Day 19 - Meditation and Jogging

15th August - Indian Independence day. Micky and I were invited by friends to listen to the independence day speech by Narendra Modi, which we did, over drinks and amazing mutton with Nachos! We discussed India and its past Prime Ministers and their styles. Then we discussed our responsibilities as citizens and very soon the discussion moved from India to Vipassana and meditation. These friends of mine have done the Vipassana course.  Another friend of mine did it this summer in Nepal. This is one area that fascinates me.

 

We compared Vipassana practices to the Art of Living Sudarshan kriya and jogging. Micky is an avid jogger and always talks about running giving him a high where he gets into a phase where his lungs open up to the next level and he gets into a rhythmic pace which allows him to go on and on. His description fits the state of mind I get in after kriya and meditation. Our friend talked about his experience in Vipassana and the focus one gets as a result of continued focus on breathing. The more we discussed the three, the more similarities we unearthed between them.

 

Some years ago, I had gone to visit a book shop in India and on the insistence and recommendation of the very old shopkeeper, I bought a book on yoga and meditation. I have tried reading that book umpteenth number of times but I have never been able to complete it, partly because of the microscopic font and partly because it is a heavy read. The book written by a Yogi, has some amazing lessons and one of the many that stand out is about breathing and the connection of it to Prana. (Ever since, I have kept myself a reminder in my office, to breathe.. properly!) It is so easy to fall into the shallow breathing mode when working. In Vipassana, one of the basic breathing and meditation techniques is called Aana-Pana, something I learned from my friends during the discussion. In Sudarshan Kriya, the breathing is regulated consciously to help get into the meditative state. Micky says that jogging helps him get into that state where all his senses are fully open yet he is able to get into a focussed mode and rhythmic breathing which he finds very calming.

 

I guess, my learning for the day is that as long as one breathes properly, is able to focus and channel all energies to a positively productive task, the head and heart get in sync and peace prevails. All roads, in this case, do lead to ... home!