Stress Management

Unit - V
DHYANA and STRESS
Dhyana for the Mind
• Today science believes that reason for three-fourth of our diseases
lies in the mind. Sound health depends on body-mind coordination.
• Our body is a communion of physical body, mind and intellect. Mind
is the pilot of this bodily chariot and it is mind alone that guides all its
actions. Hence, one should address the mind.
• The saying: “If mind is defeated, everything is lost, and if mind is
conquered, then it is all victory” is quite meaningful.
• Asana is for the body, Pranayama is the bridge between body and
mind, finally Dhyana is for the mind.
Ashtanga Yoga Sutras
As previously indicated, the five first Angas (stages) of Yoga eradicate, one
step at a time, the external causes of mental distraction.
• Yama (discipline with respect to society) and Niyama (self discipline) get rid of the
inconveniences caused by uncontrolled desires and emotions.
• Asana (poses) and Pranayama (breath or prana control) suppress the troubles
caused by our physical bodies.
• Pratyahara (disconnection from the senses) by unplugging the senses from the mind,
excludes the external world and the impressions it produces on the mind.
• The mind is thus completely isolated from the external world and the Sadhaka (the
meditator) is thus in a state without any disturbances coming from outside.
• It is only in these conditions that success is possible in the practice of Dharana,
Dhyana and Samadhi. We can now discuss mind control and its effects.
Distinction between Dharana and Dhyana
• Whereas Dharana is 6th limb, Dhyana corresponds to 7th limb in ash-
tanga yoga, which means Dharana should be first practiced prior to
entering to Dhyana(Refer to the practice).
• Dharana is a single-pointed concentration of the mind whereas
Dhyana is no-pointedness, a state of total silence.
• Just as a magnifying lens can even burn cotton if kept exactly at its
focal point, mind if focussed properly can create wonders of achieving
anything, like understanding even complicated subjects, and prove
that nothing is impossible.
Contd..

• As per Patanjali’s definition of yoga: “chitta vritti nirodhaha” which refers to

• We can not see the bottom(our true self) of a lake(chitta) when its surface is covered with
ripples/waves(vrittis). Muddy or agitated water is like our chitta which is mostly defocussed and
when it is clear i.e., does not contain mud or does not contain ripples bottom can be seen, so also
calmed down mind achieves dharana and Dhyana.

• Next slide will through more light on it as we deal with indriyas which play
an important role in withdrawing all ten organs of action and perception.
Dhyana through Pratyahara and Dharana
• Just as dharana is the preparation for Dhyana; pratyahara, being the
5th limb of ashtanga yoga, is the preparation for dharana. As per
Patanjali, practice of pranayama followed by pratyahara, dharana and
then dhyana destroys Sanskars and cravings of past lives.
• Pratyahara is the first treatment if mental disorders are present, and
also helps with nervous system disorders. It helps to conserve energy
that can be used for healing.
• With pratyahara the senses are controlled and we do not crave the
unwholesome food that causes physical disease. 5 organs of
action(pancha karmendriyas) and 5 organs of perception(pancha
jnanendriyas) are to be withdrawn from feeding –ve food.
Contd..
• Eyes see, ears hear, tongue tastes, skin feels the touch and nose
smells but as long as they are not connected to the mind these are
not recognised, and it is all the play of sensory nerves.
• Again unless motor nerves transmit the instructions from the mind,
organs of action can not function.
• In both these cases it is the discriminating(buddhi/intellect) part of
the mind that does the right job and that is connected to +ve mind.
• Chitta always tries to get back to its natural pure state, but the organs
draw it out. To restrain it, to check this outward tendency, and to start
it on the return journey to the essence of intelligence is pratyahara.
Dharana and Dhyana: Tips
• Once you've taken the first step of learning to still the body for
meditation, you can't help but notice how "un-still" the mind is.
• So instead of thinking of meditation as some dreamy state in which
thoughts do not happen at all—instead of trying to quiet something
that by nature is never quiet—just keep ignoring the thoughts that
come to your mind and also avoid to bring new thoughts.
