In modern-day life many people experience fear, stress and anxiety on a daily basis. As we go through our days, we feel a lot of pressure from all directions and the high pace and hectic lifestyle can make us feel depleted and helpless. Overwhelming emotions and negative feelings can make our existence burdensome and life seems to be very hard. This tendency is now becoming more obvious as we face global problems that seem to be more difficult to handle than ever before. All this happens despite the fact that we never had so much comfort, technology and wealth available for a large number of people in the western world. As our material wealth grows our physical and psychological health deteriorates. Our lifestyle has created the situation that we are in now and we still try to figure out how to solve our problems with the same attitudes that have created them in the first place and therefore we end up being stuck with the same dilemmas over and over again. This is true on the individual as well as on the collective level.
We are not the victims of what happens in the world around us. It is our way of processing what happens that makes us either strong and assertive or weak and passive.
In Ayurvedic and Yogic psychology emotions and feelings are created by the individual and are not solely the product of the perception of outside experiences. It is the neurological system that interacts with the outside world and perceives what is going on in the environment around us. It is also the endocrine system in connection with the neurological system that responds to what is perceived by releasing hormones that either make us feel stressed and create fear and tension or make us feel happy, blissful and excited about life. The science of Ayurveda and Yoga has always included and deeply focused on these inner mechanisms and how to strengthen the neurological system and the faculties of perception to make the individual more resistant to what is happening in the external world.
One of the central problems of responding adequately to stressful situations lies in the inability to be fully present to what is actually going on. Most of our consciousness is occupied with the intellectual process, therefore we can´t perceive the immediate present accurately. As we go through life, we have established the habit of constantly thinking about either the past or the future, missing most of the present moment. Anyways our mind is dwelling on past memories only, re-arranging these memories to project this re-decorated past into the future. This is what is going on in the minds of the vast majority of humans.
Modern life offers us endless opportunities for entertainment, a constant flow of news and information is readily available 24/7. We can communicate with the whole world in the blink of an eye. What could be a tremendous opportunity has turned into digital overkill for many. We see children becoming addicted to their mobile phones and we are staring at displays of computers, TV´s and mobiles from early morning till late night. Our identity has become partly digitalized as we share some of our most intimate moments on social media while we are bombarded with newsfeeds, advertisements and endless opportunities to live an anonymous digital life apart from the real world. Our addiction to digital gadgets has a huge influence on our mental makeup. We never had access to so much information and we never had such a multitude of different influences available at any time during the day.
As with any technology, it is decisive how we use and apply these technologies in our life. Either we use them in a positive and constructive way to make our lives easier and more productive or we waste our time and energy while life slowly slips away as we are busy with making plans or being entertained by nonsense.
If we want to live strong and self-determined we need to take charge of the ultimate gadget - our body and mind.
In the same way, we use gadgets and other technologies, it is crucial how we use the faculties of our body and mind. Are we in command of the ultimate gadget or are we enslaved by our physical and mental turmoil? Ayurveda and Yoga can teach us how to manage the systems that make our life what it is and we can step by step engineer our bodies and minds in such a way that life becomes a sheer pleasure and a stepping stone to becoming truly peaceful and happy. As we become aware of how the human system functions and operates, we gain more mastery over the mental and physical faculties and can start to manifest what we truly care for in life. The tools to create a pleasant mind and a body that is not an obstacle but a platform for creating a life we wish for are Meditation and Yoga. When we start to walk the path of Yoga and Meditation, we begin to take full control over our life. Proper Yoga and Meditation enable us to calm our minds and cope with stressful situations more easily. We make the body less receptive to illness and disease, build up our immune system, strengthen the neurological pathways in the brain and enhance the nervous system to make it more resistant and calm. Slowly and gradually we become stronger on all levels and develop a clear and focused awareness. Our consciousness grows and we go beyond fear and anxiety so that we can find solutions to the challenges we face.
Anxiety, stress and fear are products of the unconscious processing of external information and stimuli that in turn release stress hormones in the endocrine system and make us feel uncomfortable and overly alert. If the situation threatens our life or that of others, this mechanism can help us to respond quickly and swiftly. If the induced stress states only play a role on the psychological or sociological level, it is affecting our whole organism negatively in many ways. Stress hormones like cortisol can have a negative impact on our joints and bones. Back, neck and knee pain and other rheumatic disorders like early degeneration of skeletal structures are often linked to continuous stress and the release of hormones like cortisol. The longer we are subject to stress, the more prone we become to health problems on a broader scale. Stress alters our neurological pathways and creates imbalances in the endocrine system. This in turn can lead to sleep problems, fatigue and lack of energy. Continuous stress also impacts our immune system and makes us more prone to infections and pathogens. To cope with high levels of stress, many turn to tranquilizing or stimulating substances like alcohol, tobacco and other intoxicants. This can only ease the tension temporarily, in the long run, this strategy fails as it worsens our ability to cope with stress naturally and it makes us dependent on substances to be able to deal with our daily life.
Another important factor in the vicious circle of chronic stress is the metabolic system. Nowadays we often tend to eat more processed foods, that are creating an imbalance in our digestive tracts and make the body acidic. Acidity in turn has an impact on the endocrine system and the hormonal balance in the organism. Eating too much fast food, junk food, or processed items creates an unhealthy gut environment and decreases the number of probiotic bacteria. Gut bacteria is another very important factor in the body’s defense system and its ability to eliminate viruses and bacteria.
All the mentioned aspects have to be considered when it comes to holistic health and resilience. When we want to take full control of our life, we have to make the necessary changes on the levels of body, mind and soul. This can be achieved by taking up the art of Yoga and Meditation and by implementing a healthy lifestyle in general including suitable fresh and ideally organic food items. A positive outlook will be the consequence of this way of living and as we progress on this path, we become more conscious, happier and more energetic. This in turn will make us resistant to stress and all kinds of psychological ailments. We can start to live a truly meaningful life and achieve our goals with much more ease. This is what Ayurveda and Yoga can offer us, the science of harmonious and healthy life and a way of living strong and independent.
Our state of consciousness and awareness determines the quality of our life.
Our state of consciousness determines the quality of our life. Whatever we are unconscious of remains a mystery to us and is a source of uncertainty and doubt. To relieve the tension that is connected with the unknown layers of our sub- and unconscious mind, we hold on to belief systems. Through our beliefs, we try to figure out life and our existence. These belief systems serve the purpose of making us feel safe and in command while in reality, they blur our vision of what is the truth about life and the interconnectedness of the universe that we live in. We can only come to truly know ourselves by giving up all concepts and belief systems and replacing them with true knowledge and facts that are rooted in existential reality and are not simply values that we have agreed on and that only serve the purpose of comforting us. What sounds quite simple is a process that not many are willing to undergo as we have to leave the comfort of our old ideas and beliefs behind and boldly face the truth as it is. What we gain from this undertaking is true freedom and a clear understanding of the mysteries of life. We are no longer only living life, we realize that we are life itself and that there is nothing to fear, that fear is a result of our false perception of reality and nothing can really trouble us unless we allow it to do so. This is the power of our true self and every human being is capable of discovering this truth that lies within ourselves.