Published by: Swasth Yog Institute Publications, Swasth Foundation,

120, Mastermind 1, Royal Palms Estate, Aarey Colony, Goregaon East,

Mumbai - 400065, India

Website: www.swasth.org Email: [email protected]

Author: Garima Gupta Kapila
Copyright © by Swasth Foundation
ISBN Code: 9781077233966 (International Edition)
ISBN Code: 978-81-942632-0-3 (Indian Edition)

All rights reserved. The contents of this work may not in any shape or
form be reproduced, transmitted or stored in a retrieval system, in any
form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

First edition: July, 2019

Second edition: June, 2020

We would like to thank Pfizer Foundation for their financial contribution,

due to which the publication of this book has been possible.
All profits from the sales of this book goes towards activities initiated by
Swasth Yog Institute, an initiative of Swasth Foundation.

Illustrated by Saachi Bhansali (saachibhansali.com)

Legal Disclaimer:
This book is presented solely for educational, informational and motivational
purposes. It is sold with the understanding that it does not offer any type of
medical, psychological, or any other kind of professional advice. The content is
the sole expression and opinion of its author. While best efforts have been used
in preparing this book, no warranties or guarantees are expressed or implied by
inclusion of any of the content in this volume. Neither the publisher nor the author
shall be liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, financial, or commercial
damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential or other
damages, caused directly or indirectly.

Further, the role of Pfizer Foundation has been to financially support project
implementation. The Foundation takes no responsibility or liability whatsoever for
any medical claims, conclusions, recommendations.

You are responsible for your own choices, actions, and results. In the spirit of
taking personal responsibility for your decisions, you should seek the services of
a competent health care provider before beginning any improvement program.
 Dedication

Peace, Love, Joy for All

May our body, energy, mind and emotions be in harmony (Yog)

May we be aligned with our true self
May each of us feel – “I’m free to be me”
May we all live fully and freely

This book is dedicated to the countless, selfless Yogis

who undertook the hardest journey of all – the journey inwards –
and shared its fruit - Yog - with the world, for the world.

ॐ सर्वे भर्वन्तु सुखिनः

सर्वे सन्तु ननरामयाः ।
सर्वे भद्रानि पश्यन्तु
मा कनि ददु ः भाग्भर्वेत ।
ॐ शाखन्तः शाखन्तः शाखन्तः ॥

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah

Sarve Santu Niraamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:

1: Om, May All be Happy,

2: May All be Free from Illness.
3: May All See what is Auspicious,
4: May no one Suffer.
5: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Acknowledgements

To…
… my parents, Mahipal & Geeta, for giving me the gift of life and molding
me into who I am

…Sundeep, my spiritual partner in life and the wind beneath my wings

…Mukeshaanand, for transforming me, from the inside out

…my mother-in-spirit, Pamila, for her boundless love and blessings

…the 100+ Swasth Yogis who trusted me by participating in our pilots

…Vaishali and Priti, for being the backbone for the pilot batches

…Rasika, for institutionalizing the Yog curriculum for years to come

…Madhuri, for bringing this curriculum to life, by teaching and living it

…Geeta, Vikram, Wasundhara, Manisha & Sunil for being my teachers

and role models

…Ambily, Alberto, Megha, Madhumita & Purvi for being a part this
journey at various points and helping me piece together the puzzle

…Saachi, for being with me on this rollercoaster ride to publication

…the countless Yogis who inspire me every day to live life in Yog

4
 Table of Contents
Is this Book for me? ................................................................................... ii
How to use this book? ............................................................................. vii
Chapter 1 – “Swasth Scale” .................................................................. 1
How healthy am I, really?
Chapter 2 – “Swaadhyaay” .................................................................. 29
What is my intention?
Chapter 3 – “Swa + Sth” ...................................................................... 37
What is the secret to well-being
Chapter 4 – “Ath Yog Anushaasanam” .............................................. 63
How do I start my journey?
Chapter 5 – “Ath” applied .................................................................... 81
Am I listening to myself?
Chapter 6 – “From Aadhi to Vyaadhi” ................................................ 91
What is the cause of my dis-ease?
Chapter 7 – “In Yog with My Rog” .................................................... 107
How is my dis-ease helping me?
Chapter 8 – “An Integrated Treatment Paradigm” .......................... 121
What is an Integrated Approach to Treatment of Disease?
Chapter 9 – “Swaasthya” ................................................................... 127
How will Yog restore my well-being?
Chapter 10 – “Healing Pathway” ....................................................... 135
The Road to Well-being
Chapter 11 – “Swa-raaj”……………………………………………....... 141
How do I prepare for the journey?
Chapter 12 – “Sah-Parivaar” ............................................................. 147
How do I prepare others for the journey?
Chapter 13 – Ready, Steady, Go!......................................................153
Additional Resources and About Us……………………………........163
About Swasth Yog Institute ...................................................................... xi
About our Well-being Programs .............................................................. xx
About our mother organization – Swasth Foundation .......................... xxvi
My Journey ......................................................................................... xxviii
Resource People and Institutions ........................................................ xxxv
References ........................................................................................ xxxvii
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Is this Book for me?

Are you at the right place?

• Do you wish to enjoy true health – physical, mental, emotional,

social and spiritual?
• Do you want your body, energy, mind and emotions to be in
harmony? Do you want them to actively support you in living
your potential?
• Are you tired of chasing your health ‘goals’ through dieting,
gymming, running, reading?
• Do you want well-being to be your default state of being, and
not a goal to chase frantically?
• Do you want to cut through the clutter of conflicting wellness
‘tips’ you receive from myriad sources every day?
• Are you ready to stop being taken for a ride, and get in the
driver’s set of your journey towards well-being?

If so, this guidebook is for you. To be your companion as you

undertake the journey towards well-being. Your age, background
and type of chronic ailment or health issue do not matter. What
matters is your intention.

Let’s face it!

- We have a problem: Today, we are less healthy than our less

‘advanced’ older generations
- Unfortunately, the problem is worsening: Life is becoming
longer, but NOT healthier.
- Fortunately, the problem is reversible: The miracle of life has
given our body the ability to recover and heal itself.

ii
- But the “right” tools for reversal seem hard to find today: There
is an overload of often conflicting tools and information,
retractions of previously accepted “research” after long-term
studies leaving people confused.
- Consequently, we have given our power away: Powerless, we
have outsourced our health to providers (doctors, dieticians,
yoga teachers, healers, therapists) and technology (fit-bits,
Google, apps)
- The “modern” approach to well-being is fundamentally flawed:
Most modern wellness practitioners have a flawed approach -
reductionist and silo-ed. Dieticians reduce the food we
consume to nutrients and schools of thought fight over the
importance of proteins or carbohydrates or fats. Gym
instructors work with isolated body parts, in a bid to build out
specific muscles. Neither of them address the importance of
our mind. Dieticians feed us fear and guilt. Gym instructors
nurture strong bodies but give rise to inflexible and hyperactive
minds.
- The key to well-being lies with(in) us: Ancient Indian
researchers (Yogis) had given us the science to remove the
root cause behind “dis-ease” and make well-being our default
state. The “secret sauce” to well-being is Yog. Yog is NOT
Yoga. It empowers us to take charge of our health and our life,
to reach and live our true potential.

We believe and know, beyond doubt, that

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

…your body, energy, mind and emotions can be your greatest

supporters to reach your potential

…health is your natural state of being, and you can be healthier

today than you were a decade ago

…the journey towards well-being can be full of peace, love and joy

SOME TOOLS USED

• Yogaasan, Praanaayaam, Breathing & Loosening Practices

• Body Wisdom & Awareness
• Yogic & Ayurvedic Food
• Laughter Yoga
• Mindfulness & Meditation
• Chanting & Sound Resonance
• Affirmations & Mirror Work
• Life Coaching
• Emotion Release Tools
• Creative / Art based therapy

This guidebook will do the following

- Make well-being attainable: Enable you to make simple, but

profound changes to your life. Provide tools that are feasible
for integration in your life in minimal budget and time.
- Present a bouquet of integrated tools: Addressing the body,
energy, mind and emotions holistically through different tools

iv
- Bridge the gap between the East & the West: Present ancient
Ayurvedic and Yogic concepts adapted to today's context with
modern tools
- Empower, instead of create dependencies: Build knowledge of
foundational principles, helping you to choose information
presented by various health service providers and technology
- Make this a joyful journey: Help you discover your inner child,
hidden talents, and dreams in the process…

At the end of this journey, you will have

- Well-being: A tangible, measurable difference in health which

YOU can perceive. A feeling of well-being.
- Independence: The knowledge and motivation to continue
your journey to well-being independently.
- A healthy family: Tools to impact and influence the health of
your friends & family.

Health Issues addressable directly, with a HIGH impact

• Muscular pains & fatigue, especially in the back and neck
• Joint Pains
• Gastro-intestinal disorders such as Acidity, Peptic Ulcers, IBS,
Piles, irregularities in Bowel movements & Urination
• Obesity or excessive weight gain
• Headache or Migraine
• Menstrual problems, PCOD/PCOS
• Imbalances in appetite, sleep, energy levels
• Better management and reduction of side
effects/complications of chronic ailments
◦ Hypertension, Cholesterol
◦ Asthma
◦ Metabolic disorders such as diabetes

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

◦ Hormonal imbalances such as Thyroid, Acne

◦ Arthritis (Osteo and Rheumatoid)
◦ Auto-immune disorders

Health Issues addressable indirectly, with SOME impact

• Relief from acute or infectious diseases such as malaria,

diarrhoea, pain, and tuberculosis
• Neurological disorders (e.g. epilepsy, movement disorders
such as Parkinson’s disease, Speech and language disorders,
Injury to brain, spinal cord and peripheral nerves, Sleep
disorders, Behavioural /cognitive syndrome)
• Mental & mood disorders, anxiety & depression, phobias,
eating disorders (e.g. anorexia nervosa, bulimia)
• Rehabilitation post accidents, health shock such as , Cerebro-
vascular stroke, surgery, geriatric cases
• Problems in external organs such as skin allergies, ENT
disorders, Dental issues
• Any other ailments not covered in “addressable section”

Are you the right fit for this journey?

With power comes responsibility. For our health too! If you wish to
merely get rid of pain, you can take painkillers or countless
therapies available. But if you wish restore your body’s innate
healing capacity, and get in the driver’s seat of your journey to
well-being, you need to commit to some responsibilities:
• Honoring the commitment towards your well-being, by reading!
• Commitment to modifying your lifestyle and habits in line with
recommendations
• Taking out 30 minutes every day for self-care
• Completing reflection questions and experimental activities to
maximize your learning– such as health status measurement
questionnaire, health diary, checklists to track activities

vi
The following questions will help you in determining if you’re at the
appropriate inner and outer circumstances in life to undertake this
journey.

Questions for Reflection

• What health challenges am I facing currently?

• How are these health challenges impacting the quality
of my life?
• What could happen, if this situation continues for a few
years?
• What is my intention behind undertaking this journey to
well-being?
• If this happens, what would be the impact on my life?
• To meet my health goal, what am I ready to commit to?

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

How to use this book?

How is this series structured?

This is a 5-series book addressing the body, energy, mind and

emotions, holistically
- 1: Yog for Wellness (Yogic Philosophy of disease genesis and
healing pathway)
- 2a: Yogic Aahaar (what we call Nutrition)
- 2b: Yogic Vyaayaams (what we know as ‘Yoga’)
- 2c: Yogic Vichaar (approach to Mind & Emotions)
- 3: Being in Yog (how to use the tools, to be in Yog)

How to approach this series?

The first book covers foundational concepts of Yog, and it is highly

recommended that you read it, before reading anything else.

Based on this, you can select which Yogic tool(s) – Yogic Aahaar,
Yogic Vyaayaams and Yogic Vichaar – you wish to explore for
your well-being. Each of the three books has a deep-dive into
focus Yogic tools for well-being. You may choose one, or two or
all three. We suggest choosing the path that is most aligned to
your temperament, and which you will be most committed to
implementing in life. As without implementation, these ideas will
only stay on paper and not translate into your physical, mental,
emotional, social and spiritual well-being!

The last book makes it easier for you to stay committed to the
tool(s) of your choice, and most importantly, to make the journey
towards your well-being joyful and therefore, sustainable. This is
not a crash dieting or exercising or detox program that you
implement once and forget. This is a way of life!

viii
Hence, it is highly recommended, that you read the last book in
the series, along with, or after the selected tool(s).

Note on the journey through the series:

The secrets to fully utilizing the benefit of any Yogic tool for well-
being are in the first and the last books. Without them, the
essence of the tools will be lost. Yogic Aahaar will become the
same as obsessive dieting, Yogic practices will be no different
from mindless exercising. It will be like using a supercomputer as
a calculator for addition. You will be able to add, yes, but will not
be tapping into the amazing abilities of the supercomputer.

How to make the most of the 3 books on Yogic tools?

Yogis outlined a 3-step process to integrating any new knowledge

– Shravan (श्रवण, listening or reading), Manan (मनन, reflection and
contemplation) and Nididhyaasan (नननिध्यासन, integration). Modern
research on learning is also echoing this approach.

This book has been designed accordingly. For each tool, the book
explains overarching principles of each tool, provides activities for
self-reflection or experiencing concepts and provides supporting
information, checklists and formats to enabling you to get started
and stay on track through self-tracking.

The implication for you is that reading this book to build

fundamental concepts is only 10% of the impact. To get the other
90% of the impact, we suggest you do the following:

- Reflect: Reflect deeply during and at the end of each chapter,

before moving to the next. Compare what is written with your
past experiences, or your future experiences if you haven’t

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

been aware in the past. Use the self-reflection questions, and

maintain a separate journal to track your responses.

- Do: Get started, and implement the learnings in your life!

- Experience: Do the activities or real-life experiments in the

book for experiencing concepts. Guided audios for many
exercises mentioned are available on our YouTube channel
(see Resources at the end). Approach the activities with an
open mind and heart. Be aware of the holistic experience of
implementing the learnings in your life. Trust your experience
more than the words in this book!

- Persevere: Stay on track. Implement this for 6 weeks to start

with, and ideally over 3 months. Using self-tracking formats
and checklists given in the book, and read the last book for
troubleshooting advice for commonly faced issues.

- Enjoy: Most, most important of all, enjoy the journey! More

important than the % of insights you implement, is the % of joy
you experience during this journey. After all, everything we do
or want in life, is for joy, right? If you implement nothing, but
stay joyful throughout your journey, your well-being is
guaranteed!

Remember, the goal is not to finish the book,

but to bring it alive in your life!

Welcome to the world of peace, love and joy!

x
 Chapter 1

“Swasth Scale”

How healthy am I, really?

Importance

Before taking action and evaluating results,

we need to understand
the current level of our health.

1
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Current reality – Health in numbers

Globally, this is the first generation which is expected to live less

than its parents, despite all the wonders of modern science.

Today, between the age of 45 – 60, it seems normal to be afflicted

by one or more conditions such as obesity, diabetes,
hypertension, arthritis or joint pains, asthma, allergies,
neurological de-generation, auto-immune disorders, spondylosis
or back pains, menstrual disorders.

The health statistics in India are mind-boggling:

• 1 In 5 Women are affected By PCOS in India
• India is the Diabetes capital of the world, with 50 million Type-
2 Diabetics
• 33% urban Indians are hypertensive, but only 7% have their
BP in control
• 36% of children < 5 years from Mumbai slums are
underweight, 16% wasted, 47% stunted
• 60 Million Indians are impoverished annually due to “health
shocks”. Non-Communicable Diseases contribute
significantly to this vulnerability.
Unfortunately, the problem is worsening: Life is longer, but NOT
healthier. From 1990 to 2016, life expectancy in India improved by
~11 years, but the share of Non-Communicable Diseases in total
burden of disease shot up from 30% to 55%.

The situation is no different in countries on the other end of the

spectrum of development. Heart Disease is the single largest
cause of deaths in the USA. Healthcare expenditure takes up as
much 17% of the GDP of the country!