• As a result of this, with a great difficulty, you may get into a
thoughtlessness state. It may be very difficult but not impossible. And
that state of total silence is the true Dhyana.
Contd..
• When you sleep, your mind gradually withdraws itself from all your
senses, doing it consciously is pratyahara.
• When you watch a movie intensely, you focus all your attention in the
movie, sometimes you become part of the movie. When you do this
consciously on the object of concentration it is dharana.
• Samadhi is becoming one with Subject and Object. i.e. Imagine you
are watching a movie so intensely, suddenly you become the movie.
That is samadhi. You meditate on God, and you realize that You are
the God.
Yoga and the Koshas of the Body
• Yoga is a comprehensive holistic approach to health, happiness, and
wellbeing.
• Rather than just addressing the physical body, yoga ascertains that
there are indeed five bodies, five layers of self or being, that must be
addressed for overall healing to take place.
• Known as koshas, meaning “sheaths” or “layers,” or “yogic bodies”
each of us has five bodies. They are annamaya, pranamaya,
manomaya, vignynamaya and anandamaya koshas.
Contd..
• Annamaya Kosha: The outer sheath is the body layer—muscles, bones, skin,
organs. Anna means food, which is what sustains this level. Asana keeps this
kosha healthy and can be used to treat problems that arise in the body.
• Pranamaya Kosha: The next sheath is the life force/energy sheath. It is concerned
with the breath and the flow of energy through the body. Pranayama practice is
prescribed to address this layer.
• Manomaya Kosha: The next sheath is the mind or mental sheath. It has to do
with thoughts and emotions. It is maintained through meditation(Dhyana).
• Vijnanamaya Kosha: is the knowledge sheath. This kosha is comprised of your
wisdom, intuition, and perception. Meditation is also the key to this layer.
• Anadamaya Kosha: The innermost sheath is the bliss sheath, associated with
Dhyana again. It represents unending joy, love, peace, and complete happiness.
Activation of Manomaya Kosha
• Manomaya Kosha: This layer refers to the manas or the mind. The
mind along with the five sensory organs of taste (tongue),smell
(nose), vision (eye), hearing (ear), and touch (skin), is said to
constitute the Manomaya Kosha. The Manomaya Kosha is the mental
faculty that receives all the sensory inputs, interprets them as good or
bad and desires the good. This Kosha is subtler than the preceding
two Koshas and governs them and is, in turn, governed by the two
Koshas superior to it. It is thus central to human existence.
• When we draw our senses inward by practicing ‘Pratyahara’, the
accumulated cravings, unsatiated ambitions and suppressed desires
gradually appear before our mind like dreams, simply to disappear.
Contd..
• Manomaya Kosha is the domain of functions of the human mind. This
is the central layer among the 5 Koshas. The primary function of this
Kosha is to receive information through 5 senses and process that
information for the manifestation of core purpose.
• Manomaya Kosha has 3 layers as recognized by contemporary
psychology. They are the conscious mind, the subconscious and the
superconscious mind.
• In Medical Science these states are studied in brain wave theory and
known as Alpha, Beta, Theta and Delta states of brain activity.
Contd..
• Through meditation, awareness is expanded to Alpha, Theta and
Delta brainwave patterns. When an ordinary human being falls
asleep alpha waves are activated in the brain.
• In an experiment, EEG tests (Electro Encephalogram - an instrument
used to record brain waves) were done in the meditative state,
showed Alpha to Delta brain wave patterns even while those
meditators were in the fully aware state.
• The conscious state of mind is responsible for perception through the
5 sense organs and then taking action via the physical body to
perform day to day functions.
Activation of Vignanamaya Kosha
• Good health or a beautiful body is not the aim of yoga
• The purpose of yoga is far more sublime. It is to prepare you for that
ultimate state of blissfulness.
• Asana and pranayama are practised to induce a balance and harmony
between the body and mind, or you may say the physical and mental
activities.
