The tree that bends doesn’t break! As human beings, it is inevitable that we have our share of ups and downs. Something always pushes us down, throws us off-balance and makes us uneasy. During such moments, it is imperative that we stop, take a step back and observe ourselves objectively to understand how long it takes us to bounce back to normalcy once again. The faster we can disentangle ourselves from events of the past, the faster we begin experiencing freedom in the present. This is where Yoga comes in, to rescue us from this vicious negative spiral of mental and emotional whirlpools that suck us down into the depths of despair. Yoga may be understood as a conscious and evolutionary path that enables us to break free from our conditioned patterns (samskara) that take us nowhere.

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Adaptive resilience exercises as envisioned in yoga
YogachemmalDr Meena Ramanathan. PhD (Yoga).
Coordinator-cum-Yoga therapist,
Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER),
Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University,
MGMC&RI Campus, Pondicherry.
Yogacharya Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani.
MBBS, MD (AM).
Deputy Director,
Centre for Yoga Therapy, Education and Research (CYTER),
Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth University,
MGMC&RI Campus, Pondicherry.
The tree that bends doesn’t break!
As human beings, it is inevitable that we have our share of ups and downs. Something
always pushes us down, throws us off-balance and makes us uneasy. During such
moments, it is imperative that we stop, take a step back and observe ourselves
objectively to understand how long it takes us to bounce back to normalcy once again.
The faster we can disentangle ourselves from events of the past, the faster we begin
experiencing freedom in the present.
This is where Yoga comes in, to rescue us from this vicious negative spiral of mental
and emotional whirlpools that suck us down into the depths of despair. Yoga may be
understood as a conscious and evolutionary path that enables us to break free from
our conditioned patterns (samskara) that take us nowhere.
Yoga teaches us that we need to make conscious choices to do the following:
1. Let go of the negativities beseeching us (doshanivarana),
2. Regain our balance, equipoise (samatvam) at the earliest,
3. Relax ourselves so that we can rebuild and replenish our resources (nishpanda
kaya kalpaanukrama).
4. Empower ourselves to efficiently face ‘repeat challenges’ by:
a. Adopting healthy attitudes (pratipakshabhavanam, maitri-karuna et al),

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b. Enhancing flexibility of body, mind, emotions and spirit (hatha yoga),
c. Developing objective self-awareness (vairagya,swadhyaya)
d. Creating positive relationships through acceptance (samabhavabhavana).
Mind, body and emotions of the individual are harmonised and brought into a state of
balance by the various Yoga techniques. The practice of jathis and kriyas helps loosen
up inherent tensions, stresses, and regressed emotions. They can be then thrown out
through conscious breath-body-mind workouts such as nasargamukhabhastrika and
the pawanmukta series. Nada Yoga techniques that utilise sound power like the
hakarakriya, brahma mudra and bhramari pranayama are efficient methods to release
pent-up tensions. These practices produce psycho-somatic energisation and create a
beautiful mind-body harmony, stabilising emotions thus teaching us to ‘let go and be
free’. Through Yogic relaxation techniques such as shavasana, we consciously
overcome our self-defeating tendencies and re-invigorate ourselves physically,
mentally, and emotionally.
Many studies have reported that Yoga reduces allostatic load and induces balance of
autonomic nervous system. This is the keystone in developing adaptive resilience. The
very sound of the word resilience captures its bouncy, rubbery quality. Yoga enables
an alignment of panchakosha, the five sheaths of existence - the body, breath,
emotions, intellect and spirit. Jnana yoga kriya-s and prakriya-s enable inherent
healing energies to integrate, reunite and bring together fragmented parts of the
individual thereby enhancing such adaptive resilience.
Yoga also empowers the spirit, developing a deep and subtle adaptive resilience that
promotes the skilful stepping beyond of one’s limitations, enabling self-transformation
(atmabhavabhavana). This facilitates insight, empathy and an ability to calm and
focus the mind, thus ultimately transcending all limiting traits of the individual. Such
a transformation of the individual until they manifest their fullest potential, and live
life as it is meant to be, is truly the goal of Yoga itself.