, as it ‘surrenders,’ – if the heart rate and blood pressure were monitored, there would be measured changes.

As relaxation deepens, the breath can slow so much, there are longer gaps – moments of suspended breathing where there is no breath at all – this means you are truly resting the heart; as you would in proper meditation.

The physical changes in the body have a positive consequence on the mind; the quality of our thoughts and emotions, the shift of our mindset as we experience the calm and tranquility of the quietude.

To take respite from the world, is where the deep healing can happen, at the level of the heart, at the level of the soul. Where all thoughts of the world cease, and you are with God (or Spirit).

The benefits on your nervous system will be experienced – I have had clients who do not want to leave, because they literally are not ready to press the ‘accelerator’ of life but need dwell in the peace that permeates all the moments of existence; that they have fleetingly felt.

Paramahansa Yogananda wrote in ‘Man’s Eternal Quest’ about ‘Nervousness – Cause and Cure’

‘Nervousness is no simple ailment; it is a deadly enemy with far-reaching effects.’ He said, that physically, it is very difficult to heal any disease so long as we have nervousness – and ‘Spiritually, an imbalance of life-force in the body makes it extremely hard for the devotee to concentrate or meditate deeply enough to acquire peace and wisdom.’

From the Yoga perspective, in particular the first two limbs of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras; First - Yama and Second – Niyama, we are taught how to create self-control and mental peace, as a logical scientific path and the first two steps to form a foundation upon which we can build; for good posture, for interiorisation, for concentration, for meditation and ultimately Samadhi.

Over the years, there has been research into the complicated subject of stress.

And we are able to have what is known as a ‘healthy stress response’, which is described as a big response, followed by a rapid decline. However, looking into how we are when nothing is happening, into what we are carrying into ‘unconscious stress’ – this is hidden stress; and self-created – as opposed to some big event happening in life, and can be detrimental to our health and well-being, playing havoc with our balance and harmony.

So, there are obvious stressors, but many people are stressed even in the absence of major challenges.

We need solutions to the causes of this excessive hidden stress, and the consequent release of stress hormones, such as cortisol and adrenaline – long-term exposure to high levels can negatively impact many bodily processes increasing the risk of health issues.

Solutions are found in Yoga and the heart of Yoga which is meditation, in Yama and Niyama and the eight limbs of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga; Raja (or Royal Yoga). And in accessing the subtle anatomy of our Self, such as working with the elegant Chakra system, becoming more introspective and being in the silence. Creating a daily practice (sadhana), and being disciplined to work on ourself every day; being guided by the wisdom of Yoga and Yogic philosophy, and by investing in developing your spirituality – all lead to a more peaceful, intelligently lived life, where you are the Master of your Mind, which is actually the goal of Yoga.

Paramahansa Yogananda said ‘The sufferer of nervousness must be willing to analyse his condition and remove the disintegrating emotions and negative thoughts that are little by little destroying him. Objective analysis of one’s problems and maintaining calmness in all situations of life will heal the most persistant case of nervousness.’

Some causes of unconscious stress:  

Number 1: Uncertainty – the unpredictability of life – so much time and energy spent worrying about what is coming. This does make sense because we plan for the future – the brain has evolved as a prediction machine.

Paramahansa Yogananda has a talk on ‘Ridding the consciousness of worry’ he said ‘How tragic is this world! It is a place of uncertainty. But no matter what has happened to you, if you throw yourself at the feet of the Father and seek His mercy He will lift you up and show you that life is but a dream.’

And he says ‘prapatti’, which means to take refuge in God and ‘sharanagati’, flinging oneself on the Divine Compassion, these are paths of the highest knowledge – because they directly counteract the inescapable uncertainty of our mortal existence.

The fifth niyama, which Patanjali mentions more than any other of the yama and niyama – Ishvara-Pranidhana – complete surrender to God – allows us ‘To stand unshaken amidst the crash of breaking worlds.’

But how do we know if we are experiencing anxiety due to uncertainty; because the insidious aspect of this stress is that it is often hidden from us. Uncertainty stress is said to be one of the most pernicious forms of chronic stress, it is subtle, quiet and pervasive and we can be unaware to its nature, over months, or years – putting us in a state of higher stress arousal – this stress lurking in the shadows, while we rest and even while we sleep, if we do not find ways to attend to it.

And one way is to practice the presence of God; which is principally a method for finding God. The practice creates peace of mind, and that state allows for the state of Yoga to arise – for God to manifest in our lives.

Research was undertaken to show how uncertainty can damage us, in the form of a computer game – there were certain outcomes; like finding a snake under a rock, which might cause a mild electric shock to the hand and there were three groups; one group never received the shock, one group half of the time and the participants in the third group received the mild shock all of the time. The most stressed, by measurement of, galvanic skin response, sweat gland activity, heart rate, etc, were the group receiving the shock half of the time, because they experienced the most uncertainty – their sympathetic nervous system on high vigilance, increased heart rate, dilated pupils.

This showed that it was not the actual shock that spiked stress, it was the uncertainty. This group also performed the worst and took longer to make decisions.