• Through the practices of asana and pranayama you can directly
instigate an immediate influence on the quantum of prana which
flows through 72,000 channels or nadis throughout the entire body.
Although all the nadis are to be purified most important are the three
and are known as ida, pingala and sushumna.
Contd..
• Ida nadi, which corresponds to the para sympathetic nervous system, is
responsible for your mental activity, and pingala nadi, which corresponds
to the sympathetic nervous system, is responsible for your physical activity.
They convey prana right from your head down to your toes.
• An imbalance in the flow of these two nadis not only results in physical or
mental sickness, but also obstructs awakening of the third nadi, sushumna,
which corresponds to the autonomic nervous system.
• Unless and until you are able to awaken sushumna through the balance of
ida and pingala, you will not have the experience of vignanamaya kosha.
Contd..
• When you do the practices of asana and pranayama, particularly
pranayama, you may at any time spontaneously experience the state
of pratyahara.
• If this state of pratyahara continues for some time, the mental energy
will automatically become concentrated and dharana will occur.
• Vignanamaya kosha, like all the koshas, is interactive and dependent
upon the other layers of the body.
• Both asana and meditation practice help the yogi to connect with
their deeper intuition, wisdom and knowledge by accessing
vignanamaya kosha.
Vignyana to Anandamaya
• And as soon as the mind is concentrated, the internal state of dhyana
or meditation simply happens, which is none other than the
experience of awakening in vignanamaya kosha, and glimpses of the
experience of bliss and ecstasy related to anandamaya kosha begin to
filter through.
• Aanandmay Kosha: The fifth and the innermost blissful layer is in
close proximity of the Consciousness. The Anandamaya kosha or
"sheath of bliss" (ananda) is the most subtle or spiritual of the five
levels of embodied Self. Anandamaya means ananda, or bliss. Bliss or
ceaseless joy is beyond the layers of physical and mental realms. This
Kosha is the reflection of the divine qualities of the Soul, namely Sat-
Chit-Anand (Eternal-Conscious-Blissfulness).
Types of mind
• Manomaya Kosha has 3 layers, as recognized by contemporary
psychology. They are the conscious mind, the subconscious and the
superconscious mind.
• First of all, lets know about unconscious mind. Part of the mind which
is inaccessible to the conscious mind but which affects behaviour and
emotions. Unconsciousness is when a person suddenly becomes
unable to respond to stimuli and appears to be asleep. It is caused by
major illness or injury, use of drugs and alcohol. People who become
unconscious don’t respond to loud sounds or shaking. Low BP and
low blood sugar also lead to it.
Contd..(Superconscious mind)
• The seemingly most mysterious phenomenon–superconsciousness is
a manifestation of mental activity of the entire brain, but it is mostly
connected with the structures of the right hemisphere.
• Left-hemisphere structures can be a basis for superconsciousness,
consciousness, and subconsciousness. But the right hemisphere is the
living substrate of the mostly superconscious component of human
mental activity.
• The superconscious mind is deepest of all the minds not only
remembers the present also but also the past, and the future. As an
example: Sri Veerabrahmendra Swamy and his kalajnanam.
Contd..
• The duality of the mind: Mind is only one but it possesses two
distinct and characteristic functional parts with distinct attributes and
powers and are known as conscious and subconscious minds and
have different names as follows:
• Conscious=Objective=waking=surface=voluntary=male
• Subconscious=Subjective=sleeping=deep=involuntary=female
• Subconscious is very sensitive to conscious thoughts.
• Conscious mind decides whether the thought is good or bad and
passes on to subconscious for further progress.
Contd..
• Subconscious mind can be thought of as a bed of fertile land that
accepts all kinds of seeds, good or bad. Similarly subconscious mind
does not engage in proving whether your thoughts or good or bad,
true or false.
• Conscious or surface mind itself should be properly trained to
discriminate good or bad. If this mind is trained negatively, people
instead of becoming good citizens might become terrorists.
