Healthy Hearts: Part 2 | Five yoga asanas to manage stress

Doubt without questioning is a self-destroying mechanism and eats away at the emotional heart like a kind of cancer. Cardiologists around the world agree that stress or forms of stress are the single most common supporting factor for the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases.

During the mental process of doubt, breathing becomes shallow and lung capacity is reduced as one indulges excessively in self-destructive doubting. A lowered lung capacity means lowered blood oxygenation, at first. Over time, this would lead to narrowing in the systemic organs as well as in the brain and the Central Nervous System. In turn, such a narrowing or stenosis would lead to increased cell apoptosis (programmed cell death), ultimately resulting in organ failure and/or cognitive impairment etc.

Doubt is a weakness whereas questioning is a strength. Let’s examine this for a moment.

Doubting leads to uncertainty, indecision and, ultimately, lack of faith in oneself. Questioning leads to analysis, decision or conclusion and increasing faith in oneself.  Therefore, one should never doubt without questioning and seeking answers.

Doubting is ‘tamas’ or delusion while the questioning process is ‘rajas’ or energetic and having faith in the answer is ‘sattwa’ or illumination. This does not mean that the answer once found is then forever accepted without questioning. On the contrary, every generation should, in its own way, question the answers derived by the previous ones as every generation has faith in its own answers.

Doubt and her psychosomatic minions are one of those 8 components of stress that affect the physical heart. Arising out of the water element based in the ‘swadisthana’ (one’s foundational self), the second of the psychosomatic ‘chakras’ of the energy or Prana body, (click here for the 5 koshas) the emotion of doubt is a more sophisticated transformation of the primal emotion of fear that originates in the ‘mooladhara chakra’. Mooladhara is the root chakra, the very first of the chakras, which is situated at the lowest point of the spinal column.

As in the case of hormones, a hyperactive or hypoactive water element can lead to similar symptoms. In order to address heightened feelings of doubt, one must develop strength, fortitude, higher self esteem and a placid mindset.

In order to do this, it is suggested that one engages in certain asanas, lifestyle choices and perspectives that would engender the growth of factors that would then address the issue of a doubting mind.

The asanas that must be performed towards the generation of the above mentioned qualities are those of the earth, fire and space elements. Some of the relevant asanas from these elements are given at the end of the article.

Regarding lifestyle choices, those suffering from a doubting mind should undertake activities with friends, like camping in the outdoors, trekking and group sports, in order to encourage the feelings of trust and camaraderie.

Lastly, in terms of perspective, one should understand that doubt springs from fear. The encouragement of doubt is akin to the fanning of fear within. Under no conditions is this heightened fear or doubt going to stand us in good stead and, therefore, it is in our own self interest to move towards lack of fear and lack of doubt.

Doubt can be overcome only through the proper questioning and arriving at rational answers or through its own auto-destruction. We have two choices as concerns doubt. Either proceed with proper questioning and arrive at a conclusive, doubt-eradicating answer or discard doubt completely as questioning might not always be advisable or even possible in many instances.

Example, when a partner suspects the other of fidelity or when a junior officer is given a command from his superior, one he knows is not proper. In such cases, a decision is to be immediately made one way or the other, without the benefit of questioning and followed upon. Instead of spending their time debasing themselves and their partners through worries over suspected infidelities, one should either leave the relationship forthwith or exterminate feelings of doubt and carry on with the relationship in a healthy manner. In the second instance, the junior officer should either quit or do as he is told without presuming to question his superior.

Asanas will change the hormonal imbalances, lifestyle choices will lead to a change in personality and changed perspectives will lead to different thought structures. All these three changes together would lead to a new body, personality and mind meant to specifically address the symptom of heightened doubt.

Here are the five poses that can help:

Saravangasana (Shoulder stand)

Dhanurasana (Bow pose)

Ardha Bhujangasana (Half-Cobra pose)

Virabhadrasana (Warrior pose)

Trikonasana (Triangle pose)

Next in the series:

Healthy Hearts: Part 3 | Four kinds of fear and how to overcomes them

AryaMarga Yoga is a yogic research institute based out of Himachal Pradesh. Their work primarily focuses on the integration of certain parametric systems of contemporary psychology with the ancient yogic systems of mental process-control.