Our health is an urgent personal

and global priority.
Health beyond Diseases

2
An optimally functioning body is not meant to get a fever or cold at
every season change, to need nutritional supplements, to pant
after climbing a few stairs, to have aches and pains in various
parts of the body, to have trouble sleeping at night, to need an
alarm clock to wake up in the morning, or need stimulants such as
tea, coffee and tobacco to get through the day.

Yet, for many of us, these and many more complaints of

accelerated, degenerative aging are a way of life now. Many of us
do not even consider these abnormal, as almost everyone around
us has these issues!

But this is not what our body is designed to be and do.

We’re designed to be healthy.

Our health is in our hands.

3
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Questions for Reflection

Consider the people two generations before you whom you

have seen while they are/were alive - your grandparents, or
those of your extended family and friends.

Ask yourself this – When you reach their age, what do you
think will be your level of health in comparison to theirs at the
same age? Or, what was their level of health in comparison
to yours, when they were at the same age as you?

In most cases, barring some episodes of acute or un-

diagnosed ailments, it’s very likely that we find the
generations before us to be healthier.

Why diagnose our current level of health?

A diagnosis of our state of health can be used by multiple

stakeholders, but it is, first and foremost for us.

• We: Become aware about our health, and observe body

signals not tracked otherwise. Identify, habits that may be
contributing to less than optimal well-being and determine
where changes might be most beneficial

• Doctor / Yog Therapist / Wellness practitioner: Can detect

ailments previously unknown to us, understand our special
needs in order to provide personalized/ customized support 


• Both: Understand the impact on our health, after brining Yog

in our life.

4
 How to diagnose our current level of health

The “Swasth Scale” is designed by Swasth Yog Institute to give us

a holistic view of our well-being. The Scale draws from research,
theory and practitioners, and in various fields – yog, allopathy,
naturopathy, homeopathy and therapy.

It examines the entire process that results in well-being –from our

inputs to the resulting multi-dimensional impact.

Inputs (self-care habits and lifestyle):

• Food habits
• Exercise
• Leisure
• Sleep and Rest

Impact (Well-being at all dimensions of health):

• Ann-may Kosh – Diseases and Physical symptoms
• Praan-may Kosh – Body signals and body functions
• Mano-may Kosh - Mental and Emotional well-being
• Vigyaan-may Kosh – Our connection with our inner wisdom
• Aanand-may Kosh – Joy factor, Satisfaction with Life

When do I measure?

We suggest measuring these parameters at least thrice during

your journey:
o at the beginning of the journey (as a baseline)
o 3 months post start of the journey (midline)
o 6 months post the start of the journey (endline)

We can continue to track these for ourselves every month, to see

progress along our journey towards well-being.

Who will measure?

5
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Most of these parameters can be measured by us ourselves. After

all, we know the state of our well-being better than anybody!

For some parameters such as blood sugar/HbA1C, blood tests are

required

How to measure?

It is very important to fill the form completely honestly. It is NOT an

assessment or a judgement on us, but a tool to help us. It is very
likely that as we fill the form, we experience tendencies towards
denial and self-deception. By doing this, we are helping no one,
only disrupting our own journey to well-being! Let us start our
journey by answering the questions will full integrity. We always
have freedom to choose what we want to do with this data, and
may choose to not change some habits. But let’s begin the
journey of living fully and freely, with answering this honestly in
that spirit.

Questions for Reflection

Follow-up self-reflection questions AFTER we’ve filled the form

might include:
1. As you review your results, what do you feel good about?
Where do you feel pleased about the state of our
wellness? Where are you seeing improvement?
2. Where are areas of less than optimal wellness or habits?
3. Of these, what do you most feel committed to changing?
4. What would it be like if you were successful in making the
positive changes in each of these areas?

6
 Key Points

• To know how our health is improving, we need to understand

the current level of our health.
• The Swasth scale draws from practitioners, theory and
research in various fields – allopathy, naturopathy,
homeopathy, therapy.
• Through the Swasth Scale, we become aware about our
health, and observe body signals not tracked otherwise.
Identify, habits that may be contributing to less-than-optimal
well-being and determine where changes might be most
beneficial 


• The Swasth Scale is designed to give us a holistic view of our

well-being. It examines the entire process that results in well-
being – starting from our inputs (habits and lifestyle) and going
to the resulting impact on all dimensions of our health.
• It is advisable to measure these parameters at least thrice – at
the start of the journey, 3 months after start of the journey, 6
months after start of the journey

• It is very important to fill the form completely honestly. It is

NOT an assessment or a judgement on us, but a tool to help
us.

7
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

ANNEXURE – HEALTH HABITS MEASUREMENT

Section 1a: Food Pattern on a Typical Day

– Start of Intervention
Name: _____________ Date _____________
Slept previous: Woke up: Total hours:
night at (time) at (time) of sleep (hours)

Fill the table in as much detail as possible. E.g. Instead of

writing you had daal – mention which daal it was.

Meal Time What you Quantity

ate/ drank
Before
breakfast

Breakfast

Between
meals

8
 Meal Time What you Quantity
ate/ drank
Lunch

Between
meals

Dinner

After
dinner

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Section 1b: Food Pattern on a Typical Day

– End of Intervention
Name: _____________ Date _____________
Slept previous: Woke up: Total hours:
night at (time) at (time) of sleep (hours)

Fill the table in as much detail as possible. E.g. Instead of

writing you had daal – mention which daal it was.

Meal Time What you Quantity

ate/ drank
Before
breakfast

Breakfast

Between
meals

10
 Meal Time What you Quantity
ate/ drank
Lunch

Between
meals

Dinner

After
dinner

11
From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Section 1b: General food habits

Item at START of at END of
intervention intervention
Tea/coffee/cold drinks _______ Times a _______ Times a
day day
Processed & Junk ______ Times a ______ Times a
Food (e.g. Burgers, week week
cookies, biscuits,
chips, fried items,
chocolates, etc
Bread ___ Times a week __ Times a week
Egg/chicken/fish/other ______ Times a ______ Times a
non-vegetarian items week week
Dairy – Milk tea / ______ Times a ______ Times a
milk/ yoghurt / butter / week week
buttermilk/ / icecream/
paneer / cheese (e.g.
if you have 1 tea daily
& yoghurt twice a
week, write 7 + 2 = 9)
Meals not cooked at ______ Times a ______ Times a
home (restaurants, week week
street food, etc)
Alcohol ______ Times a ______ Times a
week week
Cigarette smoking _______ Times a _______ Times a
day day
Tobacco / zarda _______ Times a _______ Times a
day day

12
 Item at START of at END of
intervention intervention
Oil used in food _______ Litres a ______ Litres a
month, for ____ month, for ____
people in family people in family
Sugar used in any ______ Spoons a ______ Spoons
food day a day
Grains other than ______ Times a ______ Times a
wheat/rice/corn (e.g. week week
millets, quinoa)
Fruits _______ Times a _______ Times a
week week
Vegetable Salad _______ Times a _______ Times a
week week
Type of oil (circle) Refined / Kacchi Refined / Kacchi
Ghaani Ghaani
Type of salt (circle) Refined / Sendha Refined / Sendha
or Jaadaa or Jaadaa
Type of sweetener Sugar / Jaggery- Sugar / Jaggery-
(circle) Dates-Honey Dates-Honey
Type of honey (circle) Market / Wild & Market / Wild &
Raw / No Raw / No
Type of rice (circle) Refined / Brown Refined / Brown

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Section 1c: General Time of Activities

Activity at START of at END of
intervention intervention
Breakfast: _____ times a _____ times a
Between 7 and week week
10am
Lunch: Between _____ times a _____ times a
week week
12 and 2:30pm
Dinner: Between 7 _____ times a _____ times a
week week
and 10pm
Sleep : Latest _____ times a _____ times a
week week
by11:45pm
Giving my body the
amount of sleep, it _____ times a _____ times a
needs week week
Quantity of Sleep _____ hours _____ hours
across night & day across night & day
Mental and/or
physical relaxation
(e.g. chanting, _____ times a day _____ times a day
meditation,
awareness,
socializing, power
naps!)
Hobby/activity that ________ minutes ________ minutes
gives joy a day, _____ days a day, _____ days
a week a week
Actively addressing Never / Rarely / Never / Rarely /
emotions – e.g. Sometimes / Sometimes /
journaling, speak Most of the time / Most of the time /
to the person, or Always Always
others, medite, arts

14
 Activity at START of at END of
intervention intervention
I listen and attend Never / Rarely / Never / Rarely /
to signs/ symptoms Sometimes / Sometimes /
of my body Most of the time / Most of the time /
Always Always
Exercise other than
home/ office ________ minutes ________ minutes
routine – Walk, a day, _____ days a day, _____ days
Praanaayaam, a week a week
Aasan, Dance,
Loosening, Gym,
Sports

Section 2b: Habits Inferred from 1a

Activity at START of at END of
intervention intervention
Fruit: At least 2 Followed / Not Followed / Not
hours post meal or
1 hour before

Sleep: At least 1 Followed / Not Followed / Not

hour post meal

Maximum 6 hours Followed / Not Followed / Not

gap between meals
during day

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Swasth Scale
Health Status

OBJECTIVES

● Participants: Become aware about their health status, and

observe body signals not tracked regularly otherwise

● Doctor / Therapist: Understand special needs of the

participants, in order to provide customized / personalized
support

● Both: Understand the impact on their health, before and

after a wellness intervention

When: The scale should be filled at least thrice

– at the start of the wellness journey (baseline), 3 months after,
and 6 months after

Name: Age: Gender: Date of:

SECTION 1 – Ann-may Kosh

(Physical “Food” Body)
1a – Current Health Conditions

Ailment Last checked on Ailment present at

the time of check
(√ / x / ?)
Diabetes
Hypertension
High Cholesterol
Hypo-thyroid or hyper-

16
 Ailment Last checked on Ailment present at
the time of check
(√ / x / ?)
thyroid
PCOD/PCOS
Asthma
Arthritis (Osteo /
Rheumatoid)
Auto-immune disorders
Any existing infectious
disease – eg malaria,
diarrhoea, TB
Mental & mood
disorders (anxiety &
depression, phobias,
eating disorders such as
anorexia nervosa,
bulimia)
Recovering from
significant health shock
(e.g. paralytic stroke,
heart attack)
Neurological disorders
(e.g. epilepsy,
Parkinson’s, Speech and
language disorders,
Injury to brain, spinal
cord, Behavioral
/cognitive syndrome)
Problems in external
organs such as skin
allergies, ENT, Dental

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

1b – Medications being used

Note: Also mention any medications which you may
not use daily, but frequently enough

Name of Ailment for which Taking since Dosage /

Medication used how many day
years

1c – Vital and Specific Parameters

Parameter Units Start Middle End

(S) (M) (E)
BP – Diastolic mmHg
/ Systolic

PR: (Pulse - bpm

rate)

18
 1d – Results of Key Diagnostic Tests

Normal Start Middle End

Test
Values (S) (M) (E)
Blood Sugar
Upto 110
(Fasting):
Blood Sugar
Upto 140
(PP):
Total
0 – 200
Cholesterol:
HDL/LDL: 1.5 – 3.5

Thyroid Thyroid
• T3 • 60 – 200
• T4 • 3.2 – 12.0
• TSH • 0.25 – 5.5

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

1e – Symptom Score
Give a rating on a scale of 0 to 10, where
0 = No issue and 10 = Very severe issue

Start Middle End

Parameter
(S) (M) (E)

Overall symptom intensity (0-10)

Diabetes & CardioVascular

- Urination (0 - 10)
- Thirst (0 - 10)
- Fatigue (0 - 10)
- Pain in limbs (0 - 10)
- Numbness in limbs (0 - 10)
Backpain/ Neckpain/ Spondylosis
Location of Pain:
Intensity : 0 to 10
Duration: 0 to 10

Location of Pain:
Intensity : 0 to 10
Duration: 0 to 10
Other sensory involvement
Tingling: (0 to 10)
Burning: (0 to 10)
Numbness: (0 to 10)
Aggravating Factors for
backpain:

20
 Start Middle End
Parameter
(S) (M) (E)
Forward bending: (0 to 10)

Backward bending: (0 to 10)

Side bending – left or right:
(0 to 10) – Write higher of the
two values
Twisting – left or right: (0 to 10)
– Write higher of the two values
Rheumatic/ Arthritis/ Joint/ Skeletal Pain (e.g.
knee/ankle/elbow)
Location of Pain:

Intensity: (0 to 10)

Location of Pain:
Intensity: (0 to 10)

Location of Pain:
Intensity: (0 to 10)
Digestive Problems
Acidity Symptoms: (0 to 10)
Irritable Bowel Syndrome –
Alternating diarrhoea &
constipation : (0 to 10)
Piles Symptoms: (0 to 10)
Headache / Migraine
Headache / Migraine: (0 to 10)

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

SECTION 2 – Praan-may Kosh (Vital Energies)

Give a score on a scale of 0 to 10, where
0 = No issue and 10 = Very severe issue.
Circle the area of concern. The higher the number, the farther you
currently are from the ideal situation written in the second column
Aspect Ideal Situation S M E
Breath flow is rhythmic, relaxed (not
panting, gasping etc)
Normal sound (no wheezing,
whistling etc)

Respira- Sputum does not have blood or dark

tion yellow color
Not affected by respiratory
(Praan) infections
Don't get regular bouts of cough
and/or cold
Breathing happens naturally through
nostrils (not mouth), and easily

Regular motions (at least daily)

Able to clear stomach within 1 hour
of waking up in the morning
Bowel
Stool is not very strong/foul smelling
Movement
Normal motions – neither
(Apaan) constipation nor loose, like
diarrhoea
No blood / mucous / pain in the
stool passed

Light yellowish color (not very dark)

Not very strong/foul smelling
Urination
No burning sensation or pain while
(Apaan) urinating
Normal pressure – neither less, nor
incontinence (unable to control)

22
Aspect Ideal Situation S M E
Gap of 28 days between 2 cycles –
from start of previous cycle (gap
neither less nor more)
Normal blood flow (not too less, not
Menstrual too much)
Health
Bleeding for 3-4 days
(Apaan) No other auxiliary problems
(backpain, headache, dizziness,
acne, excessive anger/ irritation/
sadness/ depression)
Not accompanied by much pain

Feel hungry at the appropriate time

Normal appetite (neither too less,
Hunger / not too many hunger pangs)
Appetite
Enjoy subtle flavors, don’t feel the
(Samaan) urge for spicy/stimulating food/drink
Largely stable, does not fluctuate
wildly during a day/week

Able to digest whatever you eat

Digestion No cramps in the stomach
No acidity, gas or rumbling
(Samaan)
No bloating, stomach feels light
(instead of full)

Eyes are normal in the morning (not

bloodshot, or bags under eyes)
At night, able to sleep quickly after
Sleep getting to bed
(Udaan) Sleep is deep, undisturbed. Do not
wake up in the middle of the night
Sleep in peaceful, do not get very
disturbing dreams/nightmares

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Aspect Ideal Situation S M E

Get up effortlessly in the morning,
feeling energetic, fresh & satisfied
No issues staying up during the day

No chronic Sneezing
Other No chronic hiccuping
Parameters No chronic vomiting
No chronic coughing

Ideal Situation S M E

Overall physical and energetic well-

Overall
being

SECTION 3 – Mano-may Kosh

(Thoughts & Emotions)

Section 3a – Emotional Intensity

Rate the extent to which you feel this emotion, on a scale of 0 to
10 (where 0 = not at all, 10 = all the time)
Note that this does NOT refer to the extent to which you
express this emotion to others or acknowledge to yourself.
EMOTION S M E
• Angry, irritated, frustrated, hurt, critical
• Sad, depressed, lonely, bored
• Fearful, anxious, insecure, scared
• Guilty, remorseful, ashamed

24
 Section 3b – Emotional and Mental Well-being
Give a score on a scale of 0 to 10,
where 0 = No issue and 10 = Very severe issue.
Circle the area of concern. The higher the number, the farther you
currently are from the ideal situation written in the second column
Ideal Situation S M E
Involved in creative activities, able to
conceptualize new things
Able to concentrate on task at hand
Action-oriented, able to get work done
Good memory
Mental Body able to stay still when needed
agility & (no restless leg/ arm syndrome)
stability
Decision-making with clarity/
concentration, not feeling
overwhelmed
Balance of restfulness and activity of
the mind
Able to learn new things easily
Ideal Situation S M E
Largely joyful, content and at peace
Express feelings to others
Feel self-assured and confident
Emotional about own skills/talents/abilities
well-
being Value your own self, your feelings,
thoughts and needs
Loving and caring to self/others (not
destructive thoughts/ actions)

Ideal Situation S M E

Overall Overall mental and emotional well-being

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

SECTION 4 – Vigyaan-may Kosh (Inner Wisdom)

Rate the extent to which you are able to stay in this state,
on a scale of 0 to 10
(where 0 = not experience at all, 10 = experience all the time)

Situation S M E
Fully present in the NOW (instead of past or future)
Led by Self - confidence, clarity, compassion,
courage, curiosity, connectedness, calmness,
creativity
Connection to any of these - a religious figure,
nature, spiritual force, a scientific theory, a personal
way of life, a 6 particular philosophy or a moral and
ethical code).
Recognizing and accepting things beyond own
control, faith, surrender
A sense of gratitude and hopefulness/ optimism.
A sense of purpose and meaning in life

26
 SECTION 5 – Aanand-may Kosh (Bliss)
* Using the validated international scale –
Satisfaction with Life (SLS)
Below are five statements that you may agree or disagree with.
Using the 1 - 7 scale below, indicate your agreement with each
item by placing the appropriate number: 1 - Strongly disagree / 2 –
Disagree / 3 – Slightly disagree / 4 - Neither agree nor disagree /
5 - Slightly agree / 6 - Agree / 7 - Strongly agree

I'm at peace and satisfied with….

