Yama - Outward Focus

Do we control events? Often we cannot. We frequently react to events. This can generate stress in us, especially if we find ourselves in situations that we have difficulty in coping with. We also get stressed by the reactions of others if we or others are confrontational, insensitive or irrelevant. Our reactions to external stimulus and our ability to work with others in a peaceful manner or bring peace into our relationships are the fundamental building block of a sustainable solution for stress.

Yama is the first element of Situational Awareness. It enables us to and live a a life where our actions leave us as well as those we interact with a sense peace. It results in us being able to enjoy a stable and balanced relationship with our environment.

Yama has different meanings, "rein, curb, or bridle, discipline or restraints". In the present context, it means "self-control or forbearance" when dealing with the environment. Patanjali's Yoga Sutra mentions six key elements in Yama that cover all aspects of personal behaviour with the external environment.

The key to effective implementation of Yama is to be able to align our Dharma with that of others without sacrificing our own dharma, yet achieve the common goal and retain or grow the relationship.

Elements of Yama: Ahimsa (Non-violence), Hrta (Integrity), Diversity, Teaming, Valour and Aparigraha (Equanimity). When one understands and implements these elements, there results a tremendous sense of peace because those that interact with us stop feeling threatened by us and our actions. This allows us to achieve our objectives better with lesser emotional investment and at the same time lead and mentor others to work within their Dharma because we know when and where to apply our energies for maximum effect.

Share your opinion and experiences:

• Do we control events?

• What is the best way to react? What is the end we should aim for?

• Is it possible to achieve a win-win solution every time?

• If we cannot achieve a win-win solution, then how should we manage the situation?

• How do we react, ensure success, yet ensure peace in any reaction?

• How important is transparency in a reaction?

• How important is it for us to respect the other person’s Dharma in a situation?

• How do relationships get affected? Why do they get disturbed?

• What does it take to restore a disturbed relationship?

• Can a relationship be one-sided? How do you manage an important one-sided relationship?

• How important is patience in a relationship?

• How important is communication in maintaining relationships?
  

• How do you use communication to diffuse tension?

Resolution - Measure of Progress

What is yoga? The root of the word yoga is yuj or to join, joining the various aspects of our personality into a cohesive whole so that the person is able to live a wholesome life. Raja Yoga is considered to be the Raja (king) among Yoga Shastras (a text of experience) because the king works at a material level and this form of yoga is more attuned to normal living and does not require one to go deep into spiritual life. By design, it has two levels- a beginner’s level for self-improvement in daily life (Kriya Yoga) and an advanced level (Samyama Yoga) for one who wishes to delve deep into the esoteric.

The world has become smaller and success lies in our ability to handle rapid change. This change could range from diversity issues in the form cultural, racial or sexual biases to assimilation of technical and business information; or issues as mundane as handling jet lag and cross cultural food.

The process of confronting, accepting, assimilating and responding to reality is not easy, especially when each experience is new and traditional/ “ready recipe” responses are inappropriate/ inadequate. This continuous need for “ground up” response tests our entire value and belief system and stresses us.

We live in an objective world. Everything we do and are conditioned to be is a product of the objective world. We constantly think and work with metrics, whereas nature works on different rules, sometimes in conflict with our own.

Example: Consider time. We constantly plan our lives to the clock, but does the Sun care? Do the winds and tides plan? Does the typhoon that ravages the coast announce its intention? What happens when we are engrossed with something we like? We forget time which for us, becomes the gap between when we remember starting the activity to the moment we became conscious of ourselves again. When we say that we lost ourselves, what does that actually mean? We had channalised our energies is an activity that so engrossed us that our consciousness was completely merged with the subject, achieved the state of Yoga. Therefore, time can only be defined as “the gap between two states of consciousness”. That is the time when we are completely aware of ourselves.

Therefore, if we could keep ourselves engrossed in the present moment, we would be able to operate in any situation with clarity and balance and with far lesser confusion or passion. This will increase our level of consciousness or awareness and allow us to realize our full potential. This is Situational Awareness.

