Yoga Shastra, the science of Yoga, first enunciated by Sage Patanjali, is one of the greatest contributions of India to the world, in the sphere of maintaining good health and peaceful living. This is once again the need of the hour today, in a world torn into pieces by hatred, greed and strife. Yoga underwent many transformations over the Centuries and is being practised in many different forms in other Asian countries. The west has received Yoga in a much distorted version and Yoga is made to appear very simple and easy to cater to the fast moving western life style, mainly to make money for the seller. Whereas Yoga is the panacea for the fast pace of life, its present avatar here might not serve the desired purpose.



Ayurveda, the great Indian medical wisdom, that is the mother of much other medical wisdom in the world, including modern medicine, was based on two basic principles viz:



“Swasthashya swastha rakshitham.”

(Try to keep the WELL healthy)





“Prasanna Aatma, Indriya, Manaha Swastha Ithyabhideeyathe” (Keep the mind and senses happy and tranquil: good health will be guaranteed)





Modern medicine has realized, to its utter dismay, that the above truths are scientifically correct even today. Recent studies, both in the US and Europe, have brought to fore the confirmation that the most important risk factors for major killers are in the human mind. Hatred, jealousy, greed and pride coupled with anger, frustration and, depression are at the root of many, if not all, major killers. Yoga, in its true form, should then be the logical panacea for all major illnesses. Scientific studies in India, in the US and England have again reiterated the above fact that Yoga and life style changes, based on the science of yoga, could even reverse many damages to the body, including the blood vessel blockages!



Human mind, according to ancient Indian wisdom, has several levels of development. One could develop one’s mind to the highest level, Ishwara, when one becomes almost divine in one’s approach to life. In between, there is a level, the Chitta, where one brings his/her ego to work. All problems start when one brings in greed into the picture.



“Chitta vritti nirodhaha Yogaha”

(When the mind becomes tranquil, one becomes a Yogi)



In essence, Yoga is meant to make the practitioner’s mind tranquil under all circumstances of sorrow and joy. Although it looks like a tall order, for one who practices real Yoga on a regular basis, this state of mind is not difficult to achieve. How does Yoga achieve its objective? Let us have a scientific peep into its working in the light of modern science.



Yoga has eight limbs- astaanga Yoga. They are yama, niyama, praanaayaama, prathyaahaara, dhyaana, dhaarana, samaadhi, and aasana. A real practitioner will have to observe certain codes of conduct. Regular exercise, moderation in food habits, preferably vegetarian satvic diet, truthfulness in dealing with the world, overcoming desire for what does not belong to oneself, concentration and meditation, praanaayaama, the breathing techniques of various kinds and, Samadhi. The last simply connotes the state of mind that the authentic practitioner attains if one follows the other rules. Aasanaas, the various postures that are sold to the gullible public as the be all and end all of Yoga, are only meant to help one to attain constant ease, the pre-requisite for practising the other seven limbs of Yoga. When one equates the postures, the aasanaas, to the whole science of Yoga, the result could even be counterproductive, although muscle stretch alone might produce mind calming endorphins from the muscles!



The most important part of Yoga is the breathing technique-praanaayaama. This, in short, is simple belly button breathing. Deep slow breaths make one fully use one’s diaphragm, the muscular wall between the abdominal cavity and the chest. Normally, man uses only a small portion of the lung (say, 20%) in breathing. If one gets angry even that comes down to 10% and the rate of breathing becomes very fast with a faster heart rate as well to compensate for the lack of oxygen inside. All these make the oxygen exchange in the lung, between the atmospheric air breathed in and the un-oxygenated blood coming from the right heart, to be less efficient. Deep slow breathing, the essence of praanaayaama, would immediately bring more than 90% of the lung area for oxygen exchange within seconds.



This quickly raises the tissue oxygen levels significantly. When every cell in the body, of which there are one hundred thousand billion in all, gets better oxygen supply the cell works very efficiently. This makes the human mind, situated at the sub-atomic level at every human cell, become tranquil automatically. This might sound esoteric to some but one only has to experience to realize how easy it is for an ordinary person to attain that state of mental tranquility. Charlatans teach some other methods of breathing that might result in hyperventilation and give one a dizzy feeling. This dizzy feeling is sold to the gullible public as the real effect of Yoga.



Unfortunately, if one is past middle age and then gets into hyperventilating state, one could even die of a sudden heart attack- a true meeting with the Maker, in a manner of speaking. Hyperventilation brings on changes in the blood pH resulting in alkalosis. The latter could produce severe constriction of blood vessels. If that happens in the heart or brain, the result could be disastrous, to say the least. Be warned; never try any other type of praanaayaama, other than the one described above, sukha praanaayaama, if you are not a mature Yogi of the highest order. The latter could do many other feats, like slowing their breathing and heart rates to abysmally low levels that would be fatal for ordinary mortals. We can not attain those levels of the Yogis.



Conversely, if one becomes tranquil, the breathing automatically becomes deep and slow, just as in Yoga practice. The essence of Yoga, therefore, is true tranquility of the mind at all times and not just for an hour or so daily during Yoga practice. To that end, one must have a tranquil life style which makes one a Yogi in the true sense of the word. Religiously practicing Yoga daily for an hour and the rest of the time trying to be one up on others would be of no use at all. One must follow the true Indian culture to be good at Yoga practice. Yoga can not be practised in isolation. True Indian culture is genuine authenticity-not doing anything that one does not want the world to know. This, coupled with altruism, concern for others in distress, sarve janaaha sukhino bhavanthu- may everyone be happy- makes life a true joy. In short, if you live and let others live, life would be a bed of roses.



In the present day world of cut-throat competition man has almost forgotten what happiness is all about. Time was when the joy of hard work to earn one’s next meal was sheer enjoyment. Today mass production of goods, coupled with aggressive marketing techniques, have taken that joy away for the rich and the powerful. It is still a joy for those that do not know where their next meal comes from. For the rich now happiness is in one up-man ship. Power emanates from hoarding. They are in the minority, though. But, in the present day world the less fortunate poor are being daily exploited by the rich and powerful, making their life miserable. The richer one gets, the more powerful he/she will be is only an illusion. It still remains a mirage even to this day.



To get rich people use all unscrupulous means. Truth and ethics become the major casualties. Now the reader would realize the greatness of the Indian culture of not doing anything that one does not want the world to know. It is in pursuit of imaginary happiness of hoarding, man’s breathing changes to the fatal mode, creating all the maladies that man has become heir to these days. In addition to trying to sell the modern medical quick fixes for the already broken glass of human health for what they are worth in an emergency, one needs to go in for long term solutions of preserving the glass intact. It is cheaper also in the present medical care system that has become prohibitively expensive with the greed of those that want to market their products and their skill. Yoga leads the way there. May all be happy and healthy.