Aspect of Life Start Middle End
My family relationships and home
situation
My relationships with friends.
The ingredient of leisure, play, fun and
recreation in my life.
My work situation and relationships at
work.
My financial condition.
My personal growth.
Who I am as a person.

Question Start Middle End

In most ways, my life is close to my
ideal.
The conditions of my life are excellent.
I am satisfied with my life.
So far, I have gotten the important
things I want in life.
If I could live my life over, I would
change almost nothing.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

28
 Chapter 2

“Swaadhyaay”

What is my purpose?

Meaning

The Sanskrit word “Swaadhyaay” is one of the steps

in Ashtaang Yog (8-limbed Yog).
“Swaadhyaay (स्वाध्याय) literally means
self-study, i.e. understanding ourselves

Importance

The first step in the journey towards sustainable

well-being is being aware of our purpose.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

What the difference between Goal and Purpose?

Management Gurus talk of SMART goals - Specific, Measurable,

Ambitious, Realistic and Time-bound. A well-defined goal is
SMART. It lets us know whether we have been successful. E.g. I
want to lose 5 kg of weight in 5 months is a SMART goal. Goals
are helpful as they keep us motivated towards action, and let us
know whether we are on the right track or need to course correct.

However, sometimes, we also end up chasing goals blindly, losing

sight of the big picture. At other times, we may end up not meeting
our goal, causing frustration. Sometimes, even after achieving our
goal, we may feel unhappy, contrary to our expectation. E.g. I may
lose my target 5 kg of weight, but still feel miserable about myself!

It is here that awareness of our purpose helps. Our purpose is

often not clearly measurable, but it reflects our deeper intention or
need behind our goal. Our purpose is our North Star.

How does our purpose inform our actions?

Heard of the power of intention? Our purpose keeps us committed

towards action. We realize that we aren’t working towards a
“number”, but a bigger vision. Often, it opens up new strategies
and avenues to achieve goals. At other times, awareness of our
purpose helps us drop or modify goals, that are not fully aligned.

30
 How do we understand our purpose?

1. Simply by thinking big picture: Asking ourselves – “What is

my intention for my well-being?” Formulating this in one simple
sentence! This is best done from a place of stillness and
connection to ourselves and hence is effective when done
through a meditative process.

2. Reflecting and Inquiring deeply into our goals: This often

works well with a coach, or through journaling ourselves.
Some helpful questions for such an inquiry are:
o What makes it important for you to meet your goal?
o After meeting your goal - How would your life change?
How will you feel? Who will you be? What will you start
doing? What will you stop doing?
o Underneath the goal, what are you really yearning for?

E.g. Chronic condition - Diabetes, Hypertension, Cholesterol:

• Goal: I want to have normal blood parameters in 1 year
• I will be able to live a life free from medication
• A medication-free life will make me feel that I am well now and
likely to be well in the future
• Wellness in future means I will be able to live my potential
now, see my children getting married, enjoy retirement with my
partner, travel around after having worked hard for so long

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

E.g. Weight-loss:
• Goal: Losing 5 kg in 5 months
• I want to lose 5kg to look good
• Looking good will help me feel good about myself
• If I feel good about myself, it will make me less self-critical.
• Being less self-critical will make me feel free, take risks and
make mistakes, and live life fully and freely.

In the above case, as find that losing weight is a strategy towards

being less self-critical and freer, we will also start examining our
attitude towards ourselves in other areas of life

3. Connecting to our right brain: Our right brain is the land of

dreams, images, metaphors, music. It is our creative, feeling
and emotional side. We can connect to it through the faculty of
art – by imagining how our life would be if we met our goal.

Imagining it in full detail and richness

• Ourselves (how we look, what we wear, what we do,
how we talk, how we walk, our emotions)
• The environment around us (people, physical space,
work, home).
Letting ourselves experience this state through all faculties –
body, energy, mind, emotions. And by then expressing it in the
form of a drawing, dance, poetry/song, etc.

32
 How to stay grounded in our purpose

Small rituals play a big role in grounding us in our purpose:

• Sharing it with other people, moving it towards reality

• Visualizing our purpose first thing when we get up in the
morning
• Posting our drawing/poetry/stated purpose on a mirror, or our
ward-robe, or office space – where we can keep looking at it
again and again, to be motivated
• Reflecting regularly and seeing how we’re slowly taking small
steps towards our purpose, and celebrating this movement

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Questions for Reflection

In one sentence, my intention for myself is that …

Questions for Reflection - Deeper enquiry

What are my top 3 goals?

What makes it important for me to meet my goals?

After meeting my goal,

• How would my life change?
• How will I feel?
• Who will I be?
• What will I start doing?
• What will I stop doing?

Behind my stated goal, what am I really yearning for?

Activity

What is my vision for myself (how I look, what I wear, what I

do, how I talk, how I walk, my emotions) and the environment
around me (people, physical space, work, home). Express it in
the form of a drawing, dance, poetry/song, etc.

34
 ANNEXURE - Identifying my Purpose

Deeper enquiry
What are my top 3 goals?

What makes it important for

me to meet my goals?
After meeting my goal,
1. How would my life
change?
2. How will I feel?
3. Who will I be?
4. What will I start doing?
5. What will I stop doing?

Behind my stated goals,

what am I really yearning
for?

In one sentence,
My intention for myself is that ….

Right-brain visualization

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

What is my vision for myself (how I look, what I wear, what I do,
how I talk, how I walk, my emotions)? What is my vision for the
environment around me (people, physical space, work, home)?

Expression it in the form of a drawing, dance, poetry/song, etc

36
 Chapter 3

“Swa + Sth”

What is the secret

to well-being?

Meaning

The colloquial meaning of the Sanskrit Word

“Swasth” (स्वस्थ) is healthy.

Importance

To be healthy, i.e. Swasth, we first need to

understand what the word truly means

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Colloquial Meaning of Swasth

As per the World Health Organization (WHO) – “Health is a state

of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity”. Further, WHO recognized the
importance of a fourth dimension - spiritual well-being, in 1984.

Examination of this definition reveals the following about “health”:

• Holistic: The concept of health extends beyond the body.

• Positive: Health is a positive concept. If someone does not

have a disease, it does not mean that they’re healthy. E.g. If
someone does not have a clinical disease, but finds
themselves panting after climbing a few set of stairs or a
slope, or feels lethargic, dull and does not feel like doing
anything - such a person, is disease-free but not healthy.

• Relation with Time (future): As a future-looking concept,

health is a good predictor of prevention of diseases in future.

If a person has some symptoms which don’t classify as a

disease, but if they persist for a few months or years, they
would lead to one. E.g. if a person feels generally lethargic
and therefore does not do physical activity, over time, he/she
is likely to experience weight gain, muscular and joint pains,
etc. If continued unchecked, these could become risk factors
for hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

Let us assume two people - one of them is in a state of

general well-being and the other eats out a lot and has
indigestion and acidity once or twice a week. Both people, on
undergoing a medical check-up are diagnosed as disease-
free. However, we all know that the second person is more
likely to get a disease in future.

38
• Connected to the external world: Health extends beyond
what happens inside us, and includes our external world –
relationships at home and work, career, family, nature etc. Both
influence each other, i.e. the state of our external world
influences our health and vice versa. E.g. Many people develop
diabetes and hypertension after a life-altering event such as the
loss of a loved one or loss of purpose in life post retirement. If
we have some discord within our family, our health is likely to
suffer. The opposite is also true, i.e. when we are not in a state
of health, our engagement with the external world is not joyful.

Deeper Meaning of Swasth

Etymologically, the Sanskrit word Swasth can be broken down as

“Swa” (स्व) + “Sth” (स्थ)

• “Swa” / स्व = means me/oneself

• “Sth” / स्थ = to be established in (other words with the same

root - स्थान/sthaan meaning place, स्स्थर/sthir meaning stable,
स्स्थत/sthit – established, स्स्थनत/sthiti – situation. Interestingly,
even the English word ‘stable’ has a similar prefix sound!)

Hence, the actual meaning of Swasth is to be “Established in

Oneself”

It is very interesting to observe that the original, deeper meaning

of Swasth has no mention of well-being! This is because of the
Yogic principle that health and well-being is a natural outcome
when we are established in our true self, our true nature.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Panch-Kosh

To understand what or who is it what we have to be established

in, we need to understand the deeper meaning of Swa (स्व), i.e. I /
oneself. An ancient text, Taitreya Upanishad, beautifully explains
the concept, by systematically unravelling the 5 dimensions of
existence – called the Panch-Kosh (Panch means five, Kosh
means layers or dimensions).

Panch-Kosh refers the 5 dimensions/ sheaths of existence – from

gross to subtle:

1. Ann-may Kosh – Gross Body

2. Praan-may Kosh – Vital Energies
3. Mano-may Kosh – Mind (Thoughts & Emotions)
4. Vigyaan-may Kosh – Inner Wisdom
5. Aanand-may Kosh – Bliss

Ann-May Kosh

40
Who are we? The most, obvious, gross answer is the body.
Everything around us has a body – whether living or non-living –
humans, animals, plants, objects such as a stone, phone.
Everything in the universe is sustained by “ann” or matter. This
matter-based aspect of our existence is called the Ann-may Kosh.
This is our physical body and consists of 5 key elements, or
Panch-bhut, namely: Earth (Prithvi), Water (Jal or Aap), Fire (Agni
or Tejas,), Wind or Air (Vayu) and Space, (Aakaash). Our body is
nourished mostly by the gross food (Ann) that we consume.

• “Ann” means “food”. The body is called “Ann-may” Kosh

because essentially, it is an accumulation of food. A baby is
small when it is born, and as it consumes food, it becomes
bigger. After reaching adulthood, we do not see the
accumulation of food as we stop growing. However, the
process is still on, as our cells are constantly dying and are
being replenished through the material from the food we
consume. We are a totally different person in 7 years!

• An extension of the above concept is that our body is not a

static machine, but it is evolving. This is unlike the mechanical
view of our body which likens us to a car running on fuel. Here,
the fuel is changing the very composition of the car.

• The Annmay Kosh also includes our microbiome – the

collective genome of the bacteria, fungi, viruses and archaea
that live in us and on us. Research is showing that we have at
least as many microbes inside us as the human genome.
Interestingly, indigenous cultures did not have a separate
concept of environment, as they considered humans to be an
integral part of it and didn’t see it as “us and them”! Our body
replicates the same macrocosmic reality inside.

• The language of our body, in which it “speaks” to us is

sensations. These are on, all the time, inside us! However, we
are often engaged in other activities, and not aware of them

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Real life experiment

Activity

A simple way to become aware of our body is to close our

eyes and taking a few minutes to slowly “scan” our own body
from head to toe. Examining every part of our body, becoming
aware of all the sensations without judging them or trying to
change them. Every time we judge them, we can remind
ourselves that there is no ‘good’ or ‘right’ sensation!

In this process, we may come across new sensations we

weren’t aware of. Sensations may increase or decrease as we
take awareness towards or away from them.

The simple practice of awareness without judgement can

deepen our connection with our body. A deeper version of this
is used in the ancient meditative technique of Vipassana. We
can do this anytime during the day. Over time, we can learn to
understand the language of the body, and factor it in our
process of decision making and action.

42
 Questions for Reflection

• What all sensations did I experience?

• Did I experience any new sensation?

• Did the intensity of the sensation(s) reduce or increase as

my attention moved from one part of the body to another?

Key Points

There is NO “right” answer to this activity! Your experience is

the right answer

• Sensations are of many kinds - temperature, stiffness,

looseness, pain, rumbling, pulsing, tickling etc.

• Sensations or our experience of their intensity can reduce or

increase. They are transitory

• A lot is happening in our body at any point of time! We are

aware of only a fraction of it

• As our awareness increases, we become aware of new

sensations…

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Praan-May Kosh

While every object has a body, what differentiates a living object

from a non-living object is the presence of “Praan”. When
someone dies, we often say in Hindi “Praan nikal gaye”, i.e. Praan
has left the body. So, what is Praan? Praan means the life-giving
force or vital energies.

Praan is the basic vital force, the basic energy that flows through
the universe, both inside and outside us. A uniform harmonious
flow of praan to each and every cell of the Ann-may Kosh keeps
them alive and healthy. The Praan-may Kosh consists of the (i)
subtle channels (Naadis) of the flow of praan and (ii) subtle
centers (Chakras) where the channels cross each other or meet
throughout the body. These are not physical or gross channels
and centers that can be seen, but subtle channels and centers
that can be experienced.

Praan is what gives life to our organs – it makes our heart beat,
our stomach digest, etc. This life-giving force shows its presence
in the body in the form of PanchaPraan, which govern various
functions of the body – e.g. Udaan (belching, vomiting etc), Vyaan
(circulation, transmission of messages etc), Apaan (excretion,
reproduction, etc), Samaan (digestion, etc), Praan (breathing etc).

Simple test of the presence of Praan in the body are breath or

pulse – that is also what doctors check before pronouncing
someone dead or alive.

44
 Real life experiment

Activity

There are multiple simple ways to become aware of the

presence of Praan in our body. The techniques below move
from gross to subtle:

• Breath awareness – tracing the whole path of breath from our

nose to lungs and back, becoming aware of the connection of
breathing with our body’s movement, feeling the temperature
and sensations of breath inside our nose. This forms the basis
of the Aan-Paan meditation technique in Vipassana.

• Heartbeat awareness – closing our eyes and becoming aware

of the beating of our heart Feeling the heartbeat spread out
from the heart

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

• Pulse awareness – bringing our thumb and index

finger into contact with each other (called Gyaan
Mudra). Becoming aware of the subtle pulse in our
thumb/finger. If the pulse is not clear, we can press
the two firmly against each other.

The throbbing will become clearer then. After some time, we

can release the pressure, and see if our awareness has
become fine enough to perceive the pulse normally.