Measure of Progress

How do we know that we are succeeding in our efforts? From first principles, we know that stress occurs when we get tipped off our internal balance (feeling of peace) or perceive a lack of congruence with our value system, Dharma. As we progress along the path of Situational Awareness, we will notice many changes occurring within us. Mainly, there will be an increased sense of peace as we begin to understand how to deal with change and with that which is not aligned with our Dharma. This will result in a feeling of peace that covers us, our family, neighbours and those that interact with us. As this feeling of peace increases, we will get greater confidence in our ability to manage our lives.

There are four distinct levels of development in the road to the feeling of peace. They are Jagrat (Wakeful state); Swapna (Dream State); Sushupti (Awareness State) and Turiya (Superconscious State). Clearly, the turiya state is meant for mystics and not for daily application. However, the other states can be used as metrics for judging progress.

How do we judge these states? Jagrat (Wafeful State) is when we are conscious of what is going on around us. Swapna (Dream State) is when we see images and intentions, not activity. Sushupti (Awareness State) is when we are conscious of an awareness that goes beyond the material level. The three states will manifest as shown in the matrix below. These are nine combinations that the practitioner can experience in the path of Situational Awareness. Situational Awareness is highest when, in any of the nine combinations, one experiences a sense of peace. This sense of peace means that the gunas and energy centres are in balance.

The first name decides which level predominates. The ability to remain in the level appropriate to the situation is the key to measuring progress.

Example: Creativity would rise from a Swapna row matrix.

Example: Driving requires one to be in the Jagrat state. Here, a person must be aware of what is in front, back and beside him. If the person were to be in Swapna state, then obviously chaos would result. Sushupti state is also not advisable as in this state, the person is focused inwards and the muscles are in a state of rest. So, in Sushupti state, the person would drive with high level of awareness, but at a very low speed.

Resolution - Situational Awareness

Any stress situation has two elements: the stressor and our coping action, out of which the only the latter is truly in our control. Our ability to cope effectively is limited only by our capability, our ability to assess the situation, decide on what to do, effectiveness in implementing the decision and dealing with the consequence of our action.

Elements of Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness is a stress management product that addresses solutions at two levels; an intervention to manage the immediacy of the situation and a developmental aspect where the lessons (vijnana and jnana) are imbibed, resulting in us being able to either avoid the situation in future or to deal with it more effectively.

Intervention. In many new or difficult situations we often feel overwhelmed, experiencing a kind of psychosomatic hijack characterized by a feeling of being out of control. We need some tool that clears the clouds of confusion and brings a sense of clarity and balance.

Development. This solution is used in the following cases:

Often, we react without fully understanding the situation. This results in a stress residue after the situation has passed. These stresses need to be purged in order that we remain in reality and at peace.

Some situations are long-term and need continuous attention. This means continued focus on incremental improvements to bring the situation under control.

Finally, all experiences result in learning at both, vijnana (transactional) and jnana (value) levels. The faster this assimilation occurs, the better will be the capability of the person to manage a similar experience again.

Any stress management tool we use must cover the following areas related to us:

• Ability to interact with our environment in such a way that we retain our sense of peace and keep the peace with our environment.

• Ability to digest and assimilate inputs from the environment, extract and assimilate the essence of our experience, reference and understand concepts and build a base for better interaction with the environment.

• The opening up of the world has thrown up many opportunities and challenges. The cost of assuaging ambition is often very high in terms of health, relationships and other lost opportunities. The ability to prioritise and balance these requirements is very important.

• As we move to extract more from life without losing our sense of peace, a key requirement is our ability to retain emotional integrity, dual brain operation (left and right/ logical and creative) and high oxygen absorption. The reason is that without such a balance, thinking can become polarized, leading to stress.

• Finally, our ability to process data needs to be enhanced. The ability to handle multiple situations, each with its own demands, is the key to the effective utilization of our time and energy.

