English Literature – Article ☆ Book Excerpt: A FLOURISHING LIFE ☆ Mr. Jagat Singh Bisht ☆

Flourishing is the experience of life going well – a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively. It is the opposite of languishing – living a life that feels hollow and empty.

Everyone seeks a flourishing life, but the modern-day lifestyle generates a lot of stress, which is the cause of psychosomatic disorders, including hypertension, respiratory ailments, gastrointestinal disturbances, migraine, and ulcers.

Happiness is a deep sense of flourishing that arises from an exceptionally healthy mind. This is not a mere pleasurable feeling, a fleeting emotion, or a mood, but an optimal state of being.

RELAX YOUR BODY AND MIND

“Relaxation does not mean sleep. Relaxation means to be blissfully happy.”

 – Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Exercise is good for the body, but relaxation is equally important. Simple techniques of relaxing your body and mind can prove to be helpful in renewing vigour.

A balanced diet, regular exercise and adequate sleep are the basic pillars of healthy living. Activity and positivity make your life happier. Relaxation techniques help your body and mind to become calm and experience bliss.

Our body feels fatigue due to exertion. The mind becomes restless by fear, worries and anxiety. It is unavoidable. We need to take care of the body and mind daily.

Exercise is good for the body, but relaxation is equally important. A hectic day in the office, followed by strenuous work out at the gym, can sometimes make you feel exhausted. Simple techniques of relaxing your body and mind can prove to be helpful in renewing vigour.

The body and the mind are not separate entities. If you relax your body, the mind calms down and if you quieten your mind, the body feels relaxed. When the body and the mind are both relaxed, you feel full of joy and serenity.

Both the body and mind need exercise to keep them fit and they also need relaxation to recuperate. Walking, cycling, and swimming are exercises for the body while reading a book, learning a new skill, and solving a puzzle are exercises for the mind.

The body may feel fully relaxed after eight hours of sound sleep and the mind may feel blissful after an hour of deep meditation. But a sound sleep is fast becoming a rarity and not everyone is inclined to meditate.

We begin with a basic technique for relaxing the body. It is a simple practice that gives profound benefits. The sages have known this for ages.

You may do this exercise when you return from work in the evening, or before going to sleep in the night. You may do it after work-out, or anytime during the day when you feel tired and need relaxation.

EXERCISE

Relaxing the body.

Spread a yoga mat or carpet on the floor.

Lie down, flat on your back. 

Keep the feet slightly apart.

Place the arms by the side of your body, palms facing upwards.

The spine must be straight.

The head must be straight, facing upward, not falling on the side.

Adjust your body initially so that it is not tense.

Let each part of the body feel free.

You must feel relaxed.

Close your eyes gently.

Be calm and still, do not move.

Any physical movement will deprive you of the full benefits of the exercise.

Breathe naturally.

Allow the breath to be rhythmic and relaxed.

Be aware as you breathe in and as you breathe out.

Breathing in and breathing out, is one count.

Count your breaths gently.

You may count 21 breaths or 51 breaths, depending on how tired you feel and how much time you have in hand.

Relax.

Become aware of the environment around you and gently move your hand and legs.

Gently turn to the right side and get up.

Open your eyes.

Your body feels relaxed.

The body is deprived of proper rest when one sleeps with a twisted spine. It relaxes fully when one lies with a straight spine. The relaxation deepens as the breath slows down.

It is advisable to do this exercise on the floor, and not over the bed, to experience full relaxation. The body gets complete rest when the spine is straight, against a flat surface, and the breathing is rhythmic and slow.

At first, you may not feel the full benefits of the exercise but, as you develop the practice, you will start experiencing the deep relaxation it brings.

This is an ancient practice, known as shavasana, or the corpse pose, in yoga. It is an effective relaxation posture practised, for about ten minutes, at the close of a yoga session. During the session, it is used after difficult postures for a short relaxation.

THE ART OF BLISSFUL RELAXATION

If you go to sleep without resolving your tensions, you will not have a sound sleep. You must go to bed after throwing off all the burdens. When you have something in your mind, you will have a restless sleep, and you will not feel refreshed when you wake up.

In life, we are confronted with stressful situations from time to time. The stress may be physical, mental, or emotional.

When the endurance level of the body is over stretched, it feels uncomfortable, and you may feel muscular or endocrinal tension. The mind, at times, turns into a whirlpool of apprehensions and anxiety, making you feel mentally stressed. Relationships gone awry and things going haywire generate emotional stress.

Sometimes you feel helpless and totally stranded. The body suffers and you find yourself miserable. It looks like there is no way out but that is not true. There is a way out in such circumstances. 

It is a unique technique for inducing complete relaxation – physical, mental, and emotional. It is a systematic method in which you learn to relax consciously. You may call it – The Blissful Relaxation!

