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Happiness: another reason to practice Yoga
1Dr. Anil Kashyap (Yogi)
Introduction: Yoga is considered to be one of the most important, effective tools available for
human being to overcome various physical and psychological problems. In 2014, after the
declaration of International Yoga Day by United Nation General Assemble [1], the first
International Day of Yoga was celebrated around the world on 21st June 2015. In India
the Ministry of AYUSH made the necessary arrangements for first International Yoga Day,
35,985 people, including Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and dignitaries from 84
nations, performed 21 asanas (yoga postures) for 35 minutes at Rajpath in New Delhi, becoming
the largest yoga class ever held [2]. Every year on June 21st, the entire world celebrates IYD since
then. Now yoga has become a part of mainstream culture today. People of the society have
started considering yoga practice as part of their daily life to maintain their health[3]. Now people
of India have started to understand better the positive effect of yoga in day to day life. However,
in our society people can be seen advising each other to practice yoga for good health but there
are hardly few clear about the actual meaning of health[4] and its relation to happiness. The
paradox is that one side, number of Indians who practice yoga has been increasing rapidly in the
last five years, on the other side, India's position in the World Happiness Index is continuously
declining [5]. In the ‘World Happiness index’ India was ranked 117 in 2015, the 118 was ranked in
2016, 123 in 2017. In 2018, India was placed on 133 position, but last year 2019 its ranking went
down to 140. The immediate neighbours of India including Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Bangladesh and
Sri Lanka are way ahead from India in this happiness rankings. Despite the economic progress of
our country, India is continuously going down in the world happiness index. And surprisingly,
this happens to the country who had given the message of ‘Survey Bhavantu Sukhinah’ (may all
be happy), to the whole world to be happy. But we are busy in the race to earn money at any cost
to buy happiness from malls and online shopping, while it can be obtained absolutely free by
yoga.
Concept of Yoga- Yoga is an ancient Indian philosophical system that originated over 5,000
years ago. The word “Yoga” originates from the root word “Yuj” in Sanskrit; which means the
union of individual consciousness with the universal consciousness [6]. The English word "yoke"
is also derived from the same sanskrit (Indo-European) root means to join two things together.
Yoga has many other shades of meaning, including union, integration, discipline, way, behavior.
In the Bhagavad-Gita yoga is also defined as "skill in action[7] " and "restraint in every situation[8]
" (avoidance of excesses). According to sage patanjali yoga is chitta vritti nirodha[9] means
cessation of modifications of mind. Yoga can therefore be defined as a mean of uniting the
individual spirit with the universal spirit of God, the merging of the microcosm of our existence
in our body with the macrocosm or the fusion of embodied consciousness with cosmic
consciousness[10]. The great hindu sage Mahrishi Patanjali wrote down the principles of classical
yoga name Astanga Yoga[11] (eight limbs) they are Yama, Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara,
Dharna, Dhyana and Samadhi.. He explained the eight steps of practical nature to attain the state
of liberation from the miseries of life[12]. Scriptures related to Yoga reveals that its practice leads
to inner evolution and understanding of one’s own inner self leading to a total transformation in
an individual’s consciousness[13].
1 HOD & Associate Prof., School of Yoga & Naturopathy, OM Sterling Global University,Hisar (Haryana)
In 21st century, Yoga is becoming popular in different parts of the world. There are
number of scientific researches that substantiate preventive, rehabilitative, therapeutic and
excelling powers of yoga at individual and group levels. It also appears to make a vital
contribution to the modern medical system as it has a great role in the preventive and curative
aspects of health.[14] The medical researchers have started experimenting with Yogic practices and
get it included in various other systems prevalent in different parts of the world[15]. The
application of Yogic exercises has considerable scope in physical and mental fitness. Many
scientific researches[16,17,18] are worth mentioning to reveal that Yogasanas are the physical
exercises enabling a person to be physically fit and mentally alert. According to Brown D.P.[19]
meditation has described as a training in awareness, which when kept over for a long period,
produces definite changes in perception, attention and cognition. Bhobe S.[20] (2004) suggested
that Yoga is a science of Holistic living and not merely a set of Asanas and Pranayama. It is a
psycho-physical and spiritual science which aims at the harmonious development of the human
body, mind and soul. Yoga is the conscious art of self-discipline to an all round development of
personality at physical, mental, intellectual, emotional and spiritual levels. Gupta and his
colleage[21] studied the short-term impact of a comprehensive but brief lifestyle intervention,
based on yoga, on anxiety levels in normal and diseased subjects showed a remarkable reduction
in the anxiety scores within a period of 10 days. Research depicted various types of Asanas,
Pranayamas, and Meditations are being practiced regularly by some individuals shows an
important role in the prevention, maintenance, and promotion of health[22].
Why Happiness: The exalting word ‘Happiness’ arouses the feeling of optimism in the mind as
soon as we encounter it. There is hardly any person in the world who does not seek happiness in
life. It is the pursuit of happiness and peace that motivates every human being to do many kinds
of action (karma) directly or indirectly. According to world health organization india is facing a
serious mental health crisis, with an estimate 56million people suffering from depression and 38
million fron anxiety disorders. Today, when 70 to 75 percent of the diseases are caused due to
the unhappiness of the mind, very few people know that happiness plays an important role in
maintaining good health both mental and physical[23]. Not only this, but happiness also has
positive effects on a person's productivity [24], well-being, public behavior, and mutual relations.