Situational Awareness is an exercise in capability building, directing our energies to generating maximum effectiveness for the time that we are alive. This means understanding the objective of what we are setting out to do, putting together a plan that has measurable milestones, eliminating waste in the form of frittered energy, fear, etc., in our operations, communicating effectively, learning continuously and being aware of what we are doing.

This consists of 5 steps which form part of Kriya Yoga of Raja Yoga:

Yama (Outward Focus): Being sensitive to the Dharma of others so that we are at peace.

Niyama (Inward Focus): Align our faculties to Dharma so that we build a foundation of values that improves yama and results in reduced stress experiences.

Asana (Lifestyle Management): Living life in a balanced manner so that we understand all aspects of living to get a well experienced svabhava.

For exercises, we recommend usage of Yogasanas because they are easier on the body, easy to learn & do, do not require expensive accessories/ equipment and yet keep the body fit.

Pranayama (Breathing Techniques): Breathing is critical to our physical, intellectual and emotional stability and reduced stress. We teach various methods of breathing, each designed to optimize absorption of oxygen into the system.

Pratyahara (Mind Control): Concentration is the ability to channalise all our faculties in a single direction (ekagrat) to achieve the objective. Clutter and confusion is avoided when meditation is done regularly. Lower stress results in better decision making capability.

Resolution - Intro

Stress is experiential and very personal. Only the person experiencing it knows the discomfort of stress. Time, place, situation and capability, all could trigger a stress reaction in us. A situation that stresses one need not stress others, even those genetically related. Also, that which stresses us at any point in time, need not stress us at other times.

Example: We all watch movies. Whenever we go with friends or family, each person has a different view on how the movie was, whether he liked it, which his or her favourite character was and why. This is because; the movie impacts each of our svabhava’s differently. This happens in difficult situations also, which is why, the impact of stress on each of us is different, which makes it very personal.

How stress impacts us can be gauged from the impact the stimulus has on the hierarchy of needs as propounded by Abraham Maslow. Safety and security issues generally take priority over social issues.

Example: Assume the following events occur simultaneously; the landlord serves us with an eviction notice, our child has suddenly developed fever, the cooking stove breaks down, our neighbour complains that the dog bit her cat, our favourite dress disappears and finally a wild looking man, obviously on drugs, breaks into the house with a gun and threatens us.

Until the wild looking man is diffused, we will never think of anything else because the man affects our safety and he is completely out of our control. After he leaves, we will try to get the child to the doctor and because the car is required, we will try to fix that. The child is a responsibility, it has no control over its ill-health and potentially affects our feeling of security. Finally, we would try to diffuse the neighbour because it affects our social needs, before leaving for the doctor. Everything else would be tackled later.

When we are confronted with multiple situations, we try to prioritise as mentioned above. Just imagine, if in the above example, the parent was to mix up priorities and start searching for the missing dress. There would be chaos and confusion, if not disaster.

It is the here and now requirement that grabs precedence. Our ability to remain in the present and be able to recognize the priority of reality is key to our ability to manage stress.

The best way to deal with stress is to manage it as the experience unfolds and the stress begins to manifest itself; to take the stimulus, test is against our dharma before responding. Keep an open mind to learning and be sensitive to impact on others.

Once stress is managed in accordance with Dharma - our value system, there is a feeling of peace which enables us to live a better life. Therefore, we need to be able to understand our Dharma and find a way to manage our response to stress without deviating from this value system.

This ability to manage stress as it occurs is called Situational Awareness.

Situational Awareness may be defined as the degree of accuracy by which one’s perception of his current environment mirrors reality

Situational Awareness manifests itself as perceptions. Perceptions are images of reality that get generated by Guna and these differ from reality. This is called Awareness Gap. Therefore, the quality of Situational Awareness is determined by our Guna balance and manifests itself as our svabhava.