It is a practice that does not require many efforts on your part. You are only required to lie down and listen to the instructions. The instructions are precise and simple. No physical action is expected from you. Just listen to the voice.

Be aware and listen to the voice. Do not sleep. You must lie down comfortably as in the exercise described above. After you settle down, you will be asked to look at your whole body internally, keeping your eyes closed.

Then, you will be asked to rotate your consciousness through your limbs. You must repeat the name of the body part announced and form its image in your mind. Systematically, you will scan your entire body.

You will be taken on a beautiful tour of places and things that you have already seen. One by one, you will visualize a flowing river, boat, ocean, waves, beach, trees, flowers, mountains, rising sun, a small hut, flying birds, etc.

Your attention from the external world is moved inwards. The body relaxes completely, and the mind is fully aware. At the end of the exercise, when you are asked to open your eyes, you feel blissfully relaxed and rejuvenated.

It may be done at any time of the day when you feel the need to relax your body and mind. It must not be done immediately after meals. Half an hour of this exercise gives you the same relaxation as two hours of normal sleep. You feel so good that you would like to do the exercise every day.

On any day, when you feel you have not had a proper sleep, you may do it in the morning after getting up, and you will feel refreshed. Your productivity goes up. This is also a good tool for enhancing your creative capability.

You may do it in the evening after returning from work or before going to sleep. The fatigue goes away, and you will have a sound sleep.

This practice is derived ancient tantric scriptures. Swami Satyananda Saraswati, the founder of Bihar School of Yoga, re-constructed it in the present form. It is known as yoga nidra.

You may use the recordings of yoga nidra by Swami Satyananda Saraswati or his immediate disciple, Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati, available on the net, for your practice. Several other teachers and practitioners have also rendered their versions of the practice.

You feel fully relaxed – physiologically and psychologically – after a session of yoga nidra. The approximate duration of the practice is twenty to forty minutes.

It is suggested that you include the practices of shavasana and yoga nidra in your daily routine for relaxation of the body and the mind. They are healing and soothing. Their regular practice will reduce stress considerably and bring calm and peace to your life.

“In yoga nidra, the consciousness is in a state between waking and sleep. In this state, the mind is exceptionally receptive. The practice of yoga nidra enables one to receive intuitions from the unconscious mind. This state is the fount of artistic and poetic inspiration. It is also the source of the most creative scientific discoveries. The intuitions received in yoga nidra enable one to find within himself the answers to all problems. One’s true nature and integrity manifest, enabling him to live a meaningful and peaceful life in any environment. No longer emotionally identified with the mind and body, one’s entire being is pervaded with divine consciousness.”

Yoga Nidra/ Swami Satyananda Saraswati

“Yoga nidra is a systematic method of inducing complete physical, mental and emotional relaxation.”

 – Swami Satyananda Saraswati

BREATHE, LOOK INWARD

“In our daily life our minds are almost continually externalized. We see and hear only what is going on outside of us, and we have little understanding of the events taking place in our inner environment.”

– Swami Satyananda Saraswati

Deep breathing is the simplest way to relax physically, mentally, and emotionally – anytime, anywhere.

We spend most of our waking time looking at the external world. Seldom do we look inward. Most of the time we are not aware of our respiration. Our feelings, emotions and thoughts overpower us as we do not have time to watch them dispassionately.

We have been given guidelines as to how to search for things outside ourselves but hardly any directions have been given on how to look inwards. We must train ourselves to look inside.

How good would it be if we could look at our real selves and understand what is happening in our inner world. There is so much turmoil there. If it could somehow be resolved, we would be in harmony with ourselves and feel peaceful.

Deep breathing is the simplest way to relax physically, mentally, and emotionally – anytime, anywhere. Just sit down, back straight, feet firmly grounded, eyes closed, and take three deep breaths.

Breathe deeply through your nose, into your belly, and exhale in a relaxed manner. The longer and slower the exhalation, the better it will be. You will experience relaxation instantly.

If you are feeling stressed, take three deep breaths again. Depending on the fatigue and time available, you may repeat the three deep breaths any number of times. Once you get accustomed to the practice and feel the benefits for yourself, you will be able to do it quietly while doing any other work.

Deep breathing infuses oxygen – a vital life force – into your bloodstream and expels toxins and stale carbon dioxide. You feel refreshed and more productive.

INNER SILENCE

The outer world is full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. That makes it perplexing.

On one hand, there are challenges but, on the other hand, there are opportunities. You must make your own decisions. The pros and cons of every step cause anxiety and hope.

There are many voices coming from the inside that may sometimes confuse you. If you know how to cope with the inner noise, you will have better control of the happenings around you.

EXERCISE

Observing inner noise and inner silence.

