FIVE WAYS TO LEAD AN ENLIGHTENED LIFE

 

FIVE WAYS TO LEAD AN ENLIGHTENED LIFE

The perfect balance in our activities

Happiness comes if we travel light in life

Our attitude towards our professional work

Enjoy life but with full awareness

Few good people in our life to make it meaningful

We have a choice – to live an ordinary life and suffer, or to live an enlightened life and enjoy. Ordinary life is characterized by drudgery, dissatisfaction, and sorrow. It is a rat race with others who are also sailing in the same boat. There is no understanding of life and happiness. As opposed to that, an enlightened life is represented by the exercise of choice, and action with awareness. Here are some ideas to lead an enlightened life.

First, there should be a perfect balance in our activities. One has to give due importance to the following four pillars: maintaining good health, work-life, family life, and social life. We tend to overemphasize one and neglect others, therefore, happiness eludes us. A healthy body can only be an instrument of enjoyment. Fulfilling work engagement gives us livelihood and satisfaction. Family is the fulcrum of our happiness. Society is a big support system for our well-being. So, one should not neglect any of these four pillars in our day-to-day life.

Second, happiness comes if we travel light in life. Too many properties and possessions are more of a burden than means of happiness. Instead of the possessions serving us, we spend more time maintaining, servicing, and protecting them. It may be properties, vehicles, clothes, or shoes. It adds to the load on our minds. The mind has to be free to enjoy life. Minimalist living is the best way to be happy. A smaller but beautiful place of dwelling, fewer possessions, few good friends is all that one needs to be happy.

Third, our attitude towards our professional work can positively change our life for the better. Adopting a motto of excellence in whatever we do, no carelessness, no laziness, using our best brain for our work, and having minimum expectations of rewards will help. Getting the satisfaction of having done the best is powerful enough to make you happy.

Fourth, enjoy life but with full awareness. There is no direct correlation between money and happiness. There are so many intermittent factors in between that decide the level of happiness. One has to constantly watch and think. Whether what we call enjoyment gives us real happiness, or does it have consequences that will ultimately make us unhappy? Like tobacco and alcohol which gives a temporary high, but it has serious health consequences. Is it enjoyment or suffering? We have to use our faculty of discrimination while enjoying anything. We travel thousands of miles to holiday and end up only taking pictures and videos, with no time to feel and enjoy the moment. When we have full awareness, showering in the bathroom too can be enjoyable.

Fifth, there should be a few good people in our life to make it meaningful. These are the people who make us laugh and also stand by us in case of need. They inspire good instincts in us and make us happy. We share common interests. They are kind souls. They are full of wisdom. Having a few such people around makes our life worthwhile. Just stop and think. Go for enlightened living.

Source: Times of India

Writer: Former Finance Secretary Govt. of India

 Lung Health Exercise

Covid is a respiratory disease that affects the lungs. Since it affects the respiratory tract, we should take efforts to increase the lung capacity. Lung health is essential to fight coronavirus. If the lungs cannot expand fully, it leads to shallow breathing and decreased lung capacity. Therefore, it is important to keep the lungs healthy with proper breathing exercises.

Pranayama is an effective method to increase lung capacity. It is simple to do and works wonders. There are many benefits of practicing Pranayama regularly.

• It boosts the immune system and helps in clearing the nasal passages.

• It is also helpful in relieving stress and calming the mind.

• In addition to maintaining hygiene, practicing social distancing, washing hands, and wearing masks, having healthy lungs helps us survive the pandemic better.

Tips for Getting Started:

Breathing exercises should be performed in a clean and hygienic environment.

Early morning is the ideal time to perform breathing exercises.

Pranayama should be done with great care and awareness.

We should try to stay focused on the journey, not on the destination.

Pranayama should not be practiced when the lungs are congested. The breath should be kept rhythmic and steady, and eyes should remain closed throughout, as we continue taking deep, smooth breaths without any force.

If we experience any discomfort, we should stop the breathing exercise immediately, and we have to return to normal breathing.

Those with chronic medical conditions should consult their physician before starting Pranayama.

Here’s a simple Pranayama for you to begin with:

 

1. Breathing Practice

 a.  Abdominal Breathing (for lower lungs) 

• Sit in any comfortable position. Prefer sitting in any meditative poses
• Keep your spine erect.
• Close your eyes so that you can focus on breathing.
• Place the hands resting on the thighs in Adi Mudra (Press your thumb on the inside of the palm. The fingers are closed around the thumb. Do it in both the hand).
• Inhale deeply, slowly, and continuously through both the nostrils, the abdomen bulges out.
• Exhale through both the nostrils, draw the abdomen inwards slowly.
• Repeat this breathing cycle five times.

b. Thoracic  breathing (for Middle lungs) 

• Sit in any comfortable position. Prefer sitting in any meditative poses
• Keep your spine erect.
• Close your eyes so that you can focus on the breathing
• Place the hands resting on the thighs in Chinmaya Mudra (join the tip of your thumb with the tip of your index finger, curl the rest three fingers to the palm).
• Inhale deeply through both the nostrils, expand the chest forward.
• Exhale through both the nostrils, relax the chest.
• Repeat this breathing cycle five times.

 c.    Upper Lobar breathing (for Upper lungs) 

• Sit in any comfortable position. Prefer sitting in any meditative poses
• Keep your spine erect.
• Close your eyes so that you can focus on the breathing
• Place the hands resting on the thighs in Chin Mudra (touching your index fingertip to the tip of your thumb, while holding your other three fingers straight.)
• Inhale deeply through both the nostrils, raise the shoulder upwards.
• Exhale through both the nostrils, drop down the shoulder to the resting position.
• Repeat this breathing cycle five times. 

 

2. Nadi Suddhi Pranayama 

• Sit in any comfortable position. Prefer sitting in any meditative poses
• Keep your spine erect.
• Close your eyes so that you can focus on the breathing
• Place the left hand resting on the thighs in Chin Mudra and the right hand in Nasika Mudra (fold index and middle fingers and keep the ring and little fingers straight along with the thumb).
• Place the ring and small fingers on the left nostril and place the right thumb on the right nostril.
• Open the left nostril, breathe in from the left nostril, close the left nostril with the small and ring fingers and release the thumb from the right nostril; exhale through the right nostril.
• Next, inhale through the right nostril. At the end of inhalation, close the right nostril, open the left nostril and exhale through it. 

·         This completes one round of the Nadi Suddhi Pranayama.

·         Repeat this breathing cycle five times.

 

 Let us stay safe and remain healthy during such difficult times!

Source: VIT, Vellore