Factors that affect Situational Awareness

Situational Awareness drives the ability of our svabhava to meet the needs of any situation; on the speed with which we process information from our environment, face it off against our dharma, determine a reaction, evaluate the response in terms of risks and benefits, and act on it. Svabhava conditioning is therefore the key to heightened SA.

Some factors that affect SA are:

• Will: The drive to affect the outcome in our favour.

• Genetic: Inherent situation handling tools that we are born with.

• Conditioning – Environmental, culture, school background, home, etc., determines our ability to handle various situations in the right manner.

• Classification: By nature, some situations are more difficult to manage than others.

Example: The death of a close relative is more difficult to handle than an argument at a traffic signal. A natural calamity like war is more difficult to handle than temporary discomfort like missing a meal or not eating your favourite dish.

• Health: The current state of Physical, Intellectual and Emotional being determines our reactions in any situation.

• Faith: The ability to start an activity without a clear idea of the possible outcome determines the level of stress experienced.

• Self Esteem: This is a very strong source of stress and is driven by factors such as fear of failure, lack of confidence, lack of domain knowledge, lack of environmental support and previous negative experience.

Energy Centres and Stress

Centres and Stress: The centres pulse with energy. When the centres are normal, there is are no side effects. When they are depleted (we can feel a sort of emptiness in the region) or when they are congested (we feel heaviness in the region), there are psychosomatic side-effects. Organs in the affected region are impacted.

Centres and Motivation: Psychologically, one can correlate the functioning of the centres with the psychological state as propounded by Abraham Maslow in his 1943 paper “Theory of Motivation”. Maslow propounded a hierarchy of needs which motivate or stress us. The psychological states propounded by Maslow correlate very closely with the energy centres.

This correlation comes of use when we try to find solutions to stress because it is known in Yoga and other forms of Oriental healing that rate of energy flow through these centres changes the behaviour of the person.

We use the correlation to find associations between our stressors and the points in our body where they impact us and finally use this understanding to calm the impacted area down using asanas, pranayama and pratyahara.

The Energy Centres

Ancient Oriental texts on this subject from India, China, Korea, and Japan speak of many energy centres, but all agree that there are six major centres in the human body that control all major functions.

Base Centre (Muladhara): The first center aligns itself with coccyx between the anus and the genitals. This Center affects the physiological aspects of the individual- the overall energy levels, feeling of safety, and overall health.

Example: Have you noticed that people in difficult situations squirm in their seats? At an official review, where something has gone wrong and the criticism is very personal, one will feel acutely uncomfortable at the anus and feel an urge to go to the toilet. There will be an urge to shift in the seat. This is the action of rocking the coccyx with the intention of energizing the muladhara chakra.

Sex Centre (Svadhishtana): This centre corresponds to the sacral region around the genital area. This center affects the sexuality and communications skills of the individual. Control of this centre results in strong nerves and emotional stability.

Example: When we are in a heated argument, do we notice that sometimes there is an ache in the lower back when the discussion is over? This occurs because, often, we are trying to convince the other person to accept our point of view and there is great tension in the need to effectively communicate. This strains the lumbar arch and results in the stress.

Stomach Centre (Manipura): This centre is placed around the navel and corresponds to the lumbar area of the spine. This is a center that controls our social skills.

Example: Often, we hear about taking a decision from the gut, the gut feel! How is that possible? After all it is the brain that decides. Or is it? The stomach does have a role, for the Manipura with its acids & bile does signal comfort in a social environment to the person.

Heart Centre (Anahata): Placed at the centre of the chest, this centre responds to the thoracic region on the spine. This is the centre of emotional energy. A clean centre is essential for emotional stability.

Example: Blood pressure is directly related to anger and speech. Generally, doctors advise a person to reduce speaking after a heart attack. Why? Because the heart does get excited and the impact of adrenaline has a direct impact on the heart & lungs.

Throat Centre (Visuddhi): This centre is placed just above the Adam’s apple and corresponds to the cervical region in the spine. This centre is the point where the thyroid, parathyroid and lymphatic system reside. It controls metabolic activity. Since metabolism is the ability of the body to convert food into usable energy and rebuilding of cell tissue, this is a critical area.

