Journey to becoming better human being – 15
How does mind body connection work?
The next day
morning was cheerful. We all were enjoying the unique experience of the
overnight retreat. We began the day by revising the practice of yesterday – the
Experience of Peace. It was a wonderful way to start the day.
We had some
unique activities – standing, siting, lying down and noting about our posture.
Walking around and noting the posture. Repeating it several times.
It was
unusual. In our meetings we had discussions, guided experience but for the
first time I encountered activities involving movement of body and observing
our posture. What was the point?
“We are going
to discuss about Psycho-Physical Gymnastics – a unique system of self-control
to re-establish the balance between our mind and body. With this technique you
will learn to control yourself better in daily life.”
The
introduction sounded exciting and the activities of noting the posture
intriguing. What is the link? I knew something important will be coming next.
“Health
and strength in the truest sense require balance - an equilibrium. Nothing
works better to achieve this balance than to exercise both your mind and body
at the same time”
“The mind and body have mutual relationship. If you have ever noticed the
difference between the posture of someone who is depressed and someone who is
happy, you will easily grasp the relationship. An anxious mind is related to
posture of body leaning forward and a leisurely mental state is related to the
posture of body reclining backward.”
I could easily
verify and relate with the same.
It was suggested
that I stand as I normally do and imagine a vertical line passing through my
head and body to the ground. Using this line as a reference, I had to notice
whether my head was badly positioned, whether my chest was sunken, my stomach
was out of line, or if I held my lower stomach in and thus push the buttocks
out of line. I was asked not to try to change any incorrect positions; but
simply keep them in mind and remember all the details. Then, I was asked to
draw a sketch of my body in my notebook just as I remembered it, both the side
view and the front view. I had to mark any incorrectly positioned points and
see what I need to correct.
Next I was asked
to stand up and start to correct the posture. I noticed that it wasn’t easy.
“What is
important to know, is that while the mental state leads to a certain body posture,
we can make it work other way – that is change the mental state by changing the
body posture”.
Psycho is mind
and physical is body. The aim is to learn about the relation between the two
and how they affect each other. While it will be difficult for us to control
our mind directly, we can change our body posture and with that affect our
mental state.
When you are
attentive the posture is straight and erect. So, by straightening my posture I
can improve my attentiveness.
Once I tried the
straight posture, soon my body started to ache. How do I deal with that?
“You have
cultivated a habit over the years to be in the wrong posture. Obviously if you
are going to change it, in the beginning it will be uncomfortable. Do not go to
the extreme. Pay attention to the posture and improve it whenever you can.
Slowly increase the duration of the correct posture until it becomes a new
habit.”
Such a simple
thing like body posture can affect the mind so much. I could remember that in
the childhood my mother used to scold me for sitting in twisted posture and
insisted on my sitting straight. Now I realised the importance of the posture.
Posture was the
first part of the study of Psycho-Physical Gymnastics. More was to follow. I
was anxious to learn more on the subject. In the meantime, I was advancing on
my journey to become better person.
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