Just Breathe: Nithya Yoga

Just breathe

Nithya Yoga teaches us that wellness isn't about torturing our bodies with exericise and odd contortions
By Dr Joseph Guan

How do you know if the struggle for fitness leads to wellness or if it results in body trauma?
f you are one of those who thinks that punishing the body is the surest path to making yourself well, then think again.

Jogging like a fanatic causes trauma, not fitness - medical evidence shows damage to your limbs and even to your heart.

Lifting weights may show off some of your muscles, but unless you are training to be Mr. Universe, over-exercising can hurt you.

Your body needs to be respected, not tortured.

Struggle for what you think is fitness and you can end up hurting yourself.

That is why thousands of young women starve themselves and throw up what little they eat and endure bulimia, in the quest to look thin and attractive.

Permanent Damage
In the process, they damage both their bodies and minds irreparably.

Being thin or fat, or being short or tall, does not mean fitness, in as much as fitness reflects wellness.
You can be thin and unwell, or fat and well.
Some of it depends on how the body is maintained, but a lot of it depends on how the mind is maintained.
Your body follows the mind, not the other way around. You can truly think your way into fitness.

Over the last few weeks, I have been going through an amazing experience that has changed the way I think about my body.

Less than a year ago, I met a Nithya Yoga master who taught me how to calm my mind.

Without effort, I have been able to do with my body what I have not dared to do for years now. I have not been able to sit on the floor for many years now. I had an injury to my knee, and folding my knees is painful.

As I went through the Nithya Yoga programme, I started sitting on the floor without even thinking about it. I was able to move my body in ways I would have never dared to earlier.
Now this physical, or what I thought was physical, exercise enabled me to do things with my body based on how my mind was influenced.

Nithya yoga is unlike any other yoga that I have done, read or watched.
It has nothing do with complicated postures or practising in a heated room.
There is no emphasis on controlling your breath in order to cure one illness or another.
It is about being aware that your body and mind have to come to a balance.
This awareness brings another welcome side effect - bliss.

Under the Nithya Yoga programme, breath awareness exercises are done to calm the mind and de-stress.
Regular practice will enable one to drop the thoughts of past and future and be more aware of the present moment.

Try This
Sit comfortably, either in a chair or cross-legged on the floor, with your spine, neck and head in one line.
Relax completely. Close your eyes.
Now, watch your breath. Do not try to control your breathing, just witness your breath.
Watch the way the breath moves in and out, sometimes from one nostril, sometimes from the other.
Focus on the upper lip and the breath. Witness the way the breath moves on the upper lip, over different parts.
Note the flow, the temperature and the texture.
Note the way it changes again and again.
Watch the breath and do nothing else for 20 minutes.

If there is a distraction or intruding thought, just gently bring your awareness to your breath.
You will find your attention moving inwards.
What you may hear from outside will no longer bother you.
You will be a witness. You will be centered.
Dr Joseph Guan was a principal and vice-principal of various secondary schools.He is a corporate trainer and currently runs the Brain Enhancement Centre, providing services for peak performance and for children with special needs. He uses neurofeedback, energy psychology and energy medicine modalities to promote optimal health.