Example: When we are afraid, we often feel choked! Why? Because the Visuddhi gets depleted of energy and the chocking action impacts the thyroid & parathyroid. Over time, depletion of this centre can lead to cervical spondylosis.

Forehead Centre (Ajna): This center is placed between the eyebrows in the front of the cranium. This is the centre that controls centers. It energises the pituitary and endocrine glands. This centre is the primary input point for “Fight or flight” stimulus.

Example: Indians apply a dot over this centre called a Tilak. The objective is to screen the centre with neutral agents such as ash, antiseptic such as turmeric or a cooling agent such as sandalwood.

Prana - The Life Force

How does Guna operate? What are the constituents of Tamas, Rajas and Sattva?

All Gunas operate with only two constituents: awareness of consciousness and energy. Energy is required in all output, but it is the level of awareness that decides which guna we are operating in. When awareness of consciousness is low and foggy, it is Tamas. Energy consumed here is generally low, but could become high in certain situations, like an elephant running amok. Rajas occurs when awareness of consciousness is in achievement mode; energy expended here is generally high, radiating heat. In Sattva, awareness of consciousness is characterized by balance and clarity. Energy utilization can vary from low consumption during reflection to high usage during action, but is characterized by lack of heat.

Example: Let us consider a musician trying to learn a new song.

Since the song is new, the singer first struggles with the notes and words. There is confusion and energy consumption is low, without direction. Here, vijnana (technical competence) levels are low. Depending on the urgency of the need to learn the song, stress levels can be high. This is Tamas.

As the singer becomes proficient with the song, vijnana levels become very high. The singer begins to sing with confidence. Energy consumption becomes high, awareness and control are high. The singer sings projecting his or her own personality. This is Rajas.

Finally, the singer begins to intuit the emotions of the tune and the spirit behind the words. The subtleties of the song and the tune merge with the personality of the singer. This is jnana and the output is an example of satva, an integrated balance that is reached within the person.

How does this impact out Situational Awareness process?

Dharma is the value system that drives our Svabhava. It is consciousness that resides deep inside us; we are rarely aware of it. Svabhava, the transactional element which translates our Dharma into Karma (action), is also a consciousness; but we have greater awareness of it. Svabhava manifests itself as Karma. Here, a major change occurs: there is action. Energy is used. Karma results in Anubhava (experience), which is awareness. Anubhava results in Aashirwada - eustress or Abhishapa - distress. This is high energy/low consciousness. Anubhava also results in learning; vijnana- application knowledge and jnana – conceptual knowledge, which is low energy/high consciousness.

The complete process may be characterized as a consciousness transformation process. Deep consciousness in the form of Dharma surfaces as Svabhava (perceivable consciousness). This consciousness is manifested as Karma, which is energy (application consciousness). The output of Karma (action), Anubhava (experience) results in various mix of energy and consciousness. While Aashirwada-eustress or Abhishapa- distress represent high energy and low consciousness, Aashirwada results in ingestion of energy, while Abhishapa results in depletion of energy. Similarly, Vijnana results in energy/consciousness changes while jnana is purely a consciousness transformation. In all this, the quality of energy/awareness of consciousness determines the guna level.

Karma is the fulcrum of the transformation of the latent Dharma (consciousness of the value system) into Anubhava. We will notice that when we are expending energy in any action, our awareness is in receiving mode; but when we are reflecting and reviewing our consciousness, our energy is in low-use mode. Very rarely are both energy and consciousness at a high state of continuous operation.

Example: Communication.

When we talk, we seldom listen and vice versa. When we are thinking, if we talk, our thinking slows down and vice versa. Try it.

What are the mechanics of this energy and consciousness?

