“Yoga to the Rescue”
Haveyou ever craved some virtual non-food product like jelly beans or a moon pie? What about that creepy movie or the scandal-mag that left a distressing impression? It’s not news that the company we keep is pivotal to our well-being. Learning to regulate disturbances of the body and mind is an important aspect along the path of health and equanimity. In yoga, the five yamas (disciplines) are suggestions in managing the senses and a means to regain balance in life. Desire is tricky because it’s associated with pleasure and satisfaction…but not always.
Rolf Sovik’s recent article The Yoga of Desire says, “In a world where our senses are constantly being exposed, tempted or haunted by something we think of as pleasurable, desires can dissipate attention and sap our energy.”
The senses are like scouts for the nervous system constantly seeing, feeling, hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling. They report back to the brain which in turn delegates one hormone or another to keep the body safe…or not. Sometimes cognitive interpretations offer up a delight that also throws us off balance. That’s when it becomes distracting and squanders energy, but there is a way to restore harmony; yoga to the rescue.
Brahmacharya, moderation of the senses, is one of the key practices yoga offers to tame desire from runaway cravings to infatuation. It’s the fourth of five yamas,or disciplines that help cultivate self-awareness. I like the Himalayan Institutes philosophical description of the yamas suggesting that it’s a “way to regain balance in life.” The five include: non-harming, truthfulness, non-stealing, moderation, and non-possessiveness. The term Brahmacharya is typically identified with abstinence and therfore was originally intended for renunciates. However; in the context of the yamas, “practical” Brahmacharya refers to a middle path of restraint.
Both overindulgence and repression deplete one’s vital force; both can leave one insecure and anxious. The middle path allows enjoyment and the control of the senses rather than letting uncontrolled sensory input spoil life. “When the mind is free from domination of the senses, sensory pleasure is replaced with inner joy”
“It’s important to make wise choices about the magazines we read, the movies we watch, the company we keep and the food
we eat, because it preserves energy and keeps the mind focused and dynamic.”–Rolf Solvik
Observe. The true measure of moderation is its effect on your thoughts, emotions, moods, and energy. Solvik says when pleasure can be experienced without guilt or agitation, and if it does not preoccupy your mind, then it is not infringing on your equilibrium. But if the mind is overly distracted by an enjoyable experience, then the cause of that disturbance needs to be identified through careful observation and addressed. Be prepared to set limits. The process of observing what is happening gives the mind a chance to act in a measured way. It takes diligence to remember moderation in the midst of some fascination, but take note. The mind is accustomed to feasting on sensory experiences and now it’s being asked to regulate itself. Sometimes the mind is so perplexed by the senses that it loses all sense of proportion.
To evaluate the quality of a sense experience, examine how well you digest it. In the book Prakriti: Your Ayurvedic Constitution, Robert Svoboda points out that digestive problems are not limited to the stomach or small intestines. We also digest experiences in the mind. Here are a few examples of mental indigestion from indiscriminate desires that we often accept or take for granted:
- Lacking mental comfort after ingesting a film or reading material.
- During the digestive process your mind feels jaded
- Unwelcomed emotions are produced by experience
- Your experience is repressed
- purposely hidden
- can’t be effortlessly retrieved from memory
- not easily communicated to others.
- Foods that make you feel agitated, lethargic, or guilty after consumption
- Sleep or dreams disturbed by an experience
Transformation. Once you’ve developed an awareness of which sense experiences are harmful or excessive, try a few of these practical techniques for managing them more wisely. One of the most powerful strategies for developing control over the senses is to rest them. It is the idea behind meditation or like a voluntary period of fasting or observing silence. There’s an added bonus to relaxing the senses and that is deepening spiritual awareness. Another helpful practice whether you are recovering from self-indulgence or simply trying to cultivate higher realms of potential, is relaxed breathing. It will quiet your nervous system and provide a neural focus other than the sense experience.
