Right now it seems an epidemic of fear, anxiety and pessimism is sweeping the world and I am driven to do my bit to dispel this cloud and release the sunshine and optimism in us all through the beautiful yoga breathing exercises known as pranayama. More details on what pranayama is all about in a moment.
The Credit Crunch is biting hard. Unregulated-capitalism fuelled by greed and selfishness has been allowed to run havoc and as a result stock markets all over the world are suffering. Millions of pounds, dollars, yen and other currencies are being wiped off the value of shares, pensions and savings. Whole countries are being brought to their knees by the bankers who've put their individual interests and huge bonuses above society and humanity as a whole. It's as if these financiers have been living their lives from the line I remember from the film Wall Street: "Greed is good." We are now finding out that greed is not good. Not good at all.
I have had to stop watching the news as I cannot help but be sucked in by the fear frenzy and worry for my own family and the plight of millions of people across the globe that have inadvertently been caught up in this financial tsunami. However, we are not as innocent as we'd like to think - while our brothers and sisters in the Third World have been starving - too many of us have been living the high life in our throw-away, get-rich-quick society. We've been borrowing huge sums of money to live our dreams - buying properties, cars, fancy holidays and other material possessions we cannot afford. What happened to the wisdom from our grandparents' generation? My grandparents were very careful with money; they never borrowed anything and only spent what little cash they earned. Yet still through their love, hard work and toil they sent my father and his 6 brothers to university and so to a better life. They managed their money wisely and never seemed upset if they couldn't afford the latest designer goods or go away for an annual family holiday. They had more respect for the planet and would naturally recycle most things, throwing away very little. All of us will now have to re-examine how our grandparents did it and learn from them about how to live within our means.
Last week a great enlightened teacher, Dr Vasant Lad, reminded me of the ancient Vedic method of dispelling this dark cloud of fear by pranayama and prayer. I am so grateful to him for reminding me of this powerfully uplifting and healing discipline which has been tried and tested over many thousands of years. I and the rest of the world need pranayama right now, this moment. To be honest, I had lost my way and got so caught up with the minutia of existence, my concerns for my patients and family were so great that I forgot to look after myself. I used to practice pranayama twice a day, every day when I broke my leg in a skiing accident. It helped me to heal very quickly. Once you get the hang of it, it can take as little as half an hour every morning and evening to radically change your life for the better. If we practice these divine breathing exercises we can easily overcome all of life's obstacles and become light, joyful, optimistic and so healthy we can live for a hundred years.
I am so thrilled to be doing pranayama regularly again; I am going to start giving lessons to all my patients, family, friends and the neighbourhood. It is so positive, so wonderful.
Pranayama helps us to understand the beauty in all things and be appreciative of all the divine gifts we have been blessed with. There is too much to celebrate rather than be gloomy about. (I wish I could teach it to the boys and girls in the City as we all need them to be more calm and relaxed then ever before. All our collective nervous energy is making things worse with every passing day.) Yoga is a way of living; if we lived by its principles there would be no greed in the world today only kindness, love, compassion and laughter.
I am sure you are asking by now, what exactly is this mystical wonder that is pranayama? Well pranayama is a totally beautiful series of breathing exercises. When practiced regularly it brings feelings of joy, clarity and love. The Sanskrit word "prana" refers to the energy that moves the Universe; it IS our Universe. It manifests itself on many levels - on a simple level prana is the act of breathing. We do not have to think about breathing, we just do it; even as we sleep we continue to breathe. Breathing is essential to life. Prana is also pulsating in every particle in our Universe. So prana is the life force of our Universe.
Prana is also the bridge between our body, mind and consciousness. By practicing it we forge greater links with our spiritual nature and fulfill our life's objective of knowing and understanding ourselves better and ultimately joining with the Higher Consciousness that connects us all.
The Sanskrit word "yama" means to manage. To put it simply therefore, pranayama is the art of managing our emotions through our breath.
By doing pranayama regularly this cloud of fear in our world today will disappear. Anxiety will vanish along with self-doubt. Your health will be reviltalised. You will be re-energised. All the ailments that harm your body will be controlled and I promise you will feel totally at peace: calm, happy, relaxed, content and full of optimism and love. Yes, all of life's obstacles will be removed and you will live blissfully for your remaining years.
So do not delay. Do pranayama now. If you cannot attend my pranayama classes there is good news because you will find many wonderful teachers near you who are ready, willing and able to show you the secrets to a long and happy life through pranayama.
If you can, please come to my pranayama classes. Details of how to sign up are on my website: www.loveandwisdom.net
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