Sudarshan Kriya - Benefits

The masterpiece of the the Art of Living Course is a powerful breathing-based technique called Sudarshan Kriya, or the healing breath. (The practice goes by this Sanskrit name in whatever language the program is taught throughout the world.) One of the breath's great secrets is that for every feeling or emotion there is a corresponding rhythm in the breath. Sudarshan Kriya incorporates specific natural rhythms of breath to release stress and bring the mind to the present moment.

Benefits of Sudarshan Kriya

* Greater creativity and clarity of mind
* Reduced stress and tension
* More ease and joy in personal relationships

Sudarshan Kriya - The Process

Sudardshan kriya involves regulating one's breath to the sounds of So-hum ('So' for inhale and 'hum' for exhale). The entire kriya involves multiple rounds with each round having long, medium and short inhalation and exhalations with varying rhythms and intensities.

Sudarshan Kriya is accompanied by certain other breathing techniques like Ujjayi Pranayama and the Bhastrika Pranayama, which proponents claim help in quelling the turmoil of the mind.

The process also involves the infusion of a maximum amount of oxygen to the cells, which helps in the release of neuropeptides that regularize Abnormal Brain Wave patterns in patients suffering from neural disorders.

Sudarshan Kriya - Origin

(Sanskrit: su = right, darshan = vision, kriya means purifying action); is a rhythmical breathing process that is said to have been revealed to Sri Sri Ravi Shankar during a spell of silent meditation that he had gone into for 10 days in 1982. The theory is that the kriya allows a healthy and pleasant mind to produce chemical messengers, which travel from the nervous system to the immune system, resulting in the overall betterment of both body and mind.

Sudarshan Kriya - An Overview

"When you cannot handle the mind directly, it can be handled through breath. The mind is like a kite and breath, the string." - Sri Sri.

It always is mind over matter. The quality of our life is determined by the state of our mind. If the mind is at ease, we are able to perform all our duties whether household, professional or social with ease too. The question is how do we keep the mind, which keeps flitting between regrets about the past and worries about the future, happy.

Sudarshan Kriya is the process that helps in infusing the body with energy and harmonize the natural rhythms of the body, mind, and emotions.

Why Sudarshan Kriya

There is a rhythm in nature. Seasons come and go. Similarly, our body also has its own rhythm. Our breath follows a pattern, so do our emotions and thoughts.

All these rhythms arise from our being, which has its own rhythm.

In Sudarshan Kriya, we get into the rhythm of our being and see how our being is permeating our emotions, our thoughts, our breath and our bodies. Soon, every cell of our body becomes alive and releases all the toxins and negative emotions it has stored from times past. Once again, we are able to smile from our hearts.