Indian yogi offers tips on how to bring about discipline, calmness and balance to life
Acharya Advait Yogbhushan suggests simple lifestyle changes to a calmer, more content life
The world over people have been adopting yoga for multiple reasons. What was once considered to be a way of living has, over time, become a complete exercise regimen. While it was meant to be a form of grounding to the way we live and help us adapt to a healthier and more holistic lifestyle, over the years, many forms of yoga have evolved. Lesser known to the world, yet growing in strength as you read, is a form of yoga called Advait Yoga.
Rajesh Singh Maan, popularly known as Acharya Advait Yogbhushan, an Indian yoga guru and experiential learning teacher, is the founder of this form of yoga. He is also the founder of A Himalayan Yogi Institute. ‘In simple terms, yoga is a differentiated way of living,’ says the yogi, who was in Dubai recently where, as part of the celebrations of the International Yoga Day, he offered lessons to followers of Advait Yoga on among other things, how to make their life less complicated and be more at peace with themselves.
A preacher with a mission, his goal is to bring about balance in people’s lives through yoga, discipline, and breathing exercises. ‘Following the lessons of Advait Yoga can you help become more grounded, real and enlightened individuals,’ he says.
Advait’s road to his spiritual journey began more than 10 years ago when he was at a lowest phase in life. Grappling with the aftermath of a troubled childhood and disturbed youth, he admits going through a rebellious phase in his life.
He says he was disillusioned with life at the time and the future appeared bleak. However, it was at this time that a stranger saved his life after which Advait’s life took a completely different, positive turn.
The path to recovery
He recalls experiencing a major shift; the bruises from his chaotic past cleared to be replaced gradually with a strong desire to help change the world for the better.
Advait’s search for knowledge to do this took him to a shrine in the Himalayas that quite literally opened his eyes. ‘It was a moment of awakening for me,’ he says. ‘I felt a wave of deep spiritual knowledge come over me.
‘My life changed from that moment onwards and I felt the urge to speak out my heart about everything and share what I was experiencing with people around me. What I couldn’t speak out, I would write down, thousands of words at a time.’ And along this path, he found yoga as a medium to communicate his ideologies with people.
Advait’s ambition with Advait Yoga is simple. Familial, financial, emotional, and corporate stresses are common in people these days, he says. These stresses can have adverse effects on individuals. Advait is convinced that yoga and a sense of discipline will help carve a path to break away from the clutches of stress.
Through various fields of practice, meditation, and discipline, one can master being in the parasympathetic state, he says.
He explains how this happens: The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is active during periods when we are calm; the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is active when we are stressed. An activated PSNS will result in low heart and breathing rates, reduced hypertension, an improvement in our digestion system, and a general calm and relaxed state for our body. ‘We would be healthier and happier if we spend more time in the PSNS state,’ he says.
The signals for the activation of PSNS or SNS states are generated by the amygdala, the major processing centre for emotions in the brain. Repeated stresses lead to chronic activation of the amygdala and the body being in the SNS state.
Using simple but powerful practical techniques, Advait Yoga helps to calm the overactive amygdala, and bringing about a positive body reset.
Advait says that he developed sets of exercises after a deep study of the philosophy of yoga and Vedanta, and by unifying ancient and modern sciences.
Over the past several years, he has been training individuals and guiding them to use yoga to harmonise their bodies in tune with nature.
Using techniques he has formulated, he has supported– and continues to support– hundreds of people helping them attain a state of calm thereby leading to their physical, intellectual, and emotional growth.
‘We are distracted and too chaotic as a civilisation,’ says Advait. ‘We are drawn to all sorts of temptations and vices without realising it. What I hope to do is to guide and steer people into understanding the true meaning of life, and what we can attain from it through the simple act of discipline, practice, and knowledge. For this journey, we must start with the basics.’
He champions the gurukul system of learning in India, a traditional form of education that mandates an exclusive period of teacher and pupil learning in the midst of nature, through nature, and about the nature in which they reside.
1. Improve your posture: An integral part of yoga is the stretches it demands. It is vital to activate our limbs beyond the mandated activities such as walking or eating or doing chores. Through stretching our limbs, the body is activated. Movement is necessary, and as the top tip, it is important that we exercise and activate our body to be rid of negative emotions and keep our minds sharp and youthful at all times.
2. Watch your diet: What lies in our intestines most definitely defines our thought processes and thinking capabilities. We must remain mindful of what we consume, and have a diet that is well-balanced, fresh, nutritious and clean.
3. Take care of your senses: Engage your senses by using your senses. Take a nap when tired, listen to good music, see great places, spend time in nature, smell the flowers, avoid chaotic sounds and places, reduce screen time and engage in healthy conversations. It is important to understand what you are feeding your senses as they define the energy you store in your body. By finding ways to stimulate your senses, you are building a balance in yourself, and flushing out all toxicity and negativity from your life.
‘Technology is good, advancements are good. Where we falter as a human race is the abuse of these concepts that can lead to irreparable damage. Our rush to live a good life, the need to make financial gains, and the deep desire to put up an act for society are ways where we cover up the tracks to actual enlightenment.’
Having helped thousands of corporate employees, from different nationalities to reach a state of fulfillment, Advait hopes to spread his teachings and yoga across the world where people can flourish and excel in the best, holistic manner possible.
To that end Advait regularly conducts teaching sessions and yoga retreats offering people an insight into the power of yoga and how it can help harmonise the body and mind.
Our rush to live a good life, the need to make financial gains, and the deep desire to put up an act for society are ways where we cover up the tracks to actual enlightenment
He believes it is important that the corporate world acknowledges the role of yoga as a holistic approach to ensure the physical and mental well-being of individuals.
Among his pointers for a harmonious life include syncing the body with the circadian rhythm, waking up early in the day, ideally at 5 am so you can be at your productive best and contribute greatly all through the day; have meals at the right time and be in the moment while consuming food; and meditate regularly to calm the mind and bring about balance in life.
The path to a more meaningful and contented life is all about following a few basic tenets, he says. ‘Make these lifestyle changes and you will be able to have a lot more control, balance and discipline in your life.’