Reflection questions for pulse awareness activity

• Was the pulse clear, the first time you tried to

experience it?
• Did the pulse become clearer as you pressed your
finger and thumb tightly?
• After some time of practice, did feeling the pulse
become easier?

Key point

Even though we can’t see Praan or are not always aware of

it, it is present and driving the functions of our organs at all
times.

46
 Mano-may Kosh

This is the layer of our mind, which is the source and seat of our
thoughts and emotions. Emotions are recycled thoughts which
gain momentum in our mind. In the Yogic system, the mind is the
seat of 4 key functions – intellect or analytical mind (बुस्ि),
memory (मन), identity (अहं कार), and higher intellect or unsullied
raw intelligence (नित्त). The language of the mind, i.e. how we see
the manifestation of these functions is through our thoughts and
emotions. These, in turn, have power to govern our actions.

More “evolved” creatures typically have a more evolved “mind” in

addition to their body. As we move from micro-organisms to plants
to animals to humans, our mind becomes more and more refined.
It is the mind which has helped human beings in creating
innovative products and services, simplifying our life, living safely
even though many other animals are physically stronger than us.
However, the nature of the mind is such that is can also become
compelling, sucking us in. Especially these days, as our minds
have become sharper, we are also more distracted at work,
addicted to our mobile phones, find it difficult to sleep at night,
have obsessive worries, prone to anxiety and depression. The
hyper-activity of our mind is the main reason for our fatigue and
many ailments today. We are no longer dying from infectious
diseases caused by a bacteria or fungus. We are dying from
psychosomatic ailments, i.e. those created by our mind!

The question is not if the mind is good or bad. The question is -

who is in control? We control our mind, or our mind controls us?

Many ancient texts have called the mind a “monkey” – because it

always keeps going here and there, never at rest. Trying to stop
thoughts and emotions doesn’t work. If we try to control our
thoughts, it becomes harder! E.g. in the next 10 seconds, try to
NOT think of carrots. It’s unlikely that you succeed in this! Many
times, we try to deal with our emotions by ignoring or denying or

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

suppressing them. Which does not work either, and leads to

emotional outbursts or ailments in the long-run.

Yogis have designed many beautiful techniques for us to gain

mastery over the mind. In fact, one of the definitions of Yog is -
योगः नित्त वृनत्त ननरोधः (Yogah Chitta Vritti Nirodhah), i.e. Yog is the
cessation of the modifications of the mind. Note that the definition
does not use the words नवरोध (meaning opposition) or अवरोध
(meaning blocking), but uses ननरोधः (nirodh). This reflects the deep
insight of our Yogis, in the strategies to master the mind.

Reflection Questions

• In my life, where does my mind support me?

• In my life, where does my mind inhibit me?

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 Real life experiment

Activity

To become aware of our mind, we can simply sit quietly with

our eyes closed and our gaze turned inwards. Becoming
aware of the various thoughts and emotions that come up,
without judging or trying to change them. Observing our
thoughts and emotions as if we are watching a movie –
knowing that we are different and distant from the movie
character.

Questions for Reflection

• Where all did my thoughts go – in space? (e.g. room,

home, workplace)
• Where all did my thoughts go – in time? (e.g. yesterday,
tomorrow, right now)
• If I tried to stop my thoughts, was I successful?

Key Point

We are likely to find that our mind travels everywhere in even

a short time span of a minute – being present in the space
where we are seated and visiting other spaces (e.g. home,
workplace, child’s school), travelling across time - past,
present and future. The mind travels faster than the speed of
light! The sun’s rays take 8 minutes to reach earth, but we can
imagine a trip to the sun and back in a second!

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Vigyaan-may Kosh

Animals also have the ability to think and feel. So, what
differentiates us from them? We have a sense of “right” or “wrong”
and the discernment to choose. The Vigyaan-may Kosh refers to
this discernment. However, the “right” or “wrong” here is
“unconditioned”, i.e. it does not refer to what we infer based on our
internal thoughts, feelings, intellect or external social norms, as
these all lie in the realm of Mano-may Kosh. Vigyaan-may Kosh
can also be described as the conscience, or the voice within us
that continuously guides us to take decisions which are best
suited to the situation at hand, and in the interest of the universe
as a whole, and not driven by our individual, personal interests,
feelings, fears and insecurities.

Another distinction - the Mano-may Kosh (mind) guides us based

on learnings from the past or as per goals of the future. The
guidance from Vigyaan-may Kosh lies outside this realm, though it
does support us in processing the past or planning our future.

Vigyaan-may Kosh refers to the universal wisdom, the power to

access which, lies within us. This is called by different names in
various cultures and religions – Intuition, inner voice (अंदर की

50
आवाज़), conscience, to name a few. This wisdom is non-
interfering, it guides us from within but does not impose itself.

It is the Vigyaan-may Kosh which enabled Yogis thousands of

years ago, to understand intricate patterns of constellations, the
structure of atoms, the shape of the earth – from the biggest to the
smallest things – by going within, without instruments of external
exploration such as telescopes and microscopes.

This is a very powerful source of pure knowledge, and our ability

to access continuously has reduced these days, due to the
dominance of our mind. However, we all have moments when we
are able to tap into it, to access this state of “flow”, though not in a
conscious, planned manner. E.g. many discoveries happen
through intuitions. Sometimes, when we are relaxing or out in
nature, the most brilliant forms of inspiration come to us –
enabling us to see our problems with a very different perspective.

Reflection Questions

Think of a time when you may have got guidance from your
Vigyaan-may Kosh

• What was the difference between this and the guidance

from the mind, through thoughts and emotions?

• How did it enable you to transcend the barriers of “I”?

• What was your state of Being at this time?

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Aanand-may Kosh

As hard as it may be to believe, our nature is bliss! A simple way

to verify this is to ask ourselves:
• When our body is healthy, our mind is at peace and there is
harmony internally and externally – how do we feel? Blissful.
• If all our worries and their causes were to disappear magically,
how would we feel? Blissful
• How are children, in their natural state? Blissful
• How are realized, enlightened people, even though they don’t
have a single penny in their pocket? Blissful !

Yes - we are bliss! When everything aligns internally and

externally, we are blissful. Similarly, when we are blissful,
everything aligns internally and externally.

Bliss is not happiness, which is a transitory emotion. Bliss is a

state of Being. Bliss the “basic stuff” of the universe. This is our
true nature, this is our original state, the state of joy, a state of
complete silence (of modifications of the mind), a state of total
harmony and perfect health. Different cultural and religious

52
traditions call it by different names, such as स्व, soul, spirit, रूह,
आत्मा, परमात्मा

Real life experiment

To get in touch with bliss, just laugh! It may seem artificial at

first, but as we continue to do it, it will become easier and
more natural. Our body, energies and mind will start changing
if we are laughing and smiling. To experience this, visit the
nearest Laughter Yoga club, or start one yourself! There are
thousands of people who have reversed their ailments simply
by laughing their way to bliss. Another easy way to connect to
bliss is by doing our favourite activities – being in nature,
singing, painting/ drawing/ art-work, cooking something new,
dancing, reading. We all have something close to us, which
puts us in a state of Bliss.

Question for Reflection

How many of us take out time every day, for something that truly
gives us joy? If we can simply be joyful, we will be healthy. From
today, take out 5 minutes daily, to cultivate Joy within us!

Choose something that is s less dependent on a person, place or

thing and less intensive on time or finances. This will enable
sustainability, as doing this daily is critical. Activities such as
shopping, meeting a certain set of friends may be hard to do daily.
Whereas engaging with arts (singing, listening to music, dance),
reading, praying, playing with your children may be easier.

Remember: Joy is inside us! Activities will only help bring it out

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Connection back to Swasth (“Sth” in “Swa”)

We are now aware of all dimensions of “Swa” (Self) or “I”. Being

established (“Sth”) means to make something our default state of
being and doing. What does it mean to be established in I? It
means being our true Self, and doing what our true Self would do.
This is true integrity – when our thoughts, feelings, words and
actions are all aligned, to each other, and to who we truly are.

To be “established” in the “I”, i.e. to be our true self, all dimensions

of our existence need to be in harmony – our body, vital energies,
mind and emotions, inner wisdom and bliss. To do this, we need
to learn and practice awareness of them, connection to them, and
flow from the guidance we get when we truly listen to them. Yog is
the process and outcome of aligning all dimensions of our Being.

Initially, we may not be able to do this all the time, but we can aim
to be established in it more and more, i.e., to make this our centre,
to which we keep coming back. With practice, we will be amazed
to see our life transforms. Diseases will recede, as our body is
designed for health and well-being. We are immensely lucky to be
born as human beings, and to have whatever ailment we do have,
which has brought us to the path of Yog. We can see our dis-ease
as a curse, burden, responsibility. Or, as an opportunity to turn
inwards, to find and be our true self, to be truly “Swasth”.

Through Yog, not only can we become free of diseases, but we

can become truly free! Free from our self-limiting beliefs, free from
limiting social norms…

We see freedom as something we want to get from someone else

(e.g. India had to become free from the British rule). Real freedom
is when free ourselves, to be ourselves – “Free to Be Me”. Let’s
take the first step to living life fully and freely...

54
 Question for Reflection

Reflect and look back at all the meditative rituals you tried through
this chapter, to start becoming established in yourself today. Of
these, which will you do daily, for 5 minutes for the next 1 month?

Questions for Reflection

For answering this question, make a mental switch: Fear,

doubt, anxiety about your body and health may be your
current state. Switch to trust, faith and courage. Just try.

Ask yourselves the question below, and accept any response

to the questions below that emerges from this state

• How might my current health “problem” be an opportunity in

disguise?

• Other than my body, what aspects of my life need healing?

• If I could be “free to be me”, who would I be? Who am I?

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Key Points

• Health is a state of complete physical, mental, social and

spiritual well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity. The concept of health extends beyond the body.
Health is a positive concept. As a future-looking concept,
health is a good predictor of prevention of diseases in future.
Health extends beyond what happens inside us, and includes
our external world

• The meaning of Swasth is to be “Established in Oneself”

• Everything around us has a body. The body is called “Ann-

may” Kosh because essentially, it’s an accumulation of food.
The language of our body, in which it “speaks” to us is
sensations.

• Praan means the life-giving force or vital energies. Praan is

what gives life to our organs – it makes our heart beat, our
stomach digest, etc. The simplest test of the presence of
Praan in the body is breathing – that is also what doctors
check before pronouncing someone dead or alive.

• The language of the mind is thoughts and emotions. It is the

mind which has helped human beings in creating innovative
products and services, simplifying our life, living safely even
though many other animals are physically stronger than us.
However, the nature of the mind is such that is can also
become compelling, sucking us in. The question is not whether
the mind is good or bad. The question is - who is in control?
We are in control of our mind, or our mind is in control of us?

• We have a sense of right/wrong and the discernment to

choose. Vigyaan-may Kosh refers to the universal wisdom, the
power to access which, lies within us. In the Western world,

56
 this is sometimes called “intuition”. This is a very powerful
source of pure knowledge, and the skill to access continuously
has become extremely rare these days. However, we all have
moments when we are able to tap into it, though not in a
conscious, planned manner.

• We are bliss! When everything aligns internally and externally,

we are blissful. Similarly when we are blissful, everything
aligns internally and externally.

• What is the meaning of being established (“Sth”) in the “I”

(“Swa”)? It means being our true self, and doing what our true
self would do. To be “established” in the “I”, i.e. to be our true
self, all dimensions of our existence need to be in harmony –
our body, vital energies, mind and emotions, inner wisdom and
bliss. To do this, we need to learn and practice awareness of
them, connection to them, and flow from the guidance we get
when we truly listen to them. Yog is the process and the
outcome of aligning these dimensions of our Being. As we
practice this more and more, we will be amazed to see how
our life transforms. Diseases will recede, as our body is
designed for health and well-being.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

ANNEXURE
Being Established in my Self

Mano-may Kosh
In my life,
where does my
mind support
me?

In my life,
where does my
mind inhibit
me?

Aanand-May Kosh
What will I do to cultivate joy within me? (5 minutes daily)

Swasth = Swa + Sth

What meditative ritual will I do, to start becoming established
in my myself? (5 minutes daily)

58
 ANNEXURE

Free to Be Me
By Sundeep Kapila – Founder-CEO, Swasth Foundation.

7 years at McKinsey (Healthcare) and 9 years at Swasth

have fuelled Sundeep’s passion for “Health and Joy For All”.
Having shed 11 kgs, and reversed GERD, Sundeep is now a
joyful Triathlete. He relishes integrating his B.Tech (IIT),
M.D. (Alternative Medicine) Yoga Instructor and Life Coach
Certifications to engineer scalable, sustainable and
empowering health systems.

When I hear the phrase - “Free to Be Me” - I feel light. I feel

airborne. I feel free. These feelings are accompanied by few
questions as well -
Who is getting Free?
What / Who is this Freedom from?
Where will this Freedom take me?
This note is my attempt at answering these questions for myself.

Who is getting Free?

As I say “Free to Be Me”, I experience something deep inside me

breathing again. Something that has been shut out for a very very
long time. That is my SELF, my true Self, my inner Self, my
Conscience, my Light, my Soul, my Spirit, my Atman, my Divinity.
There are so many names that different philosophies and religions
have given to this.

I think it is the Essence of who I am, not who I want to be, not who
my parents want me to be, not who my spouse wants me to be,

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

not who my friends want me to be, not who my boss wants me to

be, not who God wants me to be, NO... It is who I AM. And that
Self breathes, that Self is getting Free.

What / Who is this Freedom from?

We live in a free world and we are free. Then what / who is the
Self gaining freedom from? My Self is gaining freedom from my
system. A system that is there to serve my Self to lead a fulfilling
life. A system that someday felt overwhelmed and decided to
overpower my Self and take charge of managing my life. My Self
let that happen then. Now, my Self breaks free from my system.

What is this system? This system has 4 dimensions – Body,

Energy, Mind and Emotions. All of these 4 dimensions
contribute towards a fulfilling life if they are guided by my Self.
However, when the system took charge of managing my life, they
became the cause of my biggest suffering as well.

As a child, my Self was aware of these dimensions and also knew

how to lead them towards a fulfilling life. As I grew up, I started
facing situations which I was not always prepared for –
expectation of always excelling, falling in love and then breaking
up, losing my father to cancer. I was not prepared for these and
that shook my system. My system responded by taking charge. It
helped in the short term and it created its own problems.

My emotions did not get experienced and got bottled up (did not
experience grief, anger as they were judged by others and not
welcome), my mind rationalized and ignored the reality
(“Compromise is a necessary part of a partnership”, “Let us
achieve short term peace as long term peace is not achievable),
my energy became erratic and in-authentic and my body
became unhealthy (gained weight, lost stamina, hyperacidity).
This was the time when the elements of my system got
overwhelmed and over powered my Self and took charge of

60
managing my life. And that is what they have done in the last so
many years – managed my life. And that is ALL that they have
done – managed my life, kept me alive. NOW, my Self breaks
Free from my system and takes back charge of my life!!

Where will this Freedom take me?

My Self is limitless. My essence is divine. I cannot describe the

place or the world where my Self will lead me to, but I know with
my Self in charge of my life, I can only move towards fulfilling the
purpose of my life, move towards an infinite space drenched with
Peace, Love and Joy ……………

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

I have tried to capture the essence of

my experience in this drawing.

I AM FREE TO BE ME

62
 Chapter 4

“Ath Yog
Anushaasanam”

How do I start my journey?

Importance

To embark upon our journey, we need to

understand Yog – the process and outcome.

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What is this?

“Ath Yog Anushaasanam” is the first verse of Patanjali’s Yog

Sutras, one of the most well-respected commentaries on Yog.
One of the most special features of this text is that it
encapsulated, what could be hundreds of volumes of books, into
196 simple sutras. Each of these sutras is, therefore, like an
extremely powerful capsule!