If reigning in your desires is still stressing you out, then get physical and exercise first. This way when we increase our heart rate and breathing in the context of asana, the body learns that signs of stress are not necessarily a threat. We become more comfortable with the feeling, and we don’t automatically assume that the arousal is noxious. Regular exercise reduces mental chaos and calms the body by increasing the stress threshold in a safe and controlled manner. It raises the trigger point of the physical reaction. You’ve heard that yoga helps us deal with daily life and it’s partly due to the physical activity. It boosts the release of serotonin in the brain which is important for mood, impulse control, and self-esteem.
“Yoga’s physical component is part of the preparation for internal balance. The real point of asana practice is to shape up that part of our being that can access the gateway to our truest nature, and there to be enjoyed and expressed.” –Tim Miller
Yoga postures are also a powerful tool for redirecting attention and energy. Combined with breath awareness, they draw the focus inward rather than towards sensory stimulation. But once the body is quiet, (usually after exercise) the most effective practice for restoring internal balance is meditation. With the use of a mantra, (sacred sound) we gradually transform emotional energies consumed by the senses and replace them with the pleasure of concentration and sense control.
Reining in the Senses
In the Katha Upanishad, the Lord Yamaraja instructs his student on how to find true enjoyment through an analogy. He says: “think of your body like a chariot. Your intellect, the charioteer and the base mind will be the reins. Your six senses are a team of horses and the environment is the path on which they run. 
When the intellect, mind, body, and senses are united there is enjoyment from within. However; a person with an undisciplined mind suffers from uncontrolled senses the same way a charioteer suffers from runaway horses. But with moderation and the right understanding, a disciplined mind enjoys the senses just as a charioteer takes pleasure in driving his powerful and well trained team.”Reigning in the senses” by practicing Brahmacharya, we can experience more enjoyment while driving along life’s ever challenging path.
Brahmacharya presents us with practical positive strategies for managing the senses. It teaches us self-restraint, curbing the inclinations or indulging any of the senses without some measure of control. And, it offers an opportunity to enjoy the present moment.
In other words, moderating the senses by:
· observing
· asana/exercise
· meditating
· restricting taste enhancers/chemical preservatives
With Brahmacharya we can access the finest desire of all, the desire to find unchanging truth and quite simply put, our own slice of happiness.
Note on Nutrition
What do monosodium glutamate (MSG), hydrolyzed vegetable protein and Aspartame (Nutrasweet) all have in common? They are all general taste-enhancing additives found in an enormous variety of foods and beverages, and they all contain excitotoxins. Excitotoxins cause physical damage to parts of the brain that govern learning and memory. The over-stimulation of brain cells literally burns them up and they die. Excitotoxins selectively involve areas of the brain which have a high density of glutamate receptors like the hypothalamus and the hippocampus. (The hypothalamus is involved in balancing endocrine functions in the body, and the hippocampus is involved in memory function)
Be on the lookout and notice if a prepared or processed food commandeers your taste buds with “knock-out” taste sensations. Most likely, it’s with the use of excitotoxins. Dr. Russell Blaylock’s book, Excitotoxins – The Taste That Kills, supports the theory that excitatory amino acids promote death of neurons in the brain and spinal cord.
Tools: Check nutrition facts and practice moderate taste sensations. Eat slowly and let your senses reach for the mild and pleasant flavors of natural foods. Discover the appeal of a salad without dressing or how sweet an apple really can be for a snack or dessert.
References
Blaylock, R. (1997). Excitotoxins, The Taste That Kills. Albuquerque, NM: Health Pres.
Dowdle, H. (2009). Bound for Glory. Yoga Journal. http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2416?print=1
Ratey, J. (2008). Spark-The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. New York: Hachette Book Group.
Solvik, R. (2009). The Yoga of Desire. Yoga + Joyful Living. Summer Iss:-106 p.16-19.
(2005). Moving Inward. Honesdale, PA: Himalayan Institute Press.