HIGHLY TRAINED YOGA

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

The Yogis go much further. They claim that the mind of each of us influences the minds of others by means of currents we set up. Therefore, they say, harsh and hostile thoughts spread harm and may actually do harm to those who come in contact with us while on the contrary calm and kindness contribute to their well-being. Be that as it may, we do know— and both medical men and psychologists are the first to agree with this—a hostile, negative attitude is invariably destructive both to ourselves and to our relationships with others. The only constructive approach is the positive one. Through practice of Yoga it is possible to achieve such an attitude without having recourse to such long, arduous processes of emotional re-education as people are given on the psychiatrist's couch. It would be the height of folly not to profit by what is at hand.

For the ordinary person, there is, of course, no such thing as complete detachment. The highly-trained Yoga on the other hand is able so completely to detach himself from the world around him that he achieves startling results. For instance, it is basically through intense concentration—through his single-minded refusal to permit any outside manifestation whatsoever to disrupt it—that the Indian fakir learns so completely to control his body as to perform the feats for which fakirs are famous. Suspending breath for days at a time, halting the beating of the heart, sitting on a bed of nails without any seeming ill-effects—all these are the more spectacular results of complete, intensive concentration combined with the exercise of highly-developed will power. We in the West aren't interested in such accomplishments. If the fakirs' feats are mentioned here at all, it is only to demonstrate to what extraordinary lengths it is possible to triumph over normal human limitations. Our immediate interest is to learn to benefit from concentration in practical ways.

In the chapter on Meditation which follows we shall look at the further benefits derived from that deepening of self-knowledge to which correct thinking inevitably leads. But the beginnings of this self-knowledge are right here. For as your mind becomes impervious to disturbance from within as well as without, as you grow less vulnerable, so to speak, the thousand tensions set up by ever-present emotional conflicts gradually disappear. As your thinking becomes less chaotic, as you learn to stay with an idea, pleasant or unpleasant, until you have really given yourself a chance to examine it closely, not only do you become able to face your real self honestly but, whatever facts you discover about yourself, you can face them with equanimity. Next, the need which all of us have to keep up a facade gradually vanishes. This in turn helps us live each day with a more economic outlay of emotional resources.

And now for a few simple exercises to teach you to harness the powerhouse of your mind. The goals are simple at first. Like all Yoga exercises they should be done without the threat of interruptions, while you are alone in a room. Your clothes and your position should be comfortable. Everything should contribute to an initial attitude of relaxation.