The learning is to become more tolerant of uncertainty – in our day, in our life and in our future.

To be aware of strong expectations, to remind ourselves to not get attached – to practice non-attachment. As it is translated from the Bhagavad-Gita – ‘Renunciation – the relinquishment of actions, desires and attachments that impede soul progress; is the compendious principle characterizing the Gita message.

A professor of Behavioural Science; Elissa Epel and an expert in the field of stress research writes, ‘Our bodies get worn down more quickly under chronic stress, and uncertainty is the most ubiquitous form of chronic stress. Thus, the antidote is; we need to turn off our threat response to uncertainty. We need to shift our mindset to accept uncertainty as the defining condition of our lives, instead of fighting against it or feeling threatened by it.’

By being non-attached to the world and attached to God, we can turn off our threat response to uncertainty.

This does not mean being passive in the face of challenges. In Paramahansa Yogananda’s, ‘Scientific Healing Affirmations’, he says, ‘Ask Gods aid, but realise that you yourself, as His beloved child, are employing His gifts of will, emotion and reason, to solve all difficult problems of life. A balance should be struck between the medieval idea of wholly depending on God and the modern way of sole-reliance on the ego.’

So this, (uncertainty), is just one psychological trait or habit that can cause stress, and impact our health and aging. And we will be looking at two more psychological causes of stress – but what about the physiological causes of stress – and these can be detrimental to our efforts to meditate – we tend to think of the psychological causes, for example; the death of a loved one, or divorce, or loss of employment.

Thomas Guillams, in his book on, ‘The Role of Stress,’ lists four general categories of stressors that can cause cortisol release and other hormonal changes:

1.      Life Events – that may trigger the physiological system in the body that mediates stress.

2.      Novelty – when something is novel.

3.      Unpredictability – threats to our physical safety.

4.      Loss of Control     

There is actually an acronym for this called NUTS: Novelty, Unpredictability, Threats, Sense of control.

Three other categories that cause stress and so worth mentioning are:

1.      Circadian disruption – such as insomnia, jet-lag, night-shift work.

2.      Glycemic dysregulation – such as from poor diet choices or physical inactivity.

3.      Inflammatory signals – such as from allergies or diseases, or physical inactivity.

These can affect our ability to meditate deeply, and stressful conditions in the body affect our mind.

Going back to Patanjali’s Yama and Niyama; the first niyama is Sauca – purity of body and mind and the third; Tapas – capacity for self-discipline. It is noted that Patanjali devoted most of the ten yama and niyama to the psychological causes of stress, which could be a reflection of how modern life has created more ways for us to create physiological stress in our bodies and brains than in ancient times.

There are things available to us now that can be harmful, and we might not realise it. And some of the physiological stressors can be just as insidious and hidden as uncertainty tolerance is in the realm of psychological stress.

The good news is, we can do something about them – through our regular daily Yoga and meditation practice (sadhana), we take control of our lives and make the changes we need to make.

Number 2: Loss of control; the second major cause of hidden stress.

Epel writes, ‘We spend a ton of mental energy attempting to solve things that are beyond our control. Our distress lies in that friction between what we believe should be possible and what is possible.’

Therefore, acceptance is key; accepting we cannot control other people, for example, or whether somebody has a blood vessel contract to cause a stroke.

We can use introspection to understand what we can control and what we cannot.

One of Robert Sapolsky’s seven recommended practices for stress management, was to get more control, more predictability in your life. It is generally acknowledged that a high sense of perceived control in life is associated with being happy, healthy and wealthy.

But control is a double-edged sword. Epel writes, ‘It works as a tactic when we have a stable, predictable environment, but not when we don’t.’

For any number of reasons, our predictable environment can be swept away at any moment.

So, we are trying to control uncontrollable things in the present, but we also sometimes try to control the past. We can experience extreme emotions and rumination, replaying over and over, thoughts or situations that have already occurred. In dialectical behaviour therapy, one practice offered is to simply remind yourself that this has happened, reality as it is.

Sri Yukteswar said, ‘Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.’

The practice is acceptance; kind acceptance of what is – Be compassionate with yourself. Acceptance is the piece of the puzzle that leads to stress resilience.

So the principles of surrender, renunciation and non-attachment, are all as relevant for loss of control as they are for unpredictability, and we are reminded how the ancient wisdom of Yoga can be made relevant for life today.

We have to renounce our desire for things to be other than what they unavoidably are – when we can do that, the associated stress disappears.

Number 3: Stress can be good.

A third important practice for dealing with stress, is to realise that stress can actually be a good thing if we can (1) Embrace uncertainty and (2) Accept what we cannot control and find excitement in challenges.

Kelly McGonigal in her book, ‘The Upside of Stress, Why Stress is Good for You and How to Get Good at it,’ said ‘If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that any moment can become a turning point in how you experience stress if you choose to make it one.’ ‘The interesting thing about the science of stress is that despite the overwhelmingly accepted idea that stress is harmful, the research tells a slightly different story:

-        Stress is harmful, except when it’s not.

-        Stress increases the risk of health problems, except when people regularly give back to their communities.

-        Stress increases the risk of dying, except when people have a sense of purpose.

