YOGA AND POSITIVE THINKING
Welcome to my blog, Yoga and Positive Thinking. Do you feel positive or negative in your view of the aftermath of Covid-19 (fast becoming a distant memory), the War in Ukraine (having just passed the first anniversary) and the Cost of Living Crisis (with some items being limited in certain Supermarkets). Yoga can change our state or being from deep within, much like the way water changes the shape of a rock. In this blog are some reasons why positive thinking is important.
The Dhamnapada, The Teaching Of Buddha
The first words of the Dhammapada, the teaching of Buddha say:-
“All that we are is the results of our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. If we think in a negative way then that negativity will follow us, as sure as the wheel follows the ox that draws the cart. If we think in harmonious ways, happiness follows us as sure as our own shadow, never leaving us.”
The Yoga Sutra
The Yoga Sutra written about the same time as Buddha, also advises yogins to practice friendliness and contentment and to meditate on what is good.
How Negative Thoughts Affect Us
It is important for our own well being, to train ourselves to let go of our negative thoughts and replace them with more contented positive thoughts. This of course does not mean that we passively accept life’s injustices. Sometimes we must confront bad situations. We must deal with things, but then we need to let go of them. Buddha also said, “letting go is the secret of happiness”. Holding onto our negative thoughts can literally kill us. Scientists have discovered that there is a relationship between people’s state of mind and their health. Certain states of mind can be dangerous for us. Studies have also shown that if we are depressed, anxious, chronically pessimistic, angry, or irritable, our chances of getting a major illness are doubled. The stress hormones and other brain chemicals generated by those negative states of mind flood the body and reduce the ability of the immune system to fight disease.
It Is Us That Suffers
This means that it could be harmful to you to hate someone, to be jealous, or to harbour negative thoughts and feelings. The person you are jealous of does not necessarily suffer, but you certainly do. These thoughts trigger the body to produce chemicals like adrenaline and nor-adrenalin, which in turn, increase heart rate and blood pressure, raise cholesterol and lower immunity. These chemicals stress the body, increase anxiety and lead to disease.
What Positive Happy Thoughts Do
Positive, happy thoughts encourage the flow of chemicals such as endorphins, which give us a feeling of well-being and happiness. When such chemicals are flowing through our system, we manage stress very well; our immune system is raised and we can prevent disease.
Change We Can
It can be seen that the importance of practicing positive thinking is essential to our well-being. We may argue that, “we cannot help” being negative, but that does not actually solve anything. In any case, it is not true that we cannot help our thought process. It is difficult to change something that we have been doing for most of our lives, indeed change can feel very uncomfortable initially. However, change we can, and to be well physically and psychologically, change we must! Just as it is hard to give up any bad habit, such as smoking or overeating, it can be hard to give up our bad habit of negative thinking. But that is all negative thinking is – a bad habit.
We know that it is possible to break our bad habits. People do it all the time. We can choose a happier and healthier way of living. What we must do is learn how to be present to each moment, become aware and watch our thoughts, act when we need to, in an assertive clear way, and then let go and move on. We need to constantly remind ourselves of the danger of our negative thoughts and drop them again and again until we have broken the habit.
The Yoga Sutra encourages us to attain a peaceful and contended mind when…..
In relationships, our mind becomes purified by cultivating feelings of friendliness towards those who are happy, compassion for those who are suffering, goodwill towards those who are virtuous, and neutrality towards those we perceive as wicked.
How Yoga Helps
If you think and feel, you would like to come and join us at The Yoga Lodge, to help change your “state” from deep within……….
Take that first step today by emailing, calling or visiting the Yoga Lodge website
Email: pavana@theyogalodge.org.uk
Mob: 07973 410375
www.theyogalodge.org.uk
I am a qualified, dedicated and caring Teacher
(This text formed part of my Yoga Training from the Saraswati Yoga Manual)
