23 Apr 2023
[Ms. Thrylokya asked: Paadanamaskaaram Swami, You told that mocking at stout people is good because that will provoke them to do exercises by which their body weight gets reduced. Can You briefly suggest various physical exercises that can help this aim?]
Swami replied:- Physical health is very very essential for every soul in worldly life (Pravrutti) and in spiritual life (Nivrutti) as told “Śarīramādyaṃ khalu dharma sādhanam”. This means that this body is the first instrument to be used in spiritual life. You should be slim or at least average but shall never be stout, which indicates very dangerous health. Stout people can do the following exercises while lying on the bed or sitting on the side of the bed or while sitting in the chair or on the floor. Walking is not good for stout people because the weight of the body falls on the knees and damage them. After becoming slim by the doing the following exercises, they can practice walking. Not only stout people, every human being must do the following exercises to maintain good health so that catabolism (burning calories) can balance anabolism (accumulation of calories) so that metabolism (anabolism and catabolism) is systematized for very good health. The following exercises can be confined to the bed room, avoiding walking outside the house for which psychological allergy develops. Moreover, most of the time we either sit or lie on the bed. If sleep comes, it is okay. But, we sit or lie most of the time without doing any physical or mental work and this is called as idle state, which spoils health and activity.
1. Exercise for legs and feet:- Vibrate your feet towards left and right sides. Stretch and fold both the legs again and again towards front and back sides for some time and towards upward and downward directions for some more time.
2. Exercise for stomach:- Vibrate the stomach with both hands. Pull in and push out your stomach by inhaling and exhaling air consecutively.
3. Exercise for chest and hands:- Stretch and fold both hands towards right and left sides and towards upward and downward directions.
4. Exercise for neck, face and head:- Circulate the neck and head in a semi-circular direction towards both right and left sides and towards upward and downward directions.
5. Stretching and folding: Stretching and folding of fingers of feet and hands can be conveniently done during the above excercises or independently for sometime after the above four excercises.
Along with these exercises, practice the steps of respiration for some short time. Puuraka is inhaling oxygen. Kumbhaka is retaining the oxygen inside without exhaling immediately. Rechaka is exhaling carbon dioxide to the outside. Out of these three steps, the middle step is very important. If you are able to retain the inhaled oxygen more time (kumbhaka siddhi), the impure blood absorbs more oxygen that is necessary for the purification of blood. Physical exercises cover the third step, called Aasana and breathing exercise constitutes the fourth step called Pranayaama in the total eight steps of the path of Yoga (Ashtaanga Yoga) described by Patanjali. I have given the essence of the subject deleting the superficial confusing formalities. You must have observed that this is My specific style in preaching spiritual knowledge. You must remember that Lord Hanuman became very famous in doing the service to God (Karma Samnyaasa of Karma Yoga) effectively with excellent physical and mental health.
These exercises involve movements of all the limbs of the body promoting circulation of blood and burning the accumulated unnecessary calories including the dissolution of segregated fats. In spiritual field, the body has to do sacrifice of service or physical energy, called karma samnyaasa, which is the first step of karma yoga. Karma Yoga is the final step in the spiritual path. You should always keep God Hanuman as the main deity in this field for achieving success in this line.
(Whether you propagate My spiritual knowledge or not, please propagate at least this one concept so that every soul gets good health, whether it is involved in worldly life or spiritual life or both.)
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