It is purely related to the mind, body, and soul. Happiness is the state of mind, so, there will be
no exaggeration here to say that yoga is directly related to happiness. Therefore it becomes
necessary for us ‘to know the hormones of happiness’ called ‘the science of happiness’ which is
responsible individual’s happiness and the yogic ways that enhance happiness in all aspect of
life.
Science of Happiness- The phrase ‘Science of Happiness’ refers to a new field of social science
called "Positive psychology". It is the branch within the field of psychology that refers to a
specific discipline, which has been in existence for thousands of years are present in religious
and philosophical discourse[25]. The use of the term positive psychology was published in 1954
with the last chapter in the article Motivation and Personality, written by Maslow, titled "Toward
a Positive Psychology" but positive psychology came into vogue in 1998 when Martin Seligman
chose it as the theme for his post as president of the American Psychological Association[26]. In
the first sentence of his book Authentic Happiness, Seligman claimed: "for the last half-century
psychology has been consumed with a single topic only – mental illness", expanding on
Maslow's comments. He urged psychologists to continue the earlier missions of the psychology
of nurturing talent and improving normal life.
What is Happiness – According to experts, happiness does not mean having a lot of money, or
having any special rights or being happy all the time. It is a state in which people feel
satisfaction towards life and feel the meaning of life[27]. It is the ability to overcome negative
emotions quickly and maintain positive emotions. It is a broad aspect that shows our ability to
connect with others, to have meaningful relationships, to the community.
Happiness hormones-
Many of you might have noticed that whenever you go for a run or do yoga exercises in the
morning, you feel more confident, enthusiastic, happy and joyful or when you hug a child, you
feel love, joy. Not only this, whenever you participate in any social work or serve food in any
religious work, then you feel more connected and meaningful life. So you would be surprised to
know that the biochemical processes responsible for all this and the release of the so-called
happiness hormones are named dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphin (DOSE)[28].
(1) Dopamine- Your brain starts to release dopamine after just a few minutes of the run,
during sports activity, or after some yogic exercise like suryanamaskar or simhasana. It not only
makes you happy but it pushes you to peak performance.
(2) Oxytocin- It is also called the love hormone. Oxytocin is a hormone which is associated
with empathy, trust, sexual activity, relationship-building and child birth. So if you want
happiness by releasing this hormone, just love your family, friend, your colleague, and your
work.
(3) Serotonin- Serotonin impacts every part of your body, from your emotions to your motor
skills. Serotonin is considered a natural mood stabilizer. It’s the chemical that helps with eating,
digesting and sleeping. It also regulates your mood naturally. During the normal secretion of
serotonin person feel: happier, calmer, more focused, less anxious, more emotionally stable. The
practice of yoga-meditation, mindfulness and spirituality balance the level of serotonin.
(4) Endorphin- Endorphins act as both a painkiller and anti stress hormone. It interacts with
the receptors in your brain that reduce your perception of pain. It also triggers a positive feeling in
the body, similar to that of morphine. It acts as sedatives. It work similarly to a class of drugs
called opioids.
Yoga for Happiness- Based on the above facts, we can say that yoga is not only the path of
enlightenment but also happiness. Several studies support this claim, pointing to yoga as a
common practice to reduce stress, reduce anxiety and elevate mood[29]. Many studies showed
positive effects of yoga asanas on mental and physical health. It has been found out that
prolonged yoga practice can reduce fear, anger, and fatigue[30]. Science has proven that we can
not effectively and quickly heal the emotion-to-body-response process by taking advantage of
our physical and mental state to change our emotional state but also increase happiness level [31].
There are many yogic techniques for happiness which boost feel-good factor within minutes.
Some are below:
1. Taal Yog (Clapping)- We all know that both hands have receptors that are connected to
sensory fields in the brain. An act of Clapping activates hands receptors which help to stimulates
blood circulation. It will better if you to start clapping exercise by adding a song to it.
2. Suryanamaskar (Sun Salutation)- Surya Namaskar is a Sanskrit word. Surya means the Sun
and Namaskar mean to Salute or to greet. This name identifies the sun as the soul and the source
of life. It honors the sun through a dynamic asana sequence. Sun Salutation helps in reducing
unhappiness by calming you down. Perform it daily to reduce the secretion of the stress hormone
called cortisol.
3. Veerasana (Warrior Pose)- Be a warrior, not a worrier, "power posing" like virasana showed
that holding open-body postures for two minutes decreases cortisol and increases testosterone, a
confidence-boosting hormone, for less anxiety and more self-confidence.
4. Pranayama (Breathing Exercise)- According to a study, people spend 47% of their time
worrying about things that aren't happening[32]. Therefore during the breathing exercise you keep
your mind in the present moment. By the practice of 90 seconds of deep, diaphragmatic
breathing, you can initiate your parasympathetic nervous system, which shuts down the stress
response by lowering cortisol (stress hormone), blood pressure, heart rate and also secrets
oxytocin and endorphins (happy hormones).
5. Gratitude Meditation with a smile- If you want to be happy, taking a few minutes to relax
and focus on happiness is essential. During the meditation, you can think your way to more
happiness. Studies show that recalling a happy memory makes you happier[33]. Most of the people
don't meditate because they believe it requires a significant time commitment and the ability to
clear your mind. But focusing on one happy memory actually serves as a simple and effective
form of meditation. And adding a smile even a fake one will boost your propensity for happiness
by justifying stress and elevating mood.
Summary- life coaching for happiness is a thriving industry. If practice of yoga represents the
absence of depression, distress, and mental illness, then the effect of yoga on happiness can be a
new field of research.
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