Another interesting feature of these texts is that the first sentence

is the most important, and the synthesis of everything else that
follows. In that sense, reading these texts is the opposite of
reading any story – you don’t have to wait till the end as the key is
revealed in the beginning itself!

For any serious practitioner of Yog, it is critical to understand and

imbibe this sutra – in fact, if we implement this fully in our life, we
don’t need to do anything else.

अथ योगानुशासनम्
atha yoga-anuśāsanam .1.
And now, the discipline of Yoga

atha = and now

yoga = union, harmony
Anuśāsanam = self-mastery, discipline

Let us now try to understand the meaning of each word of the

verse, to unlock its full meaning.

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 “Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Ath

Ath means now, the present. The Marathi word आता (Ātā) is
derived from the same root. This seems like a strange word to
start such an important text with! But, if an enlightened being such
as Patanjali wrote this verse, he surely understood something we
don’t! In fact, as the first word of the first verse, “Ath” has a
tremendous importance. In modern days, hundreds of books have
been written, just on this single word (consider the bestseller –
The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle)

Why “now”? Because this current moment is the only moment

we have. We cannot catch what happened even two seconds
ago. Life always happens in this moment. Let us understand
some interpretations and their application in our life

Forget the past, come to the present: Whatever we may have

done in the past that has led to our problems (internally or
externally), let us not dwell on them. Let us not feel angry, sad,
hurt, depressed or guilty for our mistakes or someone else’s. What
happened, is what brought us here. What is important is what we
choose to do now, in this present moment. Physical or mental
ailments are the reason many of us are “forced” onto the path of
Yog, but through judicious choices, these can become the portals

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

into a different way of being and living. This is so freeing and

empowering – it releases our bondage to the past, and empowers
us to choose in the present.

Forget the future, come to the present: “Will I get better?” “Will
my relationships improve?” “What if people at home or work don’t
change?” - What is the point of thinking about what will happen in
future? Again, the only thing in our hands is the present moment –
what we choose to do in it. Also, it is likely that we will waver from
this path at times in the future. At that point too, we will have a
choice – do we fret over our “mistakes” or make a choice of
making a different choice in that “now”.

The power of now: Now may seem like a small, fleeting moment.
But its power is unparalleled. No matter what happens in our past
or future, we will always have “now”. The past and future don’t
belong to us, but now does. We have a choice, now.

Available to all: Now no matter what our condition, our success,

fame, money, health; whatever we are in this moment, we can
begin. “Now” does not discriminate – it is available to all. Don’t
look for the most ideal or auspicious time. One of the sutras of
Kautilya Arth-shastra says “Only fools wait for an auspicious
moment, for the evolved person all moments are auspicious”.

Question for Reflection

What resonates with you from the above?

What is your lived experience of the power of “Ath” (now)?

66
 “Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Key to Yog: “Now” is the key to the next word in the verse – Yog
– our goal and journey. This means, being truly present to every
moment. Whatever we are doing, only being with that activity, and
ourselves. It sounds overly simple, and that’s where its power lies.
Because it is simple, we can apply it to our every day life. If we are
in the present, here’s how life changes:
• While talking to someone, we will truly listen to them and
examine the state of our Panch-Kosh, instead of multi-tasking!
• While eating food, our focus will be on the taste, texture, smell,
sight of the food and how it’s reaching our body, instead of
watching TV or conversing with people.
• While making something (e.g. food, a document, artwork), we
will fully be present to all information and material we are
working with, how it’s coming together, and how our Panch-
Kosh is responding to it, instead of thinking of the next task
This is what is called “mindfulness”. Listening is perhaps the key
foundation of a partnership. Think of how would this change the
way we do our Yogic Vyaayaam? We can say that the different
body positions of our Vyaayaam practice are designed to help us
listen to ourselves better. A muscle stretches, fatigue sets in, now
our physical body speaks aloud to us. We can perceive it, listen to
it and be mindful of it.
Many guided meditations and activities such as observation of the
breath, heartbeat, pulse, body and mind, art-work, intention
setting, laughter yog that are mentioned in previous chapters also
attempt to do the same - bring us to the present.
Slowly, we will observe that by doing this simple thing, the quality
and efficiency of our interactions with the external world will
transform – the food we cook will be tastier, our work will start
becoming perfect, our relationships will start improving.
Note that the call is to be present to what is happening inside, as
well as outside us.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Yog

The word “Yog” is commonly called “Yoga” and understood to be

Aasan, Praanaayam and Meditation. One set of common images
associated with Yog is acrobatic stunts with the body and breath
to demonstrate flexibility or supernatural feats such as living
underground without air. The second set of popular images is
the complete opposite – someone sitting alone with their eyes
closed, all attention drawn inwards. However, these tools and
manifestations that we see, are one small part of Yog, not all of
it. They are the tip of the iceberg! So, let us understand real Yog.

The word Yog means union or harmony. Its Latin equivalent is

yoke (also in German). Its Sanskrit root is युज्, which means to
join. A Hindi word, often used in the context of separation of a
person from their beloved or God is Viyog (नवयोग). Viyog is the
opposite of Yog, i.e. opposite of union = separation.

What are we joining, what is this a union of or in harmony with?

• Within our internal world – Our Panch-Kosh – body, vital
energy, mind, inner wisdom, bliss.
• With our external world – food, time and space, people
(relationships), work, success, material welfare, nature (plants
and animals), society and world in general
• Jivaatma to Parmaatma – Human beings to the Higher
consciousness/Universal Force/God/

Yog is this state of harmony, inside and outside. Well-being, i.e.

being “Swasth” is a natural outcome of this state. Physical,
mental, social, spiritual and universal well-being are all
encompassed in Yog. The practice of Yog creates a relationship
with ourselves. We know that in a relationship with other people,
if we are constantly judging and criticizing them, the beauty of
the relationship dies. But do we apply this in dealing with
ourselves? Can we look in the mirror in the morning and say to

68
 “Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

ourselves: "I love you!"? Yog establishes this harmonious

relationship with you. It brings us in harmony with ourselves.

Yog is not a theoretical concept, but something we have all

experienced at some point in our lives. Peace, Love and Joy
(शास्ि, प्रेम, आनंि) are indicators that we are in a state of Yog

• If we look at our experience of any of the activities mentioned

so far - observation of the breath, heartbeat, pulse, body or
mind, art-work, intention setting, laughter yog – they are
essentially trying to bring us to a state of Yog.

• Looking back at our own lives, we can all identify times when
we experienced peace, love and joy…maybe strolling in a
garden, coming up with a new recipe, listening to or singing
our favorite song, going to a spiritual or religious place, playing
with our children or grandchildren, having our favourite dish,
consuming alcohol, dancing like no one is watching, being with
someone we love – these are times when everything around
us fades, as if in a movie! We become one with the object or
person. Nothing else matters, we are truly in the present, and
no separation exists. What is this, if not a state of Yog?!

Questions for Reflection

In life, what gives me peace, love and joy? What puts me in a

state of Yog (internal harmony)?

In the future that I envision for myself, what do I wish to be in

harmony (Yog) with?
• In my internal world (body, energy, mind, emotions,
something else)?
• In my external world (work, food, home, friends,
finances, something else)?

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

We all want to be in peace, love and joy always! But repetition

of the activities does not repeat the satisfaction. If the key was
in the object or person or activity – it would continue to give us
peace, love and joy – always. In fact, it’s the opposite! By
repeating same dish, song, place, people or activity, we start
having a negative experience. The first gulaab-jaamun (Indian
dessert) or chocolate bar is delicious, fifth not so much, and
by the tenth, we’re ready to vomit! Lovers can’t take their eyes
off each other initially, excitement reduces after 5 years of
marriage but is kept intact through children, and after 20
years, anyone seeing them fighting wouldn’t believe these
people were madly in love at some point!

Our Yogis found the key to being in the state of Yog always. They
realized that the key is NOT the external, but the internal. If our
Panch-Kosh can be in Yog internally, we will always be Yog
externally. Yog is not about denying pleasure, it is about always
having pleasure!

Yog is also the key, or the process to reach this state – by first
bringing harmony inside us. By aligning us to our true self, from
where our Being will emerge and interact differently with the world
through its Doing. This altered interaction, coming from a deep
place of internal alignment to our true self will automatically result
in external harmony.

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 “Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Anushaasanam

The word Anushaasan literally means to have mastery over. One

might wonder – we were talking of peace, love and joy - how did
Anushaasan suddenly emerge?! The answer is – Anushaasan is
help us be in the state of peace, love and joy as a default and in
our hands, not as a momentary experience or by chance.

“Shaasan” in Hindi means to rule. Whom do we rule? Our family,

society? No! We rule ourself. Then we achieve self mastery.
Shasanam is discipline, teaching. To learn something is to be
under Shasanam. “Anu” also means ‘after’. So, one interpretation
is that we can come to yog only after self-discipline. If we aren’t
mentally, physically and emotionally disciplined, we will not
succeed in yog.

We have talked earlier of mastering our mind, rather than being a

slave to it. Self-Mastery refers to mastery over Panch-Kosh.
Imagine 5 horses left on their own – they will go off in their own
separate directions! A charioteer masters them by tying all horses,
leveraging their collective power to go in one direction, with speed.
Likewise, if we master our Panch-Kosh and take them along
together, in harmony, in Yog, we can translate our purpose and
intention into our reality much faster.

Self-mastery is an evolutionary stage of discipline. To come to our

authentic self requires discipline. So, self-mastery is an evolution
that is possible only from discipline.

It is important to note that being a master is not a violent process

of forcing and suppressing our faculties. Rather, it’s a gentle
process – a combination of the strength of resoluteness and the
gentleness of love.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Think of a little child who has come out for a picnic. The child is
fascinated by everything. There is something attractive in every
direction – lights, colors, sounds, smells! As parents, we
understand this fascination, and gently bring back our child every
time he/she is going off course. But we are firm too. We lay down
certain rules and ensure the child follows them. Such as teaching
them to not go with strangers, or not to cross the road alone.
Slowly, the child learns to respect these boundaries, after all,
these are for their own well-being.

Questions for Reflection

• What is my relationship with Anushaasan?

• How does Anushaasan help me in life?
• What barriers prevent me from implementing Anushaasan?
• How can I approach Anushaasan with Yog (peace, love,
joy)?

We will also veer off in different directions in our journey to well-

being. Instead of being violently aggressive with ourselves (e.g.
crash diets to lose weight), we can be gentle with ourselves and
forgive our small mistakes, while ensuring boundaries are

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maintained. Slowly, the process will become effortless. We will not

have to try hard to maintain Anushaasan – it will become our
natural state. Initially, when we are learning how to ride a bi-cycle,
bike or scooty, we have to pay attention to balance. It seems so
hard! But once we master it, balance is effortless.

Yog is not dry theory, but always based on one's own practice and
experience. It’s a bit like an apple. We can spend years analyzing
an apple, explaining it, breaking down its nutrients and describing
it, but we will not know how an apple tastes. There is only one way
to find out. It's the same with yog. Only through our own practice
and experience (“Nidhidhyaasanam”), can we experience the
state of yog. Anushaasan ensures that we constantly practice
being in, and doing as per Yog.

Questions for Reflection

• How do I intend to implement “Anushaasan” in my journey

towards well-being?
• How will I stay committed to reading this book?
• How will I ensure I implement changes, and the
commitments I set for myself?
• How will I make this a regular, joyful routine, rather than a
process that starts and stops erratically?

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Ath Yog Anushaasanam

And now, the discipline/self-mastery of Yog

Yog is possible in this moment after you achieve self -discipline.

The moment we decide, that is the moment our yog begins. We

can begin at any moment. So, when are we going to start Yog?
One day when we retire? When our responsibilities are over? No.
Yog does not ask us to give up anything. Sri Aurobindo said ‘All
life is Yog’. “Ath Yog” - This moment.

Some simple ways to apply “Ath Yog Anushaasanam” in our life:

- Whatever we do, do it with full commitment and engagement
- Our action matching our words, which match our thoughts,
which match our true self
- Taking out time – at least 30 minutes a day - to invest in
ourselves, our well-being
- Respecting our time, and that of others by showing up on time,
meeting our word on commitments

The application of this principle is the essential difference between

Excessive Exercising & Yogic Vyaayaam, Obsessive Dieting &
Yogic Aahaar, Controlling our Mind and Yogic Vichaar. At Swasth
Yog Institute, our curriculum and programs are designed to bring
this principle to life, and translate it into our everyday reality.

Activity
Write or draw your unique interpretation of
“Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Question for Reflection

Decide 3 ways in which you want to bring “Ath Yog

Anushaasanam” to life in the next 7 days

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 “Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Key Points

To embark upon our journey, we need to understand Yog – the

process and outcome. “Ath Yog Anushaasanam” is first verse of
Patanjali’s Yog Sutras

Ath means now, the present. This current moment is the only
moment we have.
• Whatever we may have done in the past that has led to our
problems (internally or externally), let us not dwell on them.
What happened, is what brought us here. What is important is
what we choose to do now, in this present moment.
• It is likely that we will waver from this path at times in the
future. At that point too, we will have a choice – do we fret over
our “mistakes” or make a choice of making a different choice in
that “now”.
• “Now” does not discriminate – it is available to all.
• Whatever we are doing, only being with that activity, and
ourselves
• We will observe slowly, that by doing this simple thing, the
efficiency and quality of our interactions with the external world
will change dramatically

Yog means union or harmony.

• The word “Yog” is commonly called “Yoga” and understood to
be Aasan, Praanaayam and Meditation. However, these tools
and manifestations that we see, are one small part of Yog, not
all of it.
• Well-being, i.e. being “Swasth” is a natural outcome of this
state.
• Yog is also the key, or the process to reach this state – by first
bringing harmony inside us.
• Yog is not a theoretical concept, but something we have all
experienced at some point in our lives. Peace, Love and Joy
(शास्ि, प्रेम, आनंि) are indicators that we are in a state of Yog
• Our Yogis found the key to being in the state of Yog always.
They realized that the key is NOT the external, but the internal.
If our Panch-Kosh can be in Yog internally, we will always be in

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Yog externally. Yog is not about denying pleasure, it is about

always having pleasure!

Anushaasan literally means to have mastery over.

• Anushaasan is help us be in the state of peace, love and joy
as a default and in our hands, not as a momentary experience
or by chance
• Whom do we rule? Our family, society? No! We rule ourself.
• We can come to yog only after self-discipline.
• Self-Mastery refers to mastery over Panch-Kosh.
• Being a master is not a violent process of forcing and
suppressing our faculties. Rather, it’s a gentle process – a
combination of the strength of resoluteness and the
gentleness of love.
• Slowly, the process will become effortless. We will not have to
try hard to maintain Anushaasan – it will become our natural
state.
• Anushaasan ensures that we constantly practice being in, and
doing as per Yog.

Ath Yog Anushaasanam

• The moment we decide, that is the moment our yog begins.
• ‘All life is Yog’
• The application of this principle is the essential difference
between exercise & aasan, dieting & yogic aahaar, breathing &
praanaayaam.

“Ath Yog Anushaasanam” is a way of life. Some simple

applications in our daily life:
• Whatever we do, do it with full commitment
• Be fully engaged in what we are doing
• Our action matching our words, which match our thoughts,
which match our true self
• Taking out time – at least 30 minutes a day - to invest in
ourselves, our well-bein
• Respecting our time, and that of other

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ANNEXURE
Ath Yog Anushaasanam

Ath:
What resonates with you from the readings?

What is your lived experience of the power of “Ath” (now)?

Yog:
In life, what gives me peace, love and joy? What puts me in a
state of Yog (internal harmony)?

In the future that I envision for myself, what do I wish to be in

harmony (Yog) with? In my internal world (body, energy, mind,
emotions, something else)? In my external world (work, food,
home, friends, finances, something else)?

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Anushaasansam:
What is my relationship with Anushaasan?

How does Anushaasan help me in life?

What barriers prevent me from implementing Anushaasan?

How can I approach Anushaasan with Yog (peace, love, joy)?

