Health is physical, harmony is mental, peace is spiritual, and a healthy body, harmonious mind and peaceful spirit is the definition of the perfect human being.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
In the last few years, Swamiji has underlined the importance of promoting health. During the COVID pandemic, he has exhorted us to take care of ourselves, bringing physical and mental well-being into our daily lives. From the yogic point of view, health is the management of different physiological conditions and the modifications that take place due to the changing conditions of the body and the environment. The purpose of yoga is to generate positive responses to these modifications, not to treat a disease or cure an ailment. The indicators of well-being are health, happiness and harmony, and yoga helps us to achieve these goals in our lives and in our interactions with others. Swamiji has encouraged us to integrate yoga practices into our daily life in the form of capsules, which do not take too much time and generate positive habits.
When we watched Swamiji’s satsang of 1st January 2022 from the live streaming of Hanuman Chalisa, we were amazed by his words and his seven-point message:
The first part of the message is that we should look after our own health. Health is not only physical, but also mental, emotional and spiritual. When we are able to regain total health of the body, mind, emotions and spirit, then we can call ourselves healthy. Until then we have to struggle to find our health, either at the physical or psychological level. No one is ever healthy. So, let’s make an effort to focus on the cultivation of health this year.
—Swami Niranjanananda Saraswati
With this goal mind, a small group of Satyananda Yoga teachers from different regions of Italy decided to share our ideas about taking care of our health. We organized workshops, both in- person and online, for ourselves and our students. Once a month, we organized the following workshops:
Dinacharya: Sannyasi Shantanu (Torino) presented a simple sequence of purification practices of yoga and ayurveda to be done in the morning to purify and awaken the senses.
Breathe for Healthy Lungs: Sannyasi Sadhanashakti (Udine) talked about the video released by the Bihar School of Yoga during the pandemic to promote correct breathing habits by developing awareness and vitality.
Remove Energy Blocks: Sannyasi Mantramitra (Fregona) taught the Pawanmuktasana Part 1 series for eliminating energy blockages in the joints of the physical body, stimulating natural healing processes.
Relaxation for Psychophysical Health: Sannyasi Nityamurti (Torino) discussed the techniques of bhramari, kapalbhati, pranayama, yoga nidra and samiksha to manage stress and release the physical, mental, and emotional tensions that accumulate daily.
Discovering Balance Through Opposites: Jignasu Brahmamitra (Torino) offered a lesson of asana, pranayama and yoga nidra to discover psychophysical balance as the foundation of health and personal well being.
Purification Techniques for Self-Care: Sannyasi Samadhan (Pinerolo) presented the cleansing techniques, such as jala neti kriya, kapalbhati and trataka, that can be easily introduced into the daily routine to maintain a state of purity and balance.
Each teacher held the in-person workshop at their respective centre while students of the other teachers participated online.
The whole endeavour created precious moments, not only for trying to incorporate Swamiji’s instructions into practices, but also for sharing knowledge and experiences among teachers. We felt enriched, learning and supporting each other during the difficult COVID pandemic. The students received the message of health, happiness and harmony of our Satyananda Yoga tradition. The project flowed smoothly as if we were guided by the invisible hand of Swamiji, Guru’s grace.