Revered master Anandmurti Gurumaa was invited to Rishihood University, Sonipat, as a guest speaker to address the teaching faculty from eminent backgrounds and institutions on arresting and busting stress through Yoga Nidra, and how this practice can be a boon to them and their students.
Gurumaa: Education offers many avenues to pursue and a variety of subjects. But let us consider an often-neglected angle: the mind through which knowledge is learned or imparted. If that mind's structure, functioning and management are not beautiful or optimal, then things are in jeopardy. We all take care to drink only from a clean container, but is the mind that wants to contain all the education in a good state? Is it consolidated, focused, and free of emotional trauma or stress? Stress is overwhelming most of us in this modern era, making it difficult to absorb and retain information.
Our ancient scriptures talk about dhi, dhrti and smrti. Dhi is your intellect, whereas dhrti is how well you can hold knowledge without losing it. Smrti means memory – if you cannot bring out the learnt information at the right time, then your knowledge goes to waste. Gaining knowledge correctly, remembering and using it at the right time is very important. How can a young student’s dhi (intellect) be improved if it is full of stress? How will a stressed person perform well in their exams? If they just “learn and vomit”, then what is the use of that education?
Stress Is an Unseen Killer
Unfortunately, we overlook the importance of having a stress-free mind. What stress does is kill your enthusiasm for life, your peace of mind and positivity, as well as your creativity and even immunity. Ironically, almost everyone thinks, “I do not have any stress. There are only two times when I am stressed: day and night. Otherwise, I do not have it.” Ask yourself, do you get frequent headaches? Do you have a poor memory? Is the mind engrossed in uncontrolled rethinking? Do you start biting your nails, tapping your feet or scratching your head when facing challenges? Do you talk compulsively? Be honest with yourself and confess, “Oh yes, I have stress.” Otherwise, on top of that, you will have the stress of hiding your stress! Acceptance opens the doors for transformation and leads you to freedom from stress – the choice is yours. Below is a comprehensive list of symptoms showing the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioural symptoms in anybody suffering from stress, clinically established by scientists.
Cognitive symptoms: Low concentration and memory. If a student does not have proper memory and concentration, how will you educate that child? You put something into their head, and they forget as soon as the teacher walks out of the classroom. Worrying and pessimistic approach. I have 21 years of experience with youngsters coming to my annual Youth Shivir, and they are opening their hearts to me. One of the biggest problems I have found is they have a very pessimistic approach deep down, but cover it up with big laughter and smiles and use emoticons on WhatsApp and Instagram – clicking photos with a coffee or ice cream, saying “having a great time!”. They do not share their pessimism with their parents, teachers, or even friends. Sometimes, they do, but the friends are just other frogs in the same pond; they cannot help one another. If you are a good teacher and love your students, can you ignore their mental health? You may not be a doctor, but you can be a friend, mentor and guide to whom the child can open up.
Emotional symptoms: Moodiness, irritability, short temper, feeling overwhelmed, and a sense of loneliness and isolation.
Physical symptoms of stress can include: diarrhoea or constipation. Nausea, dizziness, chest pain, or even rapid heartbeat can also result. The human brain has an important region called the hypothalamus, which is known as the body’s “master computer”. When you are stressed, it causes a glitch, which over the years can lead to stroke, heart attack, kidney failure, or high blood pressure.
Behavioural symptoms: eating and sleeping too much or too little; using alcohol, cigarettes or drugs to relax. A senior hepatologist told me that he now treats young people (16 to 30) with kidney failure requiring a transplant. One of the patients started drinking when he was in 9th standard. All this drinking, experimenting with drugs, and smoking in school toilets led to serious health issues.
In nature, when encountering a lion you would have run. The adrenaline rush happening in dangerous situations is called “fight-or-flight response”. Now, there are no lions, but people are still running around in stress. Stress stimulates the hypothalamus to release cortisol, affecting the pituitary and adrenal glands. Over a decade ago, the UN published a paper stating that the biggest killer in the world today is stress. People are caught in a perpetual fight-or-flight mode, having lost the ability to be tolerant and patient. Some are ready to punch another’s nose just over a parking spot.
A popular stress-buster is partying in bars and clubs. In metropolitan cities, they take a particular drink and say, “Breeze out your stress.” Or they take anti-stress drugs with undesirable side effects. Some people then cannot sleep. Again, when talking to the young ones in my camp, many of them cannot sleep at night but often doze off in the daytime. They are sleepy when they have to study, and when they are supposed to sleep, they cannot.
Yoga Nidra: A True Panacea
We did trials with students using one solution for all these issues, and that was Yoga Nidra. Because many people quickly dismiss such alternative methods as mumbo-jumbo, we had a clinical trial done by the ICMR (Indican Council of Medical Research). It was a double-blind placebo trial over six months, including blood tests and EEGs in some cases. In six months, the panel of seven scientists came out with the results that this was the best non-medicinal solution they had ever seen.
One of my disciples, who is a psychologist and runs the “Holy Child Public School”, selected students from 11th and 12th grades to attend Yoga Nidra sessions continuously for 1.5 years within the premises. The parameters of this study were reduction of stress, increase in concentration, changes in behaviour, and increase in happiness. The results showed that out of 21 students, 21 reported high stress levels before practising Yoga Nidra, which came down to 1 at the end of the period. Mentions of low concentration similarly dropped from 20 to 1. Bad behaviour dropped from 3 reports to 0, and low happiness level, earlier reported by 17, reduced to 0 students. There was a 95.2% reduction of stress. The principal then told me that many parents personally came and thanked her, asking “What did you do? How have they changed so much?” Just one thing, they practised Yoga Nidra. It was a very positive experience. Yoga Nidra sessions were also held at institutes like IIT Delhi, NSIT, and even for 150 inmates of Tihar Jail.
How do you keep your mind calm and relaxed, not thinking too much about the uncertain future or regretting the past? You must have heard people preaching, “Be in the moment.” When asked how, they seem to say, “Go and find out.“ So, I gave this method used by our sages and yogis of the past. I have brought this bull out for the benefit of everyone, irrespective of religion or background. We all need a happy, stress-free and peaceful mind. And we all seek peace in our personal lives, families, and society.
Yoga Nidra is an effective and powerful method that teachers can use to help students de-stress and develop their cognitive faculties. Once you have a powerful mind, things become much simpler. Whether a relationship challenge or a medical issue, you can handle difficulties with ease. Education is great, but please teach your students to have a happy and stress-free mind. I wish the best for all teachers, and I hope our students have these three powerful pillars in their lives: dhi, dhrti and smrti – a sharp intellect, good grasping power and memory.