While energy is drawn from digestion and respiration, where does consciousness come from? Something makes digestion and respiration occur. What keeps the body alive and enables the system to operate? There is some operating consciousness that activates any form of life. In Yoga, this is called “Prana” or “Life Force”. Prana manifests itself through what are known as “energy centres”. These are gateways along the spine through which the energy flows. How to recognise these centers can be learned from any Pranic healer or Reiki practitioner.

In a normal situation, energy flows unimpeded through the centre. In a stress situation, one or more centres become congested or depleted. Neither condition is advisable, as prolonged exposure can lead to damage of the related organs in the body.

Guna - The Attribute

Karma is a manifestation of Svabhava which in turn is a manifestation of Dharma. Dharma is our value system. But how are the values coded in our Dharma?

These values are held as attributes called Gunas. Guna is the DNA of Dharma and they exist as an ever changing balance of 3 attitude; Tamas, Rajas & Sattva.

Tamas (Inertia) : This aspect is characterised by fear, laziness, indolence, confusion, delusion etc. and is governed primarily by the physical/ static element of our being. A person with predominance of this state generally is confused, lazy, giving excuses, indecisive and very high on maintenance (will not do work unless pushed, monitored)

Rajas (Passion) : This state governs nearly all forms of action, driven primarily by emotions. This aspect drives our orientation towards results and desire for achievement. A person in this state would typically be result oriented, dominating, driving, aggressive, brooking no resistance, impatient etc.

Sattva (Harmony): This occurs when a person tries to balance result with resource, process, tries to balance task result with quality & relationships. This is driven by a need for balance. This person avoids confrontation unless absolutely required. When in a conflict situation, the person is calm and absorbs all kinds of emotions. Avoids personal & and judgmental remarks.

The 3 Gunas (attributes) exist in us at all times. They change continuously depending on our physical, emotional & intellectual state of being at any instant and manifest themselves as our svabhava. In any situation, when our vijnana (skills) are low, the predominant attribute is confusion or tamas. Depending on the strength of our will/ desire (svabhava), we either act (rajas) or withdraw in frustration (tamas). Finally, we acquire the skill (vijnana) and there is a balance (satva). But, tama & rajas do not disappear completely because even as we learn about the task, new aspects that we did not know about manifest themselves. This is the essence of the Gunas or Trigunas (as they are known together). When jnana is internalised, we reach the state of harmony, all these 3 elements optimized with each other. This balance is called the “Guna Balance” and is a critical measure of our level of awareness of reality in any situation.

For example: Let’s take the example of a person using an ATM (Automatic Teller Machine) for the first time. The person has been issued an ATM card by the bank and has to now go through several actions before being able to use the account, starting with registering the PIN (Personal Identification Number).

Imagine the person’s state when for the first time he/she has to work with the machine. First is confusion “How am I going to do this?” This is Tamas.

Next comes anger or some other emotion. “This is ridiculous! How do they expect me to operate this machine without training?” This is Rajas.

This is followed by ownership. “Let’s see what we can do”. The person then hacks around and finds a solution, either by doing it himself or by asking someone. This is Satva.

Then comes success and vijnana (knowledge) of using the machine and with it, an enhanced level of comfort. The person may even help someone in trouble, but rarely experience the same anxiety again. The stress of the situation has been overcome!

The guna balance in the above example moved from low emotional/ intellectual level impacting physical abilities of the person to a state of comparative balance of emotional/ intellectual level leading to physical fluidity, lucidity, confidence and harmony. It is obviously possible for physical discomfort as a cold or injury to impact emotional and intellectual levels or an emotional situation such as bereavement to impact us intellectually or physically (drained of energy).

What happens when things go wrong? The time taken to come to terms with the situation (reality) is longer. The discomfort lasts longer and sometimes forever. Every visit to the ATM Center is traumatic! The impact on the guna balance is discernable, to the extent that it becomes part of the svabhava. If this fear/ apprehension is not addressed, then the fear becomes intrinsic to the person and becomes part of his Dharma (value system). Such a person has a constant dread of the ATM & would prefer to go to a bank and withdraw money from a teller counter or use some other means.

