KNOWLEDGE SHEET BY SRI SRI RAVI SHANKAR
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF YOGA? (PART 2)

Continuation from Yoga - What Is It? (Part 1)......

The benefits of yoga are multifold:

1. It has many health benefits

2. It changes the behavior of a person because behavior depends on the stress levels in a person. It creates a friendly disposition and a very pleasant atmosphere in people

3.More than words we convey a lot through our presence; our vibrations. Yoga helps to improve our vibes.
I would like to give an example:

When someone close to you says, 'Have a nice day', and when an air hostess greets you saying, 'Have a nice day!', just observe and see, you can notice a clear difference When the air hostess greets you saying, 'Have a nice day', she really does not mean it. But the same words, when it comes to you from a close friend, it carries certain vibes

4. Speaking in terms of Quantum Physics, we are all emitting vibes or wavelengths. When communication breaks down, we often say, 'Our wavelengths don't match'.
This is because our ability to communicate depends on our ability to receive communications from others. Here, yoga helps us to have that clear mind

5.Another issue that we face in society today is prejudice. All types of prejudice: prejudice of religion, race, gender, class, educational status, financial status, etc.
All these different types of prejudice have clogged the mind of men and that is how conflicts arise in society. Yoga helps us to reach out and resolve this conflict created by prejudice. Spontaneously and naturally, yoga makes our mind free from prejudice.
I would like to quote an incident that happened a few years ago in Ivory Coast. There was polarization between two villages, where the people of one village chased out the people from the other village. One of our volunteers went and talked to them, taught them some yoga and some meditation, and brought the people of both villages together. You can see from this experience, how the people could break that prejudice in their minds and shake hands with the people who were different. I think this is very much needed in the world today

6.Now, coming to the aspect of developing skills within oneself. The propounder of yoga has said, ‘Yoga Karmasu Kaushalam’ (Bhagavad Gita Chapter 2.50).
Lord Krishna has said, ‘Yoga is skill in action’. Yoga is not just an exercise, it is how skillfully you can communicate, and how skillfully you can act in any given situation. This again, is yoga.
I do not think anyone here would say they do not want skill, or anyone here would say they do not want innovation. Innovation, intuition, skills, and better communication, all these are the main effects of yoga.

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