Anushaasansam – II:
How do I intend to implement “Anushaasan” in my journey towards
well-being?

How will I stay committed to reading this book?

How will I ensure I implement changes, and the commitments I set

for myself?

How will I make this a regular, joyful routine, rather than a process
that starts and stops erratically?

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 “Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Write or draw your unique interpretation of

“Ath Yog Anushaasanam”

Decide 3 ways in which you want to bring “Ath Yog

Anushaasanam” to life in the next 7 days

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 Chapter 5

“Ath” applied

Am I listening to myself?

Meaning

Ath refers to now, and being in present.

If we are present, we will listen to ourselves,
i.e. our PanchKosh

Importance

We need to learn to listen to our Panchkosh

in order to reach a state of internal harmony
(Yog), the natural outcome of which is
being healthy (Swasth)

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Step 1: AWARENESS

What is a disease?

Disease = dis + ease

The definition of a disease lies in the word itself. When we are not
in our natural state of ease, it is a state of disease. Thus, a
disease encompasses not just physical ailments, but also
afflictions of the mind and emotions, our vital energies, losing
touch with our inner wisdom and bliss.

What is a symptom?

How we get to know that we are in a state of dis-ease? Some

physical, mental or energetic symptoms that hamper our vitality
and/or activities are typical symptoms of a state of dis-ease.

Let us examine some of these symptoms:

• Chronic ailments: Diabetes is often accompanied by feeling
thirsty, weight loss, fatigue, frequent urination, hunger and
blurred vision. Hypertension can go undetected for some time
as its symptoms are subtle, and include headaches, shortness
of breath, dizziness and chest pain. Symptoms of depression
include disturbances in sleep, appetite, weight, behaviour and

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cognition.

• Acute ailments: Infections due to micro-organisms such as

malaria, typhoid, TB, and respiratory infections are
accompanied by a range of symptoms including high fever,
diarrhoea, cold and cough, body ache, loss of appetite.

• Injuries: Symptoms include swelling, skin turning blue,

bleeding, pain, redness, heat

These symptoms indicate that one of more of our PanchKosh are

not in a state of ease! Our PanchKosh is constantly indicating its
current state to us – even when it is well. These signals include
sleep, appetite, digestion, excretion, urination, breathing rate,
energy level, menstrual cycles, fertility, quality of our hair, skin and
nails, mental ability to focus and de-focus, emotional state and
many more. Our Swasth Scale (from the first Chapter) covers a
large list of these signals / messages / indicators. They’ve been
used extensively in sciences such as Homeopathy, Naturopathy
Ayurved for dis-ease detection and treatment

Questions for Reflection

Refer to the Swasth Scale from the 1st chapter. Identify 3

“symptoms/signals” of the PanchKosh
• …that you usually ignore and want be more aware of,
going forward
• …that are most critical for your well-being, which you will
track during your wellness journey

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Step 2: POWER
The power to make choices lies with us

How do we get to know if we have a dis-ease?

The first instinct may be to say that our doctor or diagnostic
laboratory reports tell us that we have a dis-ease. But that is an
incorrect conclusion.

Let us examine it in more detail:

• Does our doctor tell us that we aren’t well and need to come
and see him/her? No!
• Does a diagnostic laboratory ask us to visit them for an X-Ray
or blood test? No!

Most of the times, in the above cases, we experience some

physical, mental or energetic symptoms that hamper our vitality
and/or activities. In this state of dis-ease, we visit our doctor or
diagnostic laboratory. They diagnose what condition we have (its
technical medical name), the possible reasons and offer treatment
to bring us back to ease. They do NOT tell us we are in a state of
dis-ease, that is already known to us when we visit them. It is
important to understand the above distinction correctly – the first
person to get to know about our dis-ease is no one else, but us.

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Being aware of the choices available to us

Let’s take the case of a traffic signal.

• What information does it give? Color of light
• How can we use this information? By stopping or moving, by
slowing down or speeding up

A signal helps us to take a decision towards action. Let us see

how this applies to our PanchKosh
• What information does it give? Various signals such as sleep,
appetite, etc
• How can we use this information? By taking appropriate action
(e.g. eating more or less, at different timings, changing what
we eat, consuming a medicine etc)
If we are tuned into our PanchKosh, we can listen to the signals
as they come and take action to correct minor dis-eases before
they turn into major dis-eases. If we are not tuned into our
PanchKosh, we can miss out on these signals, and get to know
only when they’ve snowballed into major dis-eases.

The impact of our choices

We can make the choice to listen to the signals we receive and

take corrective action, as we know what works best for our body.
We can also reach out to appropriate people to support us –
doctor, wellness practitioner, health coach, yoga therapist, etc.

Sadly, the loss of connection to our PanchKosh is a major issue

today. Catastrophic health expenses are the single biggest cause
of impoverishment, pushing 32 to 63 million Indians below poverty
line each year. Non-Communicable Diseases contribute
significantly to this vulnerability. Diabetes kills 1 million every year
and exposes many more to complications. 62 million Indians are
diagnosed as diabetics, and millions more are unaware of their

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condition. An analysis of hypertension (HTN) is shocking - ~33%

urban Indians have HTN, of which, 42% are aware of their status.

By listening to our PanchKosh, we can detect hypertension before

it appears suddenly a heart-attack, or diabetes before a foot has
to be amputated. Tuning in further to our PanchKosh can open up
the possibility of taking action at the right time, when these chronic
ailments are taking root in us. Right action can help us manage
and potentially reduce and reverse these ailments over time.

Step 3: PURPOSE

The choices we make are driven by the purpose we want to fulfil.

What is our purpose – to make our body an ally in life? Or to hate
and fight our body for the challenges it creates in our life?

In either case, to make an educated decision, let us understand

how the body works – how do diseases manifest in our body?
What is the purpose of the message being given to us by our
symptoms? We shall understand this in the next chapter.

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Activity

Connecting to the body and listening to its messages:

This activity takes about 15 minutes to do, and is best done
completely alone, while sitting in a comfortable position.
Take a few deep breaths and allow your body to relax.

Once you’ve come to a state of quietness, let your attention

flow from top to bottom and then focus your awareness on the
part of your body which needs the most healing. Gently let all
your attention go there and ask this body part a few questions
about ‘what the discomfort is all about’ ..wait for the answer.
Trust your instinct and go with whatever thought comes to you
first, without trying to analyse or evaluate it. Then ask this
body part a few questions about ‘what you can do to ease the
discomfort?’…again wait for the answer from within. Then very
gently come back and open your eyes.

You can use the following questions as prompts for your body

CURRENT SITUATION
• What is my body trying to tell me?
• Where did my body's problem come from?
• How am I contributing to this problem?
• Have I been having unhealthy habits?
• Is there some emotion troubling me inside?
• What areas of my life are in need of change?

VISION FOR FUTURE

• What does my body want me to do?
• What relationships do I need to strengthen?
• What relationships do I reduce focus on?

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• What changes do I need to make to my lifestyle – food,

sleeping pattern, my approach to work and household
chores, my relationship with myself, any other habits?
• How can I connect more with myself?
• What gives me joy?

Note: This activity can seem irrational at first, to our rational,

logical mind. But if we expand the paradigm that we are used
to operating in, and include the revised understanding of our
PanchKosh, then “speaking with our body” this is a completely
logical activity. Our body and mind are interconnected. Just
like information flows from our mind to our body through
Praan, it can flow in the reverse direction too!

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Key Points

• We need to learn to listen to our Panchkosh in order to reach a

state of internal harmony (Yog), the natural outcome of which
is being healthy (Swasth)
• Disease = dis + ease → When we are not in our natural state
of ease, it is a state of disease.
• Some physical, mental or energetic symptoms that hamper our
vitality and/or activities are typical symptoms of a state of dis-
ease.
• Our PanchKosh is constantly indicating its current state to us –
even when it is well.
• The first person to get to know about our dis-ease is no one
else, but us.
• If we are tuned into our PanchKosh, we can listen to the
signals as they come and take action to correct minor dis-
eases before they turn into major dis-eases. If we are not
tuned into our PanchKosh, we can miss out on these signals,
and get to know only when they’ve snowballed into major dis-
eases
• We can make the choice to listen to the signals we receive and
take corrective action, as we know what works best for our
body. We can also reach out to appropriate people to support
us in our journey – doctor, wellness practitioner or health
coach, yoga therapist, etc
• What is our purpose – to make our body an ally in life? Or to
hate and fight our body for the challenges it creates in our life?

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 Chapter 6

“From Aadhi to
Vyaadhi”

What is the cause of

my dis-ease?

Meaning

Aadhi means mental disharmony. Vyaadhi

means physical dis-harmony, i.e. a disease

Importance

In order to address the root cause of our dis-ease,

we need to how mental dis-harmony manifests
in our body as disease. This will also provide
us a pathway for disease reversal

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Step 1: AWARENESS
Closely examining our current beliefs on genesis of dis-eases

Let us think of a few diseases, which we have experienced

ourselves or with our near and dear ones.

• Chronic (e.g. diabetes, hypertension, obesity)

• Acute (e.g. malaria, typhoid, tuberculosis)
• Common symptoms (e.g. acidity, pains, cough and cold)

What are possible causes of these diseases? Let us categorize

them into internal and external (to us).

Internal – In Our Control

• Wrong eating habits
• Wrong sleeping habits
• Lack of exercise and sedentary lifestyle
• Habits such as alcohol and tobacco
• Our genes (our family members had the disease)
• Stress
• Low immunity

External – Out
• Pollution – air, water, land, sound
• Chemicals in our food, processed or outside food
• Bacteria / Virus / Fungi
• Changing seasons
• Lack of contact with nature (e.g. limited exposure to sunlight)

On the first glance, this list is overwhelming because there are so

many reasons – both within and outside us – so what all can we
control? “Fighting” diseases may seem to be a cumbersome
process, and a battle we are likely to lose. But let us examine this
in more depth.

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External reasons seem outside our control. Yet, if we observe

carefully, we will notice that even though almost everyone is
exposed to these factors today, not everyone gets a disease. E.g.

• We all take in the same pollution, and yet some manage to

lead healthy lives. Likewise, with contact with nature
• When we eat unhygienic outside food with others, all people
do not land up with an upset stomach
• Malaria is caused by a micro-organism carried by mosquitoes,
but not everyone in the same residential area gets malaria,
even though the mosquitos have bitten several people.
Likewise, TB bacteria is present in most of our bodies in a
latent form, it becomes active only in some.
• When the weather changes suddenly, not everyone comes
down with a cough and cold
This means that while outside factors can increase the chances of
us getting a disease, it is not necessarily a strict cause and effect.
Sometimes, we loosely categorize this resistance to external
disease-causing factors as an internal factor called “immunity”,
which we will discuss in detail later. What is clear, though, is that
while the external factors are not in our control, we can take
control and avoid diseases by building our internal “immunity”.

Note: This does not mean that no external factor can harm us if
we reach a certain internal state of immunity. Consuming poisons,
toxins, radiation, deadly exposure to viruses, an accident, or wear
and tear due to aging, will certainly affect us!

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Let us now see internal factors – genes, food, sleep, exercise,

habits, immunity and stress. Here too, let us first look at genes, as
we often associate this with many modern, non-communicable
diseases such as diabetes, cancer, obesity and hypertension.

Genes: In many ways, heredity is accepted as a modern

equivalent of fate! But, does everyone with these genes get the
same disease as their ancestors? No! Let’s see this another way.
Genetic diseases have to have a beginning. I may have inherited
a disease from my father, who inherited from his father, and so on
and so forth. Where did this chain start? Someone would have
commenced the deformation in genetic expression. If someone
could start the chain, why can someone down the line not put an
end to it through corrective action? The emerging field of
Epigenetics is finding that we can regulate our gene expressions.
Dr Dean Ornish, a pioneer in this field, found that nutrition, stress
management, exercise and psychosocial group support can affect
gene expression within three months! “We are how our genes
are”, is only half the story. Genes are a dynamic code, and
hence “our genes are how we are” is also true.

Lifestyle: Let us now come to the broad category of lifestyle

choices, comprising food, sleep, exercise and habits. This is linked
to almost all non-communicable diseases. Poor lifestyle choices
reduce our immunity to infectious diseases and also make us
susceptible to chronic health issues. Multiple research studies
have established the impact of poor lifestyle on health. This
includes, but is not limited to:
• Improper sleep (less quantity or poor quality)
• Sugar (which suppresses the immune system within 30
minutes of ingestion!)
• Food-like substances, such as saturated fats, commonly found
in processed foods
• Caffeine in beverages such as aerated drinks, coffee, tea.

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But what causes poor lifestyle, which then lower immunity?

We all know we should consume fruits and vegetables, rest

properly, exercise more, meditate, take less stress and build our
immunity. Yet, why are we unable to control ourselves when we
see or smell our favourite snack? Why do we find it hard to
meditate? Why are we up till late at night with TV or Social Media
or Messaging platforms? Why do we not feel like exercising?

Our mind, i.e. Mano-may Kosh. The mind gives in to stress,

resulting in greed for food, laziness and inertia, and not following
most of the healthy lifestyle tips we generously dole out to others.
In modern times, the field of Psycho-endo-neuro-immunology has
established the link between stress and lowered immunity through
our endocrine and neural systems.

Thus, through a process of elimination, we have pruned the list of

causes for almost 90% of diseases, whether acute or chronic, to a
single root cause – stress, i.e. disturbance in Mano-may Kosh.
Let us now understand the pathway of disease.

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Genesis and Pathway of Non-Communicable Dis-eases

Slow progression, long duration, non-contagious ailments

Part 1 - Yogic Understanding

The classical text “Yog Vashishth” talks of two kinds of ailments –
adhij / आनधज (stress-borne) and anaadhij / अनानधज (non-stress
borne). As our living conditions have improved, most of the
ailments we see today belong to the first category, i.e. stress
borne. This includes diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol,
musculo-skeletal pains, gastro-intestinal disorders, hormonal
imbalances (e.g. menstrual irregularities, PCOD, PCOS, thyroid,
infertility), asthma, arthritis, auto-immune disorders, and various
mental and emotional disorders (e.g. neuroses, depression,
anxiety, obsessive behaviour, personality and eating disorders).

While the Yogic and scientific names mentioned above may be

new to us, we all would’ve seen the practical implications of these
in our lives. Let’s reflect - when did diabetes, hypertension or
obesity start manifesting in us or around us? In most cases, this
happens a few months or years after a life altering event such as
death of a loved one, a financial crisis, retirement, conflict within
the family, dissatisfaction at work. Our Mano-may Kosh gets
disturbed by these events, and the resulting thoughts and
emotions significantly reduce our internal “immunity” thus
accelerating the onset of disease. The classical text “Yog
Vashishth” further explains the pathway of disease, i.e. dis-
harmony in our PanchKosh:

• Aanand-may Kosh and Vigyaan-may Kosh are always

present in their undisturbed natural state. We may lose
connection to our inner wisdom and bliss, but that does not
mean they are not present. Aanand or total harmony and
perfect health is our true nature and original state. We are
designed to be perfectly healthy. Aanand-may Kosh is a state
of perfect stillness and no disturbance is possible. However, it
gets veiled by “Avidya” (ignorance of our true nature).

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 “From Aadhi to Vyaadhi”

Likewise, the Vigyaan-may Kosh is present but our connection

with it becomes weak, leading to actions deviating from our
inner wisdom. This state is called “Pragyaa-Aparaadh” in
Ayurved, i.e. transgressions against one’s own conscience.

• Stress, i.e. mental disturbances and imbalances in Mano-

may Kosh (Aadhis) are the foundation of poor lifestyle and
low immunity. The disturbance is caused by various thoughts
and emotions, which keep rising and falling in us like waves in
an ocean. When we get carried away and submerged in these
waves, our connection to our true self gets broken. The text
Bhagwad Geeta details how thwarted desire leads to anger,
leading to delusion – veiling our working memory (database)
and rational brain (processor), leading to irrational behaviour.
This is called the “amygdala hijack” by modern science.

