Relaxation and Good Company

Reading from Monday and Tuesday, January 9 and 10, 2012 yoga class

Prana = Life Force
Tejas= Our inner radiance or our light
Ojas= Energy reserves

You can think of prana as the energy going toward the light bulb(the light), tejas as the electrical force(turn on the light) and ojas as the capacity of the bulb(60 watt, 100 watt, etc.).  Unless you increase the capacity of the bulb, you will always be limited, no matter how much energy is being sent to the bulb.  Prana and thought go together like two wings of a bird.  A person with good prana has vitality, breath, circulation, movement, adaptability. A person with good tejas has radiance, luster in the eyes, clarity, insight, courage, compassion and fearlessness.  A person with good ojas has strong immunity, endurance, calm and contentment. 

The majority of physical and psychological diseases can be treated by diet, relaxation and good company.  What we need is often much more basic than what we are doing.  We need to reduce our sensory stimuli and manage our intake of impressions (increase the capacity of the bulb).  You are what you eat, but you are also the sensory impressions you take in.  Reducing our sensory overload allows healing to begin, as it is easier to heal when we GET OUT of the way.  Wherever you create space, then energy (prana) can come forth.  That is why a lot of healing is about creating space, NOT FORCING a result.  If you have a problem, create a space in your mind for the answer to come.

We have a great deal of depression in this country because of unrealistic expectations and over stimulation--everyone wants the perfect body, the perfect kids, a million dollars--and when we don't get them, we get depressed.  We need to lower our expectations and use as many tools as we can... do service work, yoga, improve diet, develop more positive associations.  
                                                                         Notes taken from an article by Dr. David Frawley