-        Stress increases the risk of depression, except when people see a benefit in their struggles.

-        Stress is paralyzing, except when people perceive themselves as capable.

-        Stress is debilitating, except when it helps you perform.

-        Stress makes people selfish, except when it helps; when it makes them altruistic.

So for every harmful outcome that we can think of, there is an exception that erases the expected association between stress and something bad, and often replaces it with an unexpected benefit.

What makes these exceptions so interesting, is that they’re hardly exceptional at all. The things that protect us from the dreaded dangers of stress are all attainable.’

Nervousness then, might be a better term than stress; because we want to cure nervousness, more than stress. Stress, we want to learn how to manage, and recognize as a good thing. This is the third practice! And an opportunity to reflect on – How do I face up to challenges? And to remind ourselves that our true nature as children of God, is one of potentially limitless power – Lions, as opposed to the very limited power we have as egos, or sheep.

Epel’s metaphor, ‘Be the lion’ has to do with the situation of a lion chasing a gazelle. It is equally stressful for both, but the lion sees the situation as a challenge, whereas the gazelle sees the situation as a threat. And the physiological profiles of the lion and the gazelle are very different.

 She writes, ‘In this clear-cut example from the animal world, there is a lesson here for us. Most of us are not regularly being chased by a life-threatening lion, but our bodies are behaving as though we are. Too often we are responding to the stressors that pop up over the course of a day as though they are a survival threat to fight off or run from, rather than a meal to take down. Our bodies shoot into fight or flight mode, dumping cortisol and adrenaline into our bloodstreams, rocketing our nervous system into a state of fear and vigilance.’

‘And when that response happens full blown or even half blown with each stressful or unexpected event that comes along, our bodies no longer know how to come down from the stress.’

In his story, ‘The Lion Who Became a Sheep,’ Paramahansa Yogananda says, ‘The story fittingly illustrates how most of us, though made in the all-powerful image of the Divine Lion of the Universe, remember only being born and brought up in the sheepfold of mortal weakness. So we bleat with fear at the predators of sickness, lack, sorrow and death, instead of roaring with immortality and power and preying on mortal delusion and ignorance.’

We can learn to improve our response to do better, as with the other causes of hidden stress.

And introspect whether anxiety about the future, or the present, or the past, might be causing some hidden stress in your life.

Reflecting and practicing, surrendering those concerns to God, with a mental attitude of Prapatti ‘taking refuge,’ or sharanagati; ‘flinging oneself on the Divine Companion,’ or Ishvara-pranidhana; surrender to God. And then ask yourself, whether you notice a difference to how you feel about life and the world and your place in it?

So, it is not about eradicating stress, to be able to go deeper in meditation, but rather learning how to prevent ourselves from getting into a state of excessive stress or nervousness, then we can concentrate (dharana), we can meditate (dhyana), and God is able to do the rest in Samadhi.

Paramahansa Yogananda describes what happens then; ‘Like an ocean, the power of God sweeps in, surging through the heart in a cleansing flood, removing all obstructions of delusive doubt, nervousness, and fear. The delusion of matter, the consciousness of being only a mortal body, is overcome by contacting the sweet serenity of Spirit, attainable by daily meditation. Then you know that the body is a little ‘bubble of energy in His Cosmic Sea.’

Think of it like, once we have prepared the body (asana) (pranayama), and mind (yama and niyama), and withdrawn the disturbance of the senses (pratyahara), we then are ready to give our self to a Higher power; to the Divine, and this is how we experience true, proper meditation, and deep surrender.

This is the purpose of the eight-limbed path of Patanjali’s Astanga Yoga – Raja (Royal) Yoga, and the how, of achieving the goal of Yoga; union with God.

In conclusion – I hope this has helped to give a better understanding of the importance of our effort to create a daily meditation practice, and crucial to be able to live in this world, with love, peace, joy and wisdom – leading to Self-realisation and ever-new-Bliss, as our goal of life.

We have tendencies and weaknesses, can be easily influenced and impressionable, in this state of vulnerability we can search outside of our self, being reliant on others opinions, or jump on current trends, oftentimes in desperation, thus over-complicating solutions we seek.

The answers are simple; we already have the answers, but lack guidance.

We must employ our common sense, understand everything is linked to how we think, and use our God given free will, with wisdom, ethical responsibility, intuition, and maturity.

A lack of; maturity, faith in our intuitive nature that transcends our five sense perception, and moral behaviour, will result in our intelligence working against us, and affect all of our relationships – the battle of life, so omnisciently told in the Bhagavad-Gita, will be one of greater suffering.

Be guided to the wisdom of Yoga and the heart of Yoga; Meditation, prayer and truth-filled affirmations, and set an intention, for life, to learn reliable, truthful ways, to develop your spirituality.

And become a sincere, disciplined, truth-seeker of life.

Become a Master of your Mind.

Be in the world but Not of it.

‘Everything you do should be done with peace. That is the best medicine for your body, mind, and soul.’ Paramahansa Yogananda

‘…you realise that all along there was something tremendous within you, and you did not know it.’ Paramahansa Yogananda