• Praan-may Kosh – is the next stop. When the Mano-may

Kosh is disturbed for long, dis-ease then moves to the Praan-
may Kosh. Now, the disease is moving from subtle to gross,
and functions of key organs start getting disturbed and we
start getting symptoms. We mostly ignore this vital, transitional
phase, but there are two key aspects to it:

o Arousal of the master system – the nervous system –

which is the root for arousal of all physiological
systems. The balance between our sympathetic and
parasympathetic systems gets disturbed.

o The flow of vital energies through our subtle channels

(Naadis) is affected. Some Naadis have excess Praan
and some are depleted of it – breathing becomes
arrhythmic, digestion and bowel movement is impaired,
blood pressure rises, muscles remain stiff, headaches
abound, and there is fatigue without much activity

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• Ann-may Kosh – the last stop. As per Ayurved, a disease first

manifests in the body in the digestive system. We are made of
what we eat. But now, what we eat doesn’t nourish us.

o Digestion becomes more or less or disturbed, leaving

toxins in our tract, which then affect various organs.
These states are called A-jirnatvam (indigestion), Ati-
jirnatvam (excessive digestion or appetite or both) and
Ku-jirnatvam (erroneous digestion). One common
symptom of all these is irregular bowel movement. We
no longer purge at a stipulated time (early morning)
every day (or twice a day) like clockwork. We can
relate this with the importance of the gut brain and gut
health, as being stated now by modern science.

o As the disease progresses, organs are impacted at a

gross level, the specific organ depending on factors
such as heredity, weakness and injury of an organ.
Thus, while the root cause is the same (Aadhi), it
manifests as a variety of diseases across individuals.
Now, the doctors will declare us as diabetics,
hypertensives, etc. We finally get a certificate! These
physical ailments are called Vyadhis. In some cases,
the body is also impacted at a cellular level, leading to
auto-immunity, a condition where our aroused immune
system starts attacking our very body. This haphazard
functioning is just a physical manifestation of our loss
of intelligence at a mental level.

Mano-may Kosh →
Praan-may Kosh →
Ann-may Kosh: Digestion →
Ann-may Kosh: Others

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Part 2 – Modern Scientific Understanding

What Yogis understood thousands of years ago has become
evident to modern science only in the last few decades. Why?
• Allopathy means “treatment of disease with drugs having
effects opposite to symptoms”. So, if hypertensives have
constricted blood vessels, “vasodilator” drugs address the
symptom by opening them up. Allopathy is for disease-care,
not health-care. Hence “once a diabetic, always a diabetic”
• Consequently, non-communicable diseases have been
labelled as idiopathic, which means “a condition that arises
spontaneously, or for which the cause is unknown”
• Modern science primarily applies a left-brained, reductionist
approach of dissection and analysis of parts. This may have
worked for infectious diseases but missing the subtle layers
and big picture has led to today’s crisis with chronic ailments.
• Pharmaceuticals are now a trillion-dollar industry, second only
to petroleum! Huge economic interests have led to corruption
in ethics across research, academia and medical practice.

That being said, modern science has now also recognized these
as psychosomatic ailments (psycho = mind, soma = body), i.e.
physical ailments with origin in the mind. The Yogic disease path-
way has been corroborated by modern research, and articulated
as the below psychosomatic pathway, from mind to body.

Stress is an inbuilt mechanism that triggers necessary changes in

our physiology to cope with situations that threaten our survival.
Our fight-flight response evolved over thousands of years to
protect us from dangers such as wild animals in the forest. This
response equipped us to take appropriate action – fight a danger
or run and escape it. Stress (disturbance in Mano-mayKosh)
triggers the “Amygdala hijack”. A part of our brain (amygdala)
signals another part of the brain called hypothalamus which sends
signals through the spinal cord to the adrenal gland, releasing the
hormone adrenaline. The hypothalamus also signals the pituitary

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gland, which then gets to the adrenal cortex, releasing the

hormone cortisol. These prepare our body to deal with threats by
• increasing the amount of sugar in the blood, so that energy is
available to our muscles
• increasing breath rate so that more oxygen is available to
convert sugar to release energy
• increasing heart rate to pump oxygen to the body
• making our muscles stiff and prepared for action
• dilating our pupils and making our brain hyper-aware
• In this process, the functioning of our digestive, excretory
and reproductive systems is disrupted – as these are less
critical when faced with a threat to life!

After this flight-flight response was completed, the sympathetic

system would relax and the parasympathetic system would take
over, bringing back all functions to balance, harmony, Yog.

While this response was designed for our survival, it gets triggered
by modern-age stressors, as our brain does not distinguish
between a physical threat and an emotional or ideological one.
Now, even though we live in safe houses without dangers, our
body still has the same response to stressful situations. Whether it
is conflict at work, at home, with friends or inside us, our
physiology still responds as above. The higher functions of our
brain are suppressed and the most primitive part of our brain, that
works for survival takes charge.

Even then, this fight-flight response can serve us, enabling us to

take necessary corrective action to rectify our situation. But direct,
physical reaction is no longer appropriate in our current context.
We cannot run away from tough situations, or physically fight
them, or even vent all our emotions as it is not socially
appropriate. Thus, these physiological changes are not utilized in
our body. Unable to deal with our external situations, we resort to
suppressing our stress response or excessive expression, neither
of which solve the underlying problem.

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Impact of long-standing stress in Mano-may Kosh

As we continue living with our stress, our body stays with higher
level of sugar, breath rate, heart rate, muscular contraction, hyper-
awareness etc. while some systems work sub-optimally (digestive,
excretory, reproductive). Over time, this leads to diseases such as
diabetes, hypertension, PCOD/S, infertility, obesity, asthma,
digestive disturbances). It is important to note that:

• In some cases, the stress does not percolate to the Praan and
Mano-may Kosh, as in the case with psychosomatic ailments.
Here, mental health itself is affected through anxiety. In still
others, the stress may vegetate within, causing depression,
like kinetic energy getting converted to packed up speed

• In most psychosomatic ailments, the sympathetic nervous

system stays stimulated. In hypertension, baroreceptors stop
giving feedback to the brain to reduce the blood pressure, after
long stress, with a progressively higher benchmark to signal.

• But sometimes, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes

over-activated, causing a fundamental mix-up within! An
example is gastritis, with excess acid secretion in the stomach,
which usually happens only when we are relaxed. Another
example is asthma, where the airway gets constricted, as is
usually the case when one is relaxed. Relaxation is helpful, but
excessive relaxation is not! The key is to maintain balance.

• This hyper-arousal and hyper-relaxation can manifest in our

immune system as well. Frequent colds and allergies are two
contrasting examples – in the former, the immune system does
not act when needed, and in the latter, it acts unnecessarily.
Imbalance in hormones leads to contrasting cases of
hypothyroid and hyperthyroid.

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Questions for Reflection

• What are my most common “symptoms” at a body level?

• How did these symptoms manifest in the functioning of my
digestive system (appetite, digestion, excretion, acidity etc)?
• Before these symptoms manifested at a bodily level, how did
they manifest at a “praanic” level?
• Before the praanic level, what was the root of these
symptoms at a mental and emotional level? What external
situation triggered the above? What was my stress response
to the external stressor?
• What will I stop doing, or start doing, or doing differently, in
order to enable your healing?

Step 2: POWER
We have the power to make wise choices

So, our body’s number one enemy is stress! But what or who
causes stress? Potholes and traffic on the roads? Aggressive
boss? Selfish family members? By now, we know that on the path
of Yog, all roads lead inwards! We are responsible for our
health, our stress, and therefore, our diseases also.

The scientist Hans Selye who coined the term “stress response”
in the 1930s understood this too. “Stress is Response”, not
the situation itself. While we may not always be able to change
the situation, we can change our response to it. As the Yogis
said, we all have the freedom “kartum akartum anyatha kartum”
(to do, to not do, or to do differently). This is how authentic,
internal power is defined in ancient Indian wisdom.

We can make the choice to continue believing that our health is

driven by genes, the environment, or stressors around us.

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Stressed by all this information we just read and taking full

responsibility for our situation, we can get caught up in the
sophisticated world of modern medicine, with an ever-expanding
list of diseases (gluten intolerance, corona virus, AHDD) and
cutting-edge, multispecialty treatments.

Or, we can sit back and take a deep breath. Tap into our Vigyaan-
may Kosh and realize that if our disease is in our hands, so is the
key to our wellbeing! Trust that simple, inexpensive tools such as
breathing, eating and exercising appropriately can cure us,
irrespective of the “specialty” of our condition. Why? Because they
address the internal root, instead of grappling with innumerable
external manifestations.

STEP 3: PURPOSE

The choice we make now will define our relationship with our
PanchKosh in the times to come, and therefore, our relationship
with our own self. We can continue to be driven by our compulsive
patterns, or we can see this as an opportunity to be truly free. To
stand in our internal power, making aware and purposeful choices.

Questions for Reflection

How do you want to live the above statement, in the context of

Aadhi (mental disturbance) and manifested Vyaadhi (dis-ease)?

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Key Points

• External reasons for diseases seem outside our control. Yet, if

we observe carefully, we will notice that even though almost
everyone is exposed to these factors today, not everyone gets
a disease. This means that while outside factors can increase
the chances of us getting a disease, it’s not necessarily a strict
cause and effect.

• Let us also apply our judgement in understanding this

statement – this does not mean that no external factor can
harm us if we reach a certain internal state of immunity. If
we’re consuming poisons, toxins, deadly viruses etc, we will
certainly be affected!

• As per Yogic philosophy, the root cause of these ailments is in

the mind – i.e. Mano-may Kosh. The mind gives in to stress
and anxiety, greed for food, laziness etc, which prevent us
from living a healthy life.

• Modern science has recognized these as psychosomatic

ailments (psycho = mind, soma = body), i.e. ailments of the
body whose origin is in the mind. This includes diabetes,
hypertension, high cholesterol, musculo-skeletal pains, gastro-
intestinal disorders, menstrual irregularities/PCOD/PCOS,
thyroid imbalances, asthma, arthritis, and various mental,
mood, personality and eating disorders.

• Disease pathway: Mano-may Kosh → Praan-may Kosh →

Praan-may Kosh → Ann-may Kosh: Digestion → Ann-may
Kosh: Others

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ANNEXURE
FROM AADHI TO VYAADHI
What are my most common “symptoms” at a body level?

How did these symptoms manifest in the functioning of my

digestive system (appetite, digestion, excretion, acidity etc)?

Before these symptoms manifested at a bodily level, how did

they manifest at a “praanic” level?

Before the praanic level, what was the root of these symptoms
at a mental and emotional level? What external situation
triggered the above? What was my stress response to the
external stressor?

What will I stop doing, or start doing, or doing differently, in

order to enable your healing?

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“In Yog with My Rog”

How is my
dis-ease helping me?

Meaning

Rog = disease. Yog = Harmony.

I’m in harmony with my disease

Importance

We can restore our body’s health if we understand

the true purpose and mechanism of our disease and
make it an ally in our healing journey.

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The last chapter offered an alternate paradigm for the cause of

diseases and a choice to define our relationship with our
PanchKosh. Building on it, this chapter explores an alternate
paradigm for symptoms that our body experiences during a
disease, opening up alternate ways to deal with them in future.

Step 1: AWARENESS

Superpowers of our Body

Our body has many sophisticated “superpowers”, such as

• Our nose can recognize and remember 50,000 unique scents
• Our eye can distinguish 10 million different colors
• In our lifetime, our heart creates enough energy to drive a
truck to the moon and back.
• We are made up of 7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000
(7 octillion) atoms! Huh!

All its elaborate superpowers are geared towards one purpose –

to stay Swasth – and to aid us in living our potential in life. It does
it by maintaining Yog, i.e. harmony, also called “homeostasis” by
modern science. We read about some of these mechanisms in the
last chapter – sympathetic (stress response) and parasympathetic
(relaxation response) systems to maintain balance.

Let us now see “Elimination” - another harmonizing mechanism to

deal with internal and external stressors such as undigested food,
thoughts and emotions, and environmental chemicals.

Our Praanic system works continuously to eliminate the toxins that

accumulate as a result of these stressors through channels such
as urination, defecation, crying, sneezing, farting (flatulence),
coughing, belching, yawning or breathing heavily on exertion,
vomiting, menstruation, mucous in our eyes, nose and genitals,
and sweating. The body does not keep anything it does not need,
case in point being involuntary breathing out. Even sleep is a
mechanism to enable internal cleaning up processes.

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Ayurved has identified most of the impulses above as

“Adhaarneya Veg” (अधारणीय वेग), i.e. an urge that should never
be suppressed. And how many judgements do we have as a
society, on these elimination processes! How many sneezes and
yawns have we suppressed, during meetings?! It’s an irony how
we all understand the importance of cleaning our homes and
offices, but in that quest, fail to do this our own bodies.

When our stressors do not find a resolution through our Praan-

may Kosh, they manifest as toxins at an Ann-may Kosh level.
Even then, the body works to eliminate these through pain, fever,
loose motions, skin rashes. When these toxins are not eliminated,
the symptoms cross their threshold, and more severe “diseases”
present themselves. Let’s examine how we deal with them.

Our current response to our disease and symptoms

Ignoring:

• Feeling stressed, anxious, sad, irritated or guilty has become

an acceptable and common phenomenon, hence we often
tend to ignore our Mano-may Kosh.

• The disease then progresses to our Praan-may Kosh

resulting in disturbances in sleep, breathing, excretion, low
energy levels, menstruation, etc. However, these
disturbances also appear “normal” to us as almost everyone
around us seems to have these issues. Many times, we are
also not aware of these, e.g. how many of us are aware of
our breathing rate? Hence, these also stay ignored.

• By now, the disease has reached the Ann-may Kosh. Often

times, digestive disturbances (the first point of entry of
disease in the body) are also ignored. How many of us pay
attention to the quality of urine and stool excreted by us? By
now, the disease has reached and affected a specific organ.
The signals have now become symptoms.

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Suppressing: What do we normally do when the signals have

become disruptive symptoms? Sometimes, we try to correct the
issues ourselves by measures such as food, exercise, home
remedies. A more common response from our side has become
suppressing symptoms.

The most common action that we take these days is consuming

medicines e.g. painkillers, antacids. For many medicines, we do
not even need to visit a doctor – we can simply talk to the chemist
and purchase the “over-the-counter” medicine, or we may find
some lying at home from a previous episode of illness and
consume it. Medicines have proven to be a boon to us in many
ways, as they provide us immediate relief, making symptoms
disappear quickly, whether is fever or pain or acidity. But, do we
really understand how they solve the problem, and the new
problems they create?

Let us consider painkillers. We can use the same painkiller for

aches and pains in various parts of the body – teeth, muscles,
stomach, head, etc. Who tells the painkiller know which part of
body to act on, every time we consume it? No one! The painkiller
does not act on the specific part of the body. It works with our
nervous system, where the sensation of pain is felt and numbs it
out. Thus, any pain gets solved with the same medicine. It does
NOT solve the root cause, but simply cuts the signal coming to us,
leading us to believe that all is well.

Medicines come with side effects, the full list of which is too long
to be written on the packaging. We may have observed that often
times, we are prescribed 2-3 medicines for 1 dis-ease. Generally,
of these, 1 is for our dis-ease and the rest are to manage the side
effects of the medication. E.g. Anti-biotics create acidity and along
with killing harmful bacteria, they also kill helpful bacteria in our
body. So, we are prescribed antacids (for acidity) and lactobacillus
(to replace the good bacteria killed). Hence, now, we have to deal
with the side effects of 3 medications instead of 1!

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While the knowledge of how medicines work may be new to us,

many of us are aware of the side effects and long-term damage of
medicines. What causes us to take medicines despite our
knowledge? Practically, medicines help us to carry on our daily
activities and lead productive lives. They also save us from
unpleasant symptoms such as pain, acidity, insomnia, etc.
However, let us also understand that while medicines help us in
the short-term, they are likely to compound our problems in the
long-term, drastically reducing productivity and increasing pain.