Roll a yoga mat or a small carpet on the floor. Place a small cushion over it.

Sit down comfortably on the cushion, legs folded crosswise, back straight, head straight, and eyes gently closed.

Take your own time to settle down. No hurry.

Listen to the sounds around you. Do not feel disturbed. No sound is good, no sound is bad. Do not worry about its origin. Do not concentrate on it. Just listen as a dispassionate observer.

After some time, you will hear less and less of the sounds.

Keeping your eyes closed, look at yourself internally. Pass your attention through each of your body parts. Do it in a relaxed manner.

Observe your breath as it goes in through the nostrils and comes out.

Watch your feelings and thoughts as they come and go. Do not worry if they are good or bad. Just watch them like an observer.

Initially, there will be a lot of noise inside, but it will gradually fade away, as you continue to watch it like a neutral spectator.

Do not be in a hurry. Take your own time to settle down.

Now, generate a thought consciously. Watch the thought like a witness. Let it fade away.

Generate another thought. Watch it dispassionately. Let it also go away.

Do not let any random thought occupy your mind. If any random thought arises, dispose it off. Do not allow it to stay.

This is the stage to generate thoughts at your will – the thoughts that you wish to have – watch them for some time and then let them go away.

In the next phase, dispose all random thoughts and any other thoughts that your mind generates. Let there be no thoughts.

As soon as a thought crops up, watch it and dispose it off. Do not allow any thought to stay in your mind.

Let there be shoonya or total vacuum. The mind must be totally empty. No thoughts must be allowed to stay there. Dispose them immediately.

This state of thoughtlessness is inner silence.

In the beginning, you were witness to inner noise. Now, you are observing inner silence.

This relaxes the mind fully and you experience peace. The stress goes away.

You feel relaxed.

When you do this exercise for the first few times, you may not get the desired results fully. But, after some practice, you will start feeling relaxed and stress free.

It is a practice, when once developed, remains with you throughout the day. Just look inwards and observe what is going on dispassionately. Like a witness.

You may practice it daily – any time – for about twenty to forty minutes.

This is an ancient practice, known as antar mouna, or inner silence.

Online versions of antar mouna by Swami Niranjananada Saraswati are freely available and you may initially listen to them and develop your practice. After some time, you will be able to do it by yourself.

The best time for any practice of a meditative nature is early in the morning when the surroundings are peaceful. You may also do antar mouna in the evening after returning from work, or before going to bed. It takes a while to develop the practice but, after some time, you start experiencing life optimally.

“Antar mouna is one of the few ‘permanent sadhanas’ which can be practised simultaneously all the twenty-four hours of the day by anyone who is really determined to know oneself. By maintaining awareness of one’s internal environment, thoughts, emotional reactions, etc., one can speed up one’s personal evolution to the utmost degree. It will make one understand the workings of one’s own rational and irrational mind, as well as giving one an understanding of what makes other people tick.”

Meditations from the Tantras/ Swami Satyananda Saraswati

“Antar mouna is a complete training system for the awareness process; it teaches one how to know the processes of the mind and ways in which one can bring them under control.”

 – Swami Satyananda Saraswati

STRETCH, BEND, TWIST, TURN

“Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far.”

– Thomas Jefferson

Exercise freestyle. Do not stress, let it be fun. Stretch, bend, twist, turn, whirl, move, and jump.

Getting up early and going to a park in the neighbourhood could be a rewarding habit to develop. It gives you a whiff of fresh air and sunshine that makes you feel refreshed the whole day. Once you add it to your routine, you will start looking forward to the morning, and it will become a rewarding hour of the day for you.

Start with a gentle walk and then walk briskly. Twenty to thirty minutes of walking every day can do wonders for you in the long run. It is good for your circulatory system and relaxes you a great deal.

Watching the trees and the flowers while walking gives a healing and soothing touch to your senses. It relaxes your eyes and is good for your eyesight too! Walking is not just an exercise, it reduces stress. You feel relaxed.

Exercises are not only good for your body. They bring happiness and well-being. Whenever you feel low, get up and move out to the neighbourhood park.

Physically active people are happier. Also, they have better life-satisfaction, and higher self-esteem. Exercise reduces depression, anxiety, stress, and panic; it betters mental processing, creates longer life, improves sleep quality, and strengthens the immune system.

It is exercise itself that infuses us with happiness. Among various types of activities, exercise is the most reliable happiness boosting activity.

Find a quiet corner for yourself and just stretch, bend, twist, turn, and whirl your body in a freestyle manner. Do not worry too much. Nothing is right or wrong. Do whatever you feel like doing.

FREESTYLE EXERCISES

Walking, coupled with some freestyle exercises in a relaxed manner, brings multiple benefits. It stretches your skeletal structure, improves your blood circulation, and is good for your muscles. It is good for your heart and the respiratory track. This, in turn, activates your endocrine system.