• Vital functions such as heart, digestion, breathing are carried on by
subconscious/involuntary mind independent of conscious mind.
Contd..
• Phychologists and psychiatrists point out that when thoughts are
conveyed to the subconscious mind, impressions are made in the
brain cells.
• Subconscious mind is the seat of your emotions and is the creative
mind. If you think good, good will follow; if you think evil, evil will
follow. As you sow so you reap.
• Whatever you impress(sankalpa) upon your subconscious mind, the
latter will move earth and heaven to make it happen.
• Your subconscious mind never sleeps, never rests. It is always on.
Contd..
• Conscious mind is called objective mind because it deals with
outward objects. Its media of observation are the five senses through
which we gain knowledge.
• Subconscious mind is referred to as subjective mind, because it is
subjected to decisions taken in the conscious mind and also when the
senses are not functioning.
• Negative thinking generates destructive emotions and find outlets in
the form of ulcers, heart trouble, tension and anxiety. We injure
ourselves by entertaining the negative ideas, such as jealous, anger,
vengeful etc..
Silencing the mind : Controlling Stress

• In our day-to-day lives, we all have stress that we must deal with in a
rational way.
• The way we deal with our stressors has a profound impact on our
lives.
• Chronic stress has negative effects on the body, such as high blood
pressure, so it must be dealt with in a healthy way.
• Regular practice of pranayama can be a powerful tool for quieting the
mind’s worries and reducing one’s stress levels.
Contd..
• Meditation lies at the heart of any yoga practice. Once you feel
comfortable practicing the asanas and pranayama, you will feel more
relaxed in your body. Therefore, condition for the meditation is to
have the feeling of tiresomeness in the body.
• Then, it will seem like a natural step to pay more attention to your
mind by practicing meditation. This brings about greater mental and
emotional balance and, eventually, inner peace.
• During meditation, the distractions of the world around you
disappear and the parasympathetic nervous system gently brings
about a sense of relaxation and balance.
Contd..
• meditators exhibit reduced stress responses in the brain compared with
non-meditators. This implies that the benefits are occurring at a
neurophysiological level rather than being just a suppression of emotion or
of its peripheral features.
• Reduced negative emotional reactions to stimuli should logically lead to
reduced stress and an improved sense of well-being.
• Yoga can work in the short term by soothing the stress response, quieting
the mind and balancing emotions.
• Long term regular practice that is tailored to your needs can help to reduce
or prevent side effects of stress and anxiety such as distraction, insomnia,
digestive distress, shortness of breath, heart palpitations and high blood
pressure.
Sanskrit Sloka on Patanjali
“Yogena Chitthasya, Padena Vaacha
Malam Sareerasya cha vaidyakenaam
Yopaam karottam pravaram muneenaam
Patanjalim Praanjaliraanathosmi”
Meaning: Let us bow before the noblest of sages Patanjali, who gave
yoga for serenity and sanctity of mind, grammar for clarity and purity
of speech and medicine for perfection of health.
Practice meditation
• Padmasan, both the hands in jnana mudra, gently close yours eyes
until we chant a long Om in the end, back and neck straight.
• It will have five stages, first 3 stages come under the category of
dharana, preparation for Dhyana.
• Listen to the instructor twice and join him to chant Om without any
mismatch. Concentration should be on Om and only on Om.
• Chanting of Om in mute with concentration shifted to Ajna chakr.
• Now concentration is shifted to the entrance of both the nostrils only
to observe the breathing process which is taking place without your
conscious effort.
Contd..
• Like a watchman sitting in front of the gate observing persons going
inside and outside, concentrate on how cold air is getting inside and
hot air is going outside.
• No more concentration, let the thoughts coming and going, do not
attach any kind of importance to them, neither follow the already
ongoing thought nor bring a new thought into your mind, ultimately
thoughts disappear, total silence, and that is the true state of dhyana.
• Take a resolution to practice yoga every day, and do something good
for yourself, your family and society.
• Let us chant Om and come out of meditation.
THANK YOU