These days people often talk about stress and anxiety and ways to manage them. People of all ages–from teenagers to older people–seem to experience them in different ways. We have seen young adults fidget around and feel their way to find the right words to justify themselves when parents or teachers question them about academic performance issues in the classroom. Perhaps due to the isolation imposed by COVID lockdowns, there seem to be more people than ever who experience self-esteem issues in speaking up and navigating interpersonal challenges in getting along with their peers. Older people also experience anxiety to some degree as they get more cautious over time and worry about what may happen to them or their loved ones.
How do we free ourselves from anxiety? Or do we just learn to manage it to acceptable levels? A basic internet search will reveal countless articles and videos with advice on how to deal with stress, and many may offer tips and techniques that make the process seem easy. However, many people find it harder to do in practice. Are we missing something? Are there simple things we can do on a daily basis to simplify our lifestyle?
Sadhguru shares insights on this from his unique and ever-pragmatic perspective. “One simple thing is this: if every human being knows simply how to sit still, just a few minutes a day…no great spiritual sadhana, nothing, simply sitting still, if this can happen, the world will change in many ways.”
“But still, we have to handle these inputs; these inputs are too many. In your homes, you can do this. Where I live, most of the time I will never turn on the lights, unless I want to read something, or whatever. You will see, your eyes will adjust and you’re able to move about, everything is fine. Or if you need something, a couple of lamps will take care of that little bit of light that you need to move around. All the time bright lights on, it is telling on your system; the input is too much – for your eyes, for your ears,you must bring down the input.”
“See, if you had to see colors, you had to wait for the sunset, sit there and wait. Then, one spectacular color arose, but if you’re looking at your phone, it went away. But today, you turn on the television, every goddamn color in the universe is just going on, and on, and on – endlessly! All this has immense impact – light, sound, color. If you lower the input into your life and to your child’s life, one way or the other – do whatever you have to do – you will see, they will grow up in a much more balanced way. This is the simple thing you can do. For the adolescents, this has to be brought forth: a little bit of hatha yoga, most of them will go through this phase of their life effortlessly.”
Attend a free webinar “Meditation for Beginners” to explore a simple yet powerful 12-18 minutes meditation that can bring clarity, health and joy. Visit www.innerengineering.com/freeyoga
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