Happy Life Factors | Part 2. Instructions for Mastering

In last article, we outlined a model of human living that should consist of: proper nutrition, exercise, and purification on three levels–physical, mental, and spiritual. By following it correctly, we are laying a solid foundation for a healthy and happy life. Below I give the specific tools of this paradigm.

• Yogic diet. Yogis follow a vegetarian diet, with the addition of milk products. All slaughter food (meat, fish, seafood) is believed to severely pollute your body and lower your consciousness to an inferior, animal level. The basis of the diet should be cereals, with the addition of legumes, vegetables, fruits, berries and herbs. Don’t forget also the balance of raw and cooked foods, acidic and alkalizing.
• Sun, air and water are our best friends. These components of the environment are as much nourishment for our bodies as regular food. Try to stay outdoors periodically under the open sky. Use Pranayama breathing techniques (both outdoors and at home), which will help increase gas exchange in the body. Try to keep your daily norm of water consumption, which is: 2-2.5 liters minus the amount of liquid you have consumed with food.

• Complexes of asanas of different styles of Hatha yoga (Iyengar, Ashtanga, Flow, Yin, etc.) will liberate and strengthen your body by working on all muscle groups and body systems. A yogi’s body at any age should remain flexible, energetic and enduring.
• Walking is good for pumping blood from the feet upward to the heart, eliminating any stagnation.

• Sleep is a natural tool for quality recuperation. Yogis prefer to go to bed early (for example, around 21-22 hours) so that they can get up early (ideally around 5 a.m.). That way you’ll have a natural daily routine, and in the morning, even before work, you’ll have time for personal practice (which, by the way, is considered the most effective).
• Shavasana is a conscious relaxation of the body in a supine position. It can be performed as a separate class (called yoga nidra) or after each asana practice. This kind of relaxation will help you release chronic tension that interferes with the normal functioning of the body.

• Shatkarmas are special yoga techniques that cleanse all systems of your body, from your mouth to your colon.
• The sauna will help you sweat out large amounts of toxins that are either very difficult or impossible to remove in any other way (with feces and urine).
• Ishnaan (cold water dousing) helps accelerate blood flow throughout the body, including hard-to-reach places and internal organs, filling them with nutrients.

• Quality information. Consume only information that develops you and puts you in a positive frame of mind, be it music, movies, or literature (by the way, reading itself is good for the development of the mind). Anything that clogs your head and lowers your consciousness to lower levels should be carefully filtered.
• Mission. To develop the mind it is important to have some great meaning to life, something greater than mere survival. If one lives for something light, for the world, it gives them energy and fullness.
• Examples of great personalities. Study the life stories of great people past and present. Their experiences are sure to inspire and motivate you to personal feats.

• Challenges. Set yourself goals that are difficult to achieve. This will stimulate you to make intellectual efforts that will not let your mind get lazy and degrade. Draw up a program for their achievement, plan actions, analyze the results, draw conclusions and strive for something again.
• Learning. Improving your skills should never end. Do not interrupt this process, develop yourself constantly – there is no limit to perfection. At any age, your mind must remain young and flexible.
• Self-expression. Creativity is also good for developing certain parts of the brain. Create and create something beautiful in this world, whether it be in the form of poetry, music or painting. We all have our own, unique abilities and predispositions to do this.
• The practices of concentration of the mind in yoga are profiled tools for the development of consciousness.

• Antar Mauna (vow of silence). Regularly refraining from any kind of communication will help you conserve precious energy, which you waste copiously when interacting with society.
• Vipassana retreat is a common practice in yoga and Buddhism of seclusion, where one completely disconnects from contact with the world around them. All attention is turned exclusively to the inner world. In addition to mental relaxation, it also has a cleansing effect, giving one the opportunity to “sweep and arrange things” in one’s head.

• Get rid of the burden of unfinished business and unfulfilled promises. Such debts literally consume your precious energy because they are a burden on your mind, even during vacations. Cut off these sources of wasted energy. Until you’ve done the old, don’t take on the new.
• Resolve conflicts, admit mistakes. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you’ve made, and also try to apologize to those who have been hurt. Get over your pride by clearing up with people, you will inevitably feel a sense of relief.

• Sadhana. Regular personal practice will fill you with positive energy and ensure continuity of spiritual growth.
• Collective activities. Group activities and fellowship with like-minded people on good topics provide essential support on the Path of self-development.
• Places of Power. If there is such an opportunity, be sure to visit places of power where you can recharge your spiritual energy in its purest form.
• Scriptures. Studying the scriptures will allow you to connect on a subtle level with the energy of the great practitioners of the past. Such “communication” with a higher vibration is sure to elevate your consciousness.

• In fact, all of the above actions are also spiritual exercises. In addition to this, it is also recommended to perform short-term fasts, combining them with some form of inner practice (meditation, for example). Such ascesis has a multi-faceted positive effect on all three levels – it gives the physical body and psyche rest and cleansing, as well as qualitatively exercises and fills you up spiritually.

• Ishwara Pranidhana (Sanskrit. Surrender to the Most High). The renunciation of one’s ego gives spiritual relaxation. If you, through your own experience, feel an uninterrupted connection with Higher Consciousness, you don’t have to worry about all the external threats that arise (perhaps only in your mind). You will always be safe wherever you are.
• Accept yourself as you really are. All inferiority complexes and contrived frustrations arise on the level of the dysfunction of the mind. On the level of the soul, you are part of the Most High, in His image and likeness, you have nothing to be ashamed of.

• Grievances. Realize and let go of all the sorrowful experiences of your life – they are poisoning your life on every level of existence. This will allow you to replace the pain with love.
• Seva. Altruistic actions for the benefit of others will be an effective tool for spiritual cleansing. When you do something for someone without the purpose of benefiting from it, even in the form of verbal gratitude, it is good for ridding you of greed, selfishness, and self-centeredness, and for burning out other samskaras.

Consistent implementation of all of the above actions in your daily life will allow you to harmonize your personality on all levels of existence. Your body will be healthy and energetic, your mind will be sharp and deep, and your soul will glow with happiness.

• Dada Sadananda’s profile video lectures.