Our condition in most situations is that we are either ahead or behind the situation. This could be due to our physical state, other exigencies that draw our attention, our lack of vijnana (knowledge) etc. This causes a mismatch between what the situation actually is and what we take out of it. This gap is the Awareness Gap.

In the ideal state, our experience of Reality is in harmony with our Dharma; but often during the process of absorbing a situation, this balance gets displaced as demonstrated in the ATM example. Either one or more gunas function in less than their ideal state, leading us to perceive reality incorrectly. Since, every individual carries a different guna balance, perceptions of the same Reality will vary from one individual to another.

We may observe that the gunas (attributes) will change with respect to situation and time. A person may be fresh in the morning and be capable of the most difficult task, but may become tired and completely incapable by evening. Similarly, a person may be doing a task in an exemplary manner and suddenly become ineffective on hearing, seeing or feeling some form of abishapa (something disagreeable).

We are formatted by our parents and environment, and, depending on our education, we develop additional skills. As we enter the professional world, we begin to use these skills. We do some tasks better than others. As we advance on the professional ladder, demands on us to process complex tasks increase. As we struggle to cope, we find that we need to upgrade ourselves. Some take on new skills, while others take to activities more suited to their capabilities. Those who are unable to come up to the expectations of the management end up getting disposed or downgraded to less strenuous tasks.

Any stress solution is one where we try to keep the balance, without allowing Tamas and Rajas to control us.

Anatomy of Stress

Stress has been defined in many ways:

# Dr. Hans Selye: (Father of modern Stress theory) “the non specific response of the body to any demand made upon it”

# Lazarus: “The response of the body when pressure exceeds ones perceived ability to cope”.

In any stress situation, the primary impulse is sent to the Amygdala, a small pea sized organ behind the eyes and over the nostrils for evaluation of threat. When the Amygdala perceives threat, it sends an impulse to the hypothalamus which in turn transmits the threat to the sympathetic nervous system through the pituitary gland. This input floods the circulatory system with adrenaline.

The body responds by:

• Increased Heart rate & blood pressure: To get more blood to muscles & brain.

• Faster breathing: To take in more oxygen

• Dilation of blood vessels in muscles: Preparing for action

• Dilation of the eyes and sensitivity of the sense organs: To assess the situation and act quickly.

• Auditory exclusion & tunnel vision.

• Inhibition of erection.

• Decreased blood flow to skin/ digestive tract/ kidneys & liver to divert blood to musculo skeletal system.

• Increased level of blood sugar, fats and cholesterol: For extra energy

• Increased level of platlets and blood clotting elements: to prevent haemorrhage in case of injury

What happens after the threat passes?

Lessons are stored in the amygdala for future use; the anubhava (experience) changes our svabhava (individual personality), with consequent changes to our dharma (value system) on account of jnana/ vijnana inputs.

Often, we are able to manage some parts of the situation, but not all elements. Also, there may not be enough time, or our svabhava may lack the vijnana (knowledge) to find a solution. This leads to sustained perception of threat and the svabhava begins to experience physical, intellectual or emotional discomfort.

Finally, the body which has gone into a state of alert now needs to come back to normal. This may be possible if there is enough time for the system to assimilate the learning and work out the adrenaline. But, we often find ourselves confronting multiple situations with different coping requirements in each situation which results in prolonged states of arousal that, over time, damages the body.

The chemicals released by the pituitary, the adrenals, the hypothalamus, the thyroid etc., are life-saving chemicals that inhibit routine functions to provide the drive to face danger. Prolonged exposure to these chemicals damages vital organs, leading to reduced resistance of the immune system, hypertension, psychiatric illnesses, and stomach ailments, etc., which over time result in other psychosomatic problems that affect different parts of our body.

Indicators of Stress

Physical: fatigue, headache, insomnia, muscle aches/stiffness (especially neck, shoulders and low back), heart palpitations, chest pains, abdominal cramps, nausea, trembling, cold extremities, flushing or sweating and frequent colds.