Stand on both your feet in a balanced manner. Cross your palms, fingers interlocked, and stretch your arms straight above your head. Stretch, stretch, stretch! Keeping your palms interlocked, up above your head, bend to the right and then bend to the left. Now, take your palms in front of you, bend forward, and stretch.

Let your hands dangle freely below your waist. Twist your waist sidewise to the right and then to the left. Let your arms move slowly as if a washing machine is in motion. Twist your lower body and keep moving your arms sidewise for some time.

Close your fists and bring them close to tour chest. Twist your upper body and move your arms. keeping them together at chest height.

Raise your arms above your head and gently bend backwards from your waist. Stay there for a while. Then, raise your hands up and go on to bend forward, as far as you can comfortably. Raise your arms up again. Now, repeat the actions and swing your arms rhythmically, bending backward and forward. Inhale as you go up and exhale as you come down.

Open your arms wide, bring them forward crosswise, and hit the back of your shoulders with palms. Swing the arms back to wide open position. Bring them forward again, but this time keep the other arm on the top and hit the back of shoulders with palms. Alternatively, keep one arm on top and the other arm below. Keep on opening your arms and then swinging to hit the back of shoulders for some time.

Dangle your arms by the sides of your waist and then lift them up in a ‘V’ shape. Bring them back to the sides of your waist and then again take them up in a swinging action. Inhale as you go up and exhale as you come down.

Be on your toes and jump upward gently. Continue jumping for some time.

Place both your hands on your waist, breath in deeply through your nose, and exhale through your mouth making an ‘O’ with the lips. Repeat it thrice.

Stand balanced on both your feet. Stretch your arms fully sidewise. Turn to your right and whirl in a clockwise direction. Move slowly. Find an object at a distance and fix your gaze for a moment on it after each round. Go slow. Complete 10 – 20 rounds. Afterwards, stop and be stationary for some time. Do not move abruptly. If you feel dizzy, bend slightly, put your palms on your thighs, and look at the floor.

These exercises are only illustrative. You may add more of your own. Do not stress, let it be fun. Be freestyle. Stretch, bend, twist, turn, whirl, move, and jump. These exercises will make you feel good throughout the day. No equipment is needed. If you do not go out on any day, you may do these exercises at your home too.

EXERCISE

Play like a child.

Take permission from a group of children and join them in play. Play with them like a child.

Run, jump, and shout. Be fully immersed in the game. Forget the world.

Pour all your energy and heart into the game. Put in all your enthusiasm.

Enjoy the game.

Laugh whole heartedly.

Until you merge completely with the children. You are not an outsider who has joined them. Everyone is equal.

Sing, dance, play and laugh in unison with all of them. Enjoy the fun. Be a kid. Until you begin to perspire.

Have a hot shower and relax.

You feel positive and joyous.

Strenuous exercises may sometimes be harmful but light and freestyle exercises are always good. Go back to your childhood days, remember all the funny exercises you used to do, and try to re-create them. Gentle jogging, half jumps and stretching-bending exercises could be great fun, especially when done with children. The children would also be happy if you join them occasionally.

No equipment is needed, and you are not required to follow strict schedules. No membership fees and no registrations. Just have fun and get all the benefits. Include freestyle exercises in your routine. You will feel free and relaxed throughout the day.

“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.”

“Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”

“To achieve the highest accomplishments within the scope of our capabilities in all walks of life we must constantly strive to acquire strong, healthy bodies and develop our minds to the limit of our ability.”

 – Return to Life/ Joseph Pilates and William Miller

“Research demonstrates that exercise may be the most reliable happiness booster of all activities.”

 – Sonja Lyubomirsky

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK:

Do you want to be happier? Would you like to increase your well-being and flourish? This book will help you flourish!

Flourishing is the experience of life going well – a combination of feeling good and functioning effectively. It is the opposite of languishing – living a life that feels hollow and empty.

Everyone seeks a flourishing life, but the modern-day lifestyle generates a lot of stress, which is the cause of psychosomatic disorders, including hypertension, respiratory ailments, gastrointestinal disturbances, migraine, and ulcers.

In this book, you will find simple, effortless, and painless practices for authentic happiness, stress management, and lasting peace. These exercises are easy to do, can be taken up by anyone, and require no previous training or experience.

The contents include how to relax your body and mind, knowing your inner self, freestyle exercise, life-long learning and evolving, autonomy and self-determination, flourishing, and spirituality.

After reading this book, you will have a deep understanding of the elements of authentic happiness and well-being. This book helps you to lead a flourishing life.

(This book is available in paperback and kindle formats on Amazon.)

© Jagat Singh Bisht