Swadhyaya literally means self-study. It is a method which can help you understand yourself through an inquiry into your thoughts, habits, feelings and emotions. Swadhyaya is a crucial element when you want to achieve transformation, be it Kayakalp or age reversal, stress-relief, weight loss or good health. It increases your awareness of the body, mind, efficiency and effectiveness as a person. The factors that lead to rapid ageing include stress, toxic emotions such as anger and guilt, and lack of good nutrition, sleep and exercise. Swadhyaya helps break the vicious cycle of stress and distress that leads to ageing.
Swadhyaya can be practised by everyone
In yoga, swadhyaya is an element of “niyama” or code for personal discipline. Niyama includes shauchya (cleanliness), santosha (contentment), tapa (austerity) and ishvar pranidhana (surrender to god). These niyamas help reduce emotional and mental conflict and render the mind ready for higher practices of yoga. Swadhyaya helps gather your focus and energy and can be practiced by everyone for self-growth.
Begin by examining every detail of your lifestyle — diet, exercise, sleep, work — and understand what needs to change to have a healthy and fulfilling life. This can be easily achieved by keeping a daily diary of your strengths, weakness, qualities, likes and dislikes, and good and bad habits. Your holidays or vacations can serve as a period of swadhyaya to detox your body, cleanse your emotions and eliminate habits that don’t serve you anymore and thus develop a better understanding of yourself.
Various techniques of swadhyaya
The different techniques to practise swadhyaya include breath regulation, chanting or the practise of mudras. Breath regulation can be achieved through pranayama or simply by taking 10-20 minutes every day to observe your breath. Chanting means repetitions of a particular sound or mantra which aids in concentration. The breath plays a powerful role in fixing the mind in the present moment while chanting helps probe deeper into one’s consciousness. Mudras are hand, body and eye gestures that help channelise your prana or life force within and arrest unnecessary dissipation of your energies. These practices give you a fresh outlook on yourself and your life.
Being in the present holds the key to age-reversal
Research has shown that your attitude or self-perception have a great impact on the ageing process of the body. Psychology speaks of mindfulness which is a state of active, open attention to the present. You observe your thoughts and feelings from a distance, without judging them as good or bad. This helps you live in the moment and experience it fully instead of letting life pass by. You deal with one day at a time which helps reduce stress, anxiety, worry and avoid accumulation of toxic emotions. The science of yoga states that when swadhyaya is practised every day, it is possible to fix the mind in the present. Swadhayaya also helps establish a sense of self-awareness which gives your body and mind a boost.
The yoga sutras (aphorisms) have spoken about a phenomenon called “sakshi bhav”. Sakshi means witness and bhav means mental attitude or disposition. You become a sakshi to your thoughts and actions without judging or condemning yourself. This attitude is the goal of swadhyaya and it influences your body, mind and energy in a deeply positive and nurturing way.
Tip of the week:
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