Intellectual: Decreased concentration and memory, indecisiveness, mind racing or going blank, confusion, loss of sense of humor.

Emotional: anxiety, nervousness, depression, anger, frustration, worry, fear, irritability, impatience, short temper, nervousness (nail-biting, foot-tapping), increased eating, yelling, swearing, blaming.

Share your opinion and experiences

• How do we recognise a stress situation?

• How do we recognise reality?

• Is stress hard to manage?

• How do we recognise elements of our svabhava?

• Is giving up bad? What happens when we give up?

• What is fear of failure?

• How important is god in stress management?

• How important is prayer in stress management?

• Can we really control events?

• Is fear of death a stressor or a motivator?

• Life – a game or a gamble…

• Can environmental degradation stress us?

• Is lack of education a stressor?

• Is stress impulsive or pre-meditated?

• Is it hard to admit that you are stressed?

• Is it possible to recognise a stressed person?

• Other elements of stress…

Stress Concept - Karma/ Anubhava

In the situation, information comes in through our senses. Then, based on past experiences, feelings, associations, genetics etc., we apply a like/ dislike tag to it, evaluate risk and evolve a coping response to the stimulus. This response is called Karma (Sanskrit- Action).

All Karma (Actions) leads to some form of Anubhava (experience). Anubhava (direct cognition in sanskrit: anu – after/ bhava – being) has an external impact on others and an internal (learning) component on ourselves.

External impact- All karma either increases or decreases energy levels in us. When energy level is increased, there is motivation

(Aashirwada- blessing/ benediction) and when there is a decrease in energy levels, there is (Abhishapa - curse/ charge/ accusation). When Abhishapa (negativity) reaches a level where believe we can no longer cope, we have Distress/ Stress.

Internal Impact- Anubhava (experience) leads to internalization of the experience in the form of lessons, Vijnana and Jnana.

Vijnana (Applied knowledge) is the transactional lesson, understanding how things work. The learning is more in terms of application (how to) and side effects (what happens & why).

Jnana (Concept knowledge) When we do anything repeatedly, the subtler aspects of the subject begin to come out resulting in a deeper understanding of the subject. Jnana develops from vijnana.

For example- Let us consider car ownership. Dharma is our attitude to car purchase and use, whether we buy based on brand or cost, technical ability, maintainability, or cost of ownership etc. Svabhava is the attitude we adopt to driving and owning our car. Karma is the act of driving. When we drive, we are constantly experiencing situations, getting anubhava.

There is an external impact and an internal learning. When we drive responsibly, others are comfortable with us. This is aashirwada. When we drive aggressively, honking all the time, cutting lanes, others are disturbed and stressed. This is abhishapa.

There is an internal lesson also. Driving is a skill that develops. First we learn basic co-ordination of the gears, clutch, brakes and accelerator. This skill is learned and we have to consciously remember to press the clutch when we shift the gears. This is vijnana (learning of an application). Over time, gear shifting becomes automatic and part of our subconscious or instinct. This is jnana. We don’t need to be instructed or be conscious about when to change the gears. It happens automatically.

Jnana is the conceptual output of Vijnana. Jnana becomes our Dharma.

Share your opinion & experiences…

• Does anubhava change when we “sleep over” a situation?

• Is there anubhava when we are doing nothing?

• Is environmental degradation an anubhava of nature?

• Is HIV an anubhava of nature? What about mad cow disease?

• Does nature perform Karma?

• Can inanimate objects increase/ decrease energy in others?

• What are the ways in which we can increase energy in ourselves & others?

• How do we avoid reducing energy in ourselves & others?

• How is Karma related to Bushido, Zen, Arête etc.

• Can we control situations we get into?

• Can we perform actions with complete awareness?

• Karma & accountability?

• How does Karma result in experience?

• Difference between responsibility & accountability.

• Karma and society

• Karma & wisdom

• Relationship between Dharma & Karma

• Other aspects of Karma