Mens sana in corpore sano ~Juvenal

I have composed this based on a programme I attended shortly in my office.

This programme dealt with “Stress Management”…quite a familiar term, isn’t it…and you must be wondering what’s different in that?
That’s quite but a natural reaction. Before going to this programme even I happened to think in the same way.
However, this happened to be a great eye-opener for we folks out here.

Half of the crowd hardly was aware that they were having problems and they never realize them unless and until they face some major….like the hypertension, asthama, blood pressure and diabetes..whatever the root lies in “stress”.
By that time a lot of water has flown down the bridge and the cure needs us to try very hard and suffer a lot of pain.
The speaker happened to be a lady called Ms. Kiran, a disciple of Bihar school of Yoga.Whatever she told , I perfectly agree with..and hope you too might..

Here’s what she put in:

Before she happened to work in corporate sector like us, she had undergone tremendous pressure of working 12 hours, travelling constantly..and………long list as we have. They say software is bad..but it’s the people like us who make it bad.. ..this lady had a tremendous case of spinal pain to an extent that she could not get out of her bed and walk even to the bathroom. Medical dosage and injections with all sorts of modern scientific inventions were somehow able to cure her..but to an extent not more than 70%. She happened to visit a Yoga teacher, ( incidently a foreigner clad in saffron robes..!) who listened to her entire problem, at the concluding only that she had been going through a lots of stress…..this lady(kiran) happened to think that from where do such people come….here when she is going around the world which tells her that she is having spinal diability…this so called “Guru” proclaims of her having stress. Still she decided to believe somehow and undergo the 5-day programme of stress relievance. One whole, they made her cry…and she felt as if half of the work was done..whatever taught in the 5 days …she had to practice for another month…..and “Believe me,” as she said “After that I was ready to climb the Mount Everest”. This isn’t any hype…I believe it works..at least for me..

She happened to take a test of the entire mob. She asked us to close our eyes a minute, take normal breaths and count the number of times that we breathe in a minute. The people who breathe more than 15 times deserve a holiday…and those who more than 20 times need to leave that very moment..she said..I was sad..I got only 13…!

Then she gave some tips:

1. Never compare yourself with anyone else in the world. Nor two fingers are same, neither are any two people. If somebody is writing 5000 loc per day..that doesn’t mean I should do the same. Nor should we compete our achievements, wealth, looks with those of others, cause each person is unique in his own way. And people do like you for the way you are…! So one reason of stress is over…

2. Concentrate on your diet. How many of us skip the lunch just for the sake of completing the work. Then they go at night tend to push some heavy junk items into our stomach and throw themselves into the bed. It’s natural, but it is wrong. Skipping lunch is no alternative of completing work. She also focused on the quantity of food we eat. Our stomach size is only the size of our 2 palms hold together. Out of that half of it should be filled with food, quarter with water..and the remaining quarter s[pace need to be kept for churling. Never pack yourself too much….Always be aware of every single morsel of food you put in your mouth.

3. How many of us feel a headache, an irritated tightened feeling in our shoulders, neck or back..too often. This is stress and we need to get rid of it. She told some meditation techniques and “Pranayama” that probably most of us know..but hardly practice. Meditation is the best possible way to be aware of your organs you inner self, to give time for yourself, talking to your body, and understanding what is troubling us. On the whole “Surya Namaskara and Yoga” are the best possible remedies for a happy healthy life. It is better to spend a 30- 40 minutes of your day for this..rather than spending half of the life in hospital..that happens..! And we realize that when time has flown away. However this should be learnt from a trained teacher, to begin with.

4. Lastly, most of us need to examine if we are breathing correctly. Hold you stomach, close your eyes and feel your breath. While breathing in , the stomach should push itself out, and the reverse while we breathe out. If you encounter anything else than this , then it means that you are not breathing properly..and need to consult.

5. Get out of your workplace every half an hour..or not if at least an hour, roam around, climb stairs, do some light exercises, see the sky or the greenery, and get refreshed. Prolonged sitting at one place cause increase in the stress level. Things like playing a game, hitting a ball, doing things you are passionate about , around half an hour..vents out most of the stress. While doing these things you will find that you are absorbed in the activity and it takes control of your mind entirely…thus helping in reducing stress level.


In the long run, I mean to say…these happen to seem trival matters in the beginning; but at the end become the major cause of your problems. That’s the reason , I took some time out of my schedule and wrote this.
After all,

“He who has health, has hope. And he who has hope, has everything.”