Yoga and Pranayama : Some tools for Self Discovery

Yoga and Pranayama : Some tools for Self Discovery

Neelu Kalra

Yoga Enthusiast

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Namaste! I am a yoga enthusiast. I have learnt yoga and pranayama through the Guru – Shishya Parampara (Traditional Oral Wisdom).

My purpose is to spread awareness amongst people, about holistic living and the correct methods of doing pranayama and yoga in the  traditional way, which can transform lives; as it has certainly transformed mine.

What is Yoga?

When we read/hear about the word “Yoga”, what comes to our mind immediately? … Isn’t it mainly exotic poses, which we see on various social media sites and always wonder with awe how can they do it?

We then quickly conclude that “it’s not my cup of tea”.

Actually speaking, Yoga is much more than exotic poses; it is a term with a wide meaning. The literal meaning of yoga in Sanskrit is “Yuj” which means union.

It is often seen or defined as the union of Mind, Body & Soul. The Mind and body are very closely interconnected; whatever happens in our mind, influences our body too. For example, If we have to go for an interview or we are awaiting for some sort of results, we experience butterflies in our stomach.

Similarly, if something goes wrong with our body, like a body ache, headache etc, our mind focuses only on that. This shows that the mind and body are already correlated.

Yoga is also about finding oneself through self-realisation or self discovery.

Now, we may wonder, with questions like –

“how can we unite somethings that are already connected?”

“What is the union of mind, body and soul? Will I be able to do it?”

“I already know who I am, what more is there to find?”

Yoga – a practice for self discovery

The truth is that, while the mind and body connect and an understanding of oneself are all there in the background, we aren’t really being fully aware of these and taking advantage of them.

Practicising Yoga enables us to become fully aware of the internal connects and our own self.

 Let me therefore try to explain it with an example.

You may have heard of pearl hunting. It is the activity of recovering pearls from wild molluscs, usually oysters or mussels in the sea or fresh water.

Before the beginning of the 20th century, the only means of obtaining pearls was by manually gathering a very large number of pearl oysters or mussels from the ocean floor or the river bottom.

More than a ton would be searched in order to find at least 3-4 quality beads. In this journey, the divers were exposed to unpredictable struggles and hurdles before reaching to it. They faced disappointment as well because not every oyster was pearl bearing.

 Self Discovery is similar to finding that pearl, whereby we will face a lot of obstacles and disappointments; but remember, disappointments come from setting wrong expectations.

The key is therefore to keep moving, until we reach our goal.

What is Pranayama?

Pranayama is the practice  of breathing that enables us to bring focus on the body and mind. It is very important for any Yoga practitioner who is trying to achieve the state of yoga.

The higher aspects of Yoga are not possible unless the mind is controlled. If we can control our breath, then we can control our mind too. Pranayama, along with the Mudras, Traditional Yoga Asanas and Meditations are the tools of Yoga, to reach our destination of self discovery.

Starting the Yoga Journey

Thus Yoga actually is about finding oneself and then connecting with a higher consciousness. For instance, imagine the higher consciousness as a light, which is spread all over the universe but you are wearing glasses which are dirty and foggy.

Will you be able to see the light clearly unless you clean your glasses? Here your glasses are nothing but your mind (Chit), which is full of impurities, mental affliction, thoughts and impressions (Sanskara).

All these are acting as pollutants, not allowing you to see the light. But when you start cleaning the glasses by practicing pranayama, mudras, asanas and meditation…you will start getting a clear vision, which will allow your inner consciousness to connect with the higher consciousness.

It is very rightly mentioned in Bhagwad Gita – “Yoga is a journey from the self, through the self, to the self”.

Self Discovery through Yoga is a long journey. So begin right away with the help of some tools.  In my YouTube channel – Yoga-the journey within , you will find various videos (tools) explaining the importance of different kind of Mudras, Chakras, Correct way of Breathing, Pranayama, etc.

Stay Blessed! Keep Smiling!

Please do leave your comments at the bottom and do share with others if you like this article.

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Madhuri parmarAnkur AgarwalAnish ThomasCHANDRASHEKHAR PANDEYVijay vaghela Recent comment authors
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Raj Commar
Raj Commar

Beautifully explained in simple language

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Neelu Kalra

Thanks a lot 😊🙏🏻

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Vaidyanathan

Thanks…lucid easy to understand…

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Neelu Kalra

Thanks for the feedback…😊🙏🏻 I am glad you liked it.

Ashim Dewan Roy
Ashim Dewan Roy

Very nicely expressed.

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Neelu Kalra

Many thanks for your feedback. Deeply Appreciate..😊🙏🏻

Rajshree
Rajshree

Superb and easy to understand explanations

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Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much! I am so happy you liked it.. 🙏🏻😊

Anuj Bajpai
Anuj Bajpai

Very nicely explained, Yoga, indeed means joining or connecting

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Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much. Your feedback much Appreciated. 😊🙏🏻

Taniya Raina
Taniya Raina

Very well explained

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Neelu Kalra

Thanks a lot! I am glad you liked it.🙏🏻😊

Neena Chadha
Neena Chadha

Very well explained!

Neelu Kalra
Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much! Appreciate your feedback. 😊🙏🏻

Vijay vaghela
Vijay vaghela

Properly and detailed explanation… Very nice 👌🏻

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Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much! 🙏🏻😊

CHANDRASHEKHAR PANDEY
CHANDRASHEKHAR PANDEY

Beautiful and clear explanation of Why Yoga & Why/How to connect Mind, Body and Soul.

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Neelu Kalra

Thanks a lot! Deeply Appreciate..🙏🏻😊

Anish Thomas
Anish Thomas

Great…….. till now it was audio visual, now very well penned down👍🏽

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Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much..I am glad you liked it my friend.. your feedback much appreciated..🙏🏻

Ankur Agarwal
Ankur Agarwal

It’s a great read. I also started practicing yoga a few months back, and want to gather more knowledge about it so started exploring, thanks, but this article really helps..My Website : https://yogkaushalam.com/

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Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much Mr. Ankur for your kind feedback. Highly appreciate! I am glad you liked it. Very nice to know you are exploring the world of Yoga. It’s a life long journey and every day is a learning process..Happy Journey! Warm Regards 🙏🏻😊

Madhuri parmar
Madhuri parmar

Very well explained yoga in a simple way

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Neelu Kalra

Thank you so much! I am glad you liked it.. 🙏🏻😊

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