YOGA HELPS WITH EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL

Articles In This Section:

· CONCENTRATION IN YOGA

· YOGA TEACHES DIFFERENT BEFINNINGS

· YOU'VE GOT TO EMPTY YOUR MIND OF ALL FOR YOGA

· VALUE OF CONCENTRATION BEFORE SLEEP

· HIGHLY TRAINED YOGA

· CONCENTRATION CAN IMPROVE YOUR MEMORY

· YOGA HELPS WITH EMOTIONAL AND INTELLECTUAL

We have now seen how, beginning with simple, mechanical, physical routines, Yoga helps you to better emotional and intellectual concentration. There is yet another area where concentration can be of infinite value, and that is in matters of health. For the body, like the mind, is naturally suggestible, as any doctor with insight into psychosomatic medicine will tell you. For instance, you probably know how easy it is to develop a momentary sore throat from listening to a singer with a tight voice. Partially-deaf people often find their hearing fluctuating, depending on whether or not what is being said is something they want to hear. These reactions are so spontaneous that we have very little control over them. Conscious exercise of the mind, however, can and will counteract the unconscious impulses.

Earlier in the book we have seen how it is possible to utilize prana, directing it to sick areas of the body to effect cures in cases of minor ailments such as headaches and colds. This "thinking yourself well," however, cannot be accomplished without proper concentration. If the neophyte rarely succeeds in achieving beneficial results, it is because of an inherent inability to direct the prana currents long enough and steadfastly enough to do much good. Developing the art of single-mindness is the secret here.

When it comes to more serious illnesses such as heart disease or ulcers brought on by mental stresses and strains, arthritis and hardening of the arteries that have their basis in a person's rigidity of character, back trouble precipitated by the mental burdens one feels he is carrying—all these are syndromes which a doctor seldom conquers alone. He may help, or he may temporarily alleviate the patient's suffering. But as fast as he prescribes, the patient himself undermines the cure just so long as he persists in his initial mental attitudes. But Deep Concentration can create a new attitude just for the trying. In part it will achieve this by contributing to a more serene emotional climate. But even more importantly it will help the patient achieve insight into himself, his attitudes and blind spots. And once he understands the emotional causes of his illness he will be on the road to coping with them.

This then is how you can make a major contribution to your overall well-being, your health, your peace of mind, and finally that inner poise and purposefulness which are the foundation of better relationships with the people around you. This is how you can learn to control your immediate destinies, and so in the long run control your entire future to a great extent. Just a few minutes a day, every day, devoted to Deep Concentration: a modest beginning indeed, but in time, with perseverance, it will truly make you the captain of your own soul, the master of your fate.