Impact of our current choice

Nature cure system has outlined this progression of diseases,

each step coming when the previous is ignored or suppressed:
1. Enervation: Depletion of vital energy
2. Toxaemia: Accumulation of un-eliminated toxins (signals -
fever, flue, pain, loose motions, skin rashes)
3. Irritation: Obstruction of required assimilation in body’s cells
(signals – nausea, depression, anxiety, headaches, insomnia,
weight gain, bad breath, body odour, coated tongue, dark
circles under eyes, sallow complexion, irregular menstruation)
4. Inflammation: Acute pain, typically in concentrated area
(signals - ‘itis’ such as arthritis, colitis, gastritis)
5. Ulceration: Eruption through skin to expel destroyed cells
6. Induration or Hardening: Toxin is contained through a sack
of hardened tissue (signals – tumour, growth, fibroid)
7. Fungation or Cancer: Anaerobic processes triggered.

Many of us now manage our pains by consuming a medicine or

getting an injection every few days. What will happen if we
consume them repeatedly? We are cutting the signals of our
PanchKosh to us, and moving on with life without taking action to
address the root cause of our dis-ease or giving the body rest and
time to repair and re-harmonize itself (i.e. bring itself back to Yog,
and therefore to health). Repeated cutting of this signal results in
smaller dis-eases snowballing into bigger ones.

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Note how multiple episodes of suppressed fever, flu, loose

motions and skin rashes can appear in completely unrecognizable
and unlinked symptoms at progressive stages.

It is important to note that a disease progresses from one stage to

another only when it has been suppressed or ignored for long. By
ignoring the signals, we are making the disease more deeply
rooted in our body. By suppressing the signals, we are further
disrupting the harmonizing mechanisms of the body, and
sometimes creating additional side effects through medicines. By
holding “negative” emotions towards our dis-ease, we are seeding
a new dis-ease in our Mano-may Kosh.

Questions for Reflection

• Recall the last acute or chronic episode of illness that you

had, and list down the actions you took. Categorize your
actions into (a) ignoring (b) suppressing (c) enabling the
body to heal
• Which of these strategy for dealing with your symptoms
have you generally used more so far – ignore or suppress?

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STEP 2: POWER

An implicit belief underlying our common action of suppressing

symptoms using medications may be that our body is helpless.

But, at every stage, the body is working to re-harmonize itself.

Reversal is possible at any stage, except advanced cancer! In
fact, the body deals with many “cancers” inside us on a daily
basis, without us even getting to know. All we need to do, is to
not become a barrier for our own healing. We have a third
choice, other than suppressing and ignoring.

For that, let us explore a different paradigm for a disease.

If a news anchor delivering bad news on TV of a terrorist attack, or

a Postman delivers us a letter with bad news of a relative passing
away, or a newspaper reports about the destruction caused due to
floods, do we blame and fight the news anchor, or postman or
newspaper reporter? No. Why not? Because they are not the
cause of the bad news, they are just the messenger.

If we are out on a picnic and carelessly about to fall off a cliff or

get drowned in water, and a friend shouts at us as a warning, do
we shout back with anger at the friend? No. Why not? Because
the friend is shouting to catch our attention and to save us.

Our dis-ease and symptoms are exactly that! They are not the
cause of the bad news, they are just the messenger. They are a
friend who is signaling to us to catch our attention and to save us.
The signal is telling us all is NOT well. It's a way for PanchKosh to
communicate with us, and draw our attention for relevant action.

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An Alternate Paradigm to Theory of Infectious Diseases

Historically, the belief that infectious diseases came were caused

due to micro-organisms or pathogens was propounded in 1864 by
Louis Pasteur. This “germ theory” quickly took root, due to the
immense commercial potential it offered, and has since then,
shaped our fear of germs and need for excessive sterilization.

It’s interesting to note that was an alternate theory propounded

around the same time by Antoine Béchamp called the “terrain
theory”. It proposed that the terrain of a diseased body will attract
germs as scavengers of the weakened or poorly defended tissue.
Hence, germs are not the cause of disease, but its effect. They
are not the enemy to be massacred through pharmaceuticals.

We can look to nature for inspiration on how to deal with these

signals, as there is no system of medication, tests and medical
practitioners in other species!

Dogs and cats are often around at home as pets or on streets as

strays. If a dog/cat has fever or stomach upset, it stops eating for
a few days. It stops playing. Instead it retreats into a corner, rests
and sleeps. After a few days, when it has recovered, its hunger
and playfulness is back.

If our bone is fractured or skin is cut, it self-harmonizes in some

time. All we need to do is to support it in the process by restricting
movement of the bone, or protecting the skin from water, etc.

Innate power to re-harmonize and be in Yog exists in nature.

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Step 3: PURPOSE

By understanding the purpose of signals, we can choose our

response wisely.

• Some symptoms indicate that the body is harmonizing itself:

Fever - When the body is infected by a micro-organism, its internal
defence mechanisms (lymphatic system) jump to action. The
temperature of the body increases in order to fight and kill the
micro-organisms which cannot survive beyond a particular
temperature. The rise in temperature indicates that the
harmonizing is on. (Our typical response is to take a medicine
which brings the temperature down)

Diabetes - When the blood sugar level in the body increases

beyond 180, the kidneys start filtering out the extra sugar through
urination, hence the increased frequency of urination in diabetics.
If it was not for this, the sugar in the blood would start harming the
organs (Our typical response is to feel upset and embarrassed at
the increased urination frequency)

• Some symptoms indicate that we should not strain the affected

part, to support the body in self-harmonizing:

Injury – After an injury such as fracture, sprain, cut, burn etc,

the pain in the affected part stops us from using that part
excessively, and instead give it rest, so that it can harmonize.
(Our typical response is to have a painkiller or put a
balm/spray and carry on)

Stomach infection – Our hunger reduces drastically. On an

ordinary day, our stomach starts growling if not given food for
a few hours, or acidity starts. But in such times, it gives no
signals of hunger for 2-3 days. This protects the stomach and
conserves Praan, which can be used to fight the infection and
repair the digestive tract. The body also has enough reserves
of fat which can be used to feed us in the absence of food.

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After it’s harmonized, the hunger returns and the stomach

starts growling and asking for food ☺ (Our typical response is
to consume an antibiotic and eat food fearing we will get weak)

• Some symptoms indicate that we should refrain from actions

that take the body’s resources away from harmonizing

Fever – We have associated symptoms such as body pains,

loss of hunger, not enjoying the taste of food, feeling low. This
is our body’s way of asking us to rest – physically & mentally!
So that our resources go in recovery. (Our typical response is
to take a medicine and work)

• Some symptoms indicate that the body needs other external

support to address the situation!

Hypertension and Diabetes – Most symptoms indicate that the

disease is impacting other organs also, such as feet, eyes,
kidneys and this is an alarm bell. We need to make drastic
changes in our habits and lifestyle or start medicines, or both.

Fever – After the fever increases beyond a certain temperature

(different threshold for different ages), the body needs external
support through medicines, cold compress, etc

Various Ayurvedic and nature care home remedies can support

the healing process at early stages, such as:
• Cold compress for fever
• Steam and warm water for flu
• Gargling for throat issues
• Drinking water and staying hydrated during diarrhoea

There are some common, underlying guidelines at each stage –

which is to provide adequate rest to the PanchKosh.
• Ann-may Kosh (physical): Reduced physical activity, Sleep
• Praaan-may Kosh (physiological): Eating less

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• Mano-may Kosh (psychological): Thinking less, meditating

Remember, excessive stimulation is a root cause of diseases, and
hence, rest is the best remedy.

Let us not forget the amazing mechanisms and “superpowers” of

our body. If it has the ability to create another life, to grow
physically, to convert an apple it has eaten into a part of itself, to
learn, to walk, to talk, then harmonizing itself is a simple enough
function! As we become more in tune with ourselves, we can
respond at the early stages itself - Mano-may Kosh, Praan-may
Kosh, digestive system. By listening to and understanding our
symptoms, we can respond appropriately – not be worried, take
rest, refrain from certain activities, start home remedies, or get
external support in the form of medicines when the situation has
gone outside the body’s capacity. We can also use this knowledge
to re-harmonize if a disease has already reached Ann-may Kosh.

Questions for Reflection

• In future, how do you want experiment with the third way to

deal with your symptoms?
• What will you stop doing, or start doing, or doing differently,
in order to enable your body to re-harmonize?

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Key Points

• Our current response to our symptoms – ignoring or

suppressing

• While medicines help us in the short-term, they are likely to

compound our problems in the long-term, drastically reducing
productivity and causing much pain.

• Our dis-ease and symptoms are not the cause of the bad
news, they are just the messenger. They are a friend who is
signalling to us to catch our attention and to save us. The
signal is telling us all is NOT well. It's a way for PanchKosh to
communicate with us, and to draw our attention so that we can
take appropriate action. By ignoring the signals, we are
making the disease more deeply rooted in our body. By
suppressing the signals, we are further disrupting the
harmonizing mechanisms of the body, and sometimes creating
additional side effects through medicines. By holding
“negative” emotions towards our dis-ease, we are seeding a
new one in our Mano-may Kosh.

• We can look to nature for inspiration on how to deal with these

signals, as there is no system of medication, tests and medical
practitioners in other species!

• By understanding the purpose served by signals, we can

choose our response wisely. Some symptoms are indicators
that the body is harmonizing itself. Some symptoms are
indicators that we should stop straining the particular part
affected, to support the body in self-harmonizing. Some
symptoms are indicators that we should refrain from other
actions that will take the body’s resources away from
harmonizing. Some symptoms are indicators that the body
needs other external support to address the situation!

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• Let us not forget the amazing mechanisms and “superpowers”

of our body. If it has the ability to create another life, to grow
physically, to convert an apple it has eaten into a part of itself,
to learn, to walk, to talk, then harmonizing itself is a simple
enough function!

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 Chapter 8

“An Integrated
Treatment Paradigm”

What is an Integrated Approach

to Treatment of Disease?

Importance

Keeping in mind today’s context, we need to take an

integrated approach to treatment of diseases,
which harmonizes the best of the East and the best
of the West.

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Our Paradigm

Today, we have a problem of plenty. With a large population

having access to health and healthcare services for both acute
and chronic ailments, we are often confused by a plethora of
choices. Broadly speaking, there are two types of choices:

• Therapeutic approach: This can be any of the “pathy’s” or

medicine-based treatment- allopathy, homeopathy, Ayurvedic
or Unani or Siddha drugs, to name a few. Other treatments
such as surgery, massages, acupressure, acupuncture, some
naturopathy interventions also fall in this category as they
require external intervention. They usually provide quick relief,
and enable us to carry on with our routines, but may have
certain side effects or induce dependency.

• Preventive-promotive approach: This includes modalities

that we can use ourselves, such as diet, exercise, sleep and
rest, meditation, to name a few. They usually provide a more
sustainable cure and build internal vitality and independence in
the long-term, but can take time to show impact.

At Swasth Yog Institute, we believe that in today’s times, there is

no single right or wrong approach. Yogis did not live in times with
high levels of external stressors like ours. They also dedicated
their life to their practices, that enabled a lot more vitality within. At
a time when 60-70% of the global population is succumbing to
non-communicable diseases, we need to adopt both strategies.

This applies even if we were to segment the approaches into two

categories - Western Allopathic and Eastern Holistic modalities.
As Dr Nagendra of S-VYASA says, we need to approach diseases
like a football team approaches a match – we need an offense
(therapy) as well as defense (preventive-promotive).

Our Integrated Treatment Paradigm is based on 7 key elements:

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 “An Integrated Treatment Paradigm”

1. Diagnostic / Testing
2. Treatment / Therapy
3. Yogic Aahaar (Food)
4. Yogic Vyaayaam (Exercise)
5. Peace (a Yogic approach to Vichaar, i.e. mind and emotions)
6. Love (a Yogic approach to Vichaar, i.e. mind and emotions)
7. Joy (a Yogic approach to Vichaar, i.e. mind and emotions)

These come together into the following 3 step framework:

Step 1:
Diagnose
severity of
illness through
Testing

Step 3: Step 2:
Strengthen Create an
vitality and enabling,
independence functional
through Aahaar, environment
Vyaayaam, through
Peace, Love and Therapeutic
Joy Treatment

Let us examine each of these steps:

Step 1: Diagnose severity of illness through Testing

Why: This will help to determine the extent of therapeutic
treatment required in Step 2. In the onset stages, such as
borderline cholesterol, Step 2 can be skipped entirely and focus
put on preventive measures. In early stages, such as Stage 1
Hypertension, milder treatment is required and one may start with

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Ayurvedic drugs. In later stages, such as Stage 2 Hypertension,

we may need to visit an MD and take second line Allopathic drug.
In advanced stages, such as Stage 3 Cancer, one may choose to
undergo a surgical intervention or chemotherapy.

How: The testing may be done through invasive or non-invasive

methods, or even a self-examination or filling of the Swasth Scale.

Step 2: Create an enabling, functional environment through

Therapeutic Treatment

Why: Though the effect may be short-term or come with side

effects, it will enable us to be functional, and initiate Step 3. For
instance, a broken bone has the ability to heal itself, but a cast or
splint will immobilize the bone and encourage it to align. This step
also minimizes risk of a further decline in our well-being. For
instance, we may understand the emotions or food habits
underlying our high blood pressure levels or high fever, but unless
we take medications, we are at a risk of stroke or brain damage.

How: Any therapeutic approach may be used. We can determine

the choice depends on the advice of medical professionals, and
our confidence in our own ability to seriously implement Step 3.

Step 3: Strengthen vitality and independence through Aahaar,

Vyaayaam, Peace, Love and Joy
Why: These will re-harmonize our PanchKosh, by activating or
enabling our self-healing mechanisms. They will also prevent
disease recurrence or onset of other health issues in future by
building our immunity and vitality, and addressing the root cause
of disease – our Mano-may Kosh.

How: A wide range of tools is available, such as diet, exercise,

sleep and rest, meditation, affirmations, sound resonance,
breathing practices, dealing with our emotions, grounding.

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And Repeat…

Note that this is a cycle. After Step 3, we should go back to Step 1

to diagnose our new level of health. Based on it, we can re-adjust
the nature and intensity of therapy being undertaken in Step 2.

This tapering down or increasing drug dosage based on extent of

issue is called “titration” and is a part of standard protocols of most
therapies. Not doing testing regularly can be risky, as both higher
and lower than necessary level of treatment can be harmful for the
body. E.g. A diabetic’s blood sugar level may have increased, and
not increasing drug dosage will harm his/her internal organs. On
the other hand, through vitality-building practices, the blood sugar
levels may have dropped, and continuing with past drug dosage
puts the person at the risk of a coma due to hypoglycemia

It is also important to note that while we have talked extensively

about the issues with medications in the previous chapter, the
purpose of the discussion was NOT for us to go off medications.
Without a medical degree, patients or wellness practitioners are
not qualified to decide when to start or stop medicines. In fact,
doing so suddenly may harm our body. This decision needs to be
taken in consultation with a doctor.

However, with this knowledge, we can be more discerning in our

use of over-the-counter medications which have become a way of
life now. We can also have an open discussion with our doctor to
understand when a medicine is really needed and how medicine
dosages can be tapered over time as our health improves through
other corrective actions by us. There are many cases of
hypertension and diabetes patients whose prescribed medicine
dosages have gone down gradually and even eliminated
completely through this step-wise, circular approach.

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Questions for Reflection

• Which of the 7 elements of the Integrated Care Paradigm do

I want to focus more on, or less on, or re-adjust focus on?

• Which of the 3 steps of the Integrated Care Paradigm do I

want to focus more on, or less on, or re-adjust focus on?

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“Swaasthya”

How will Yog restore

my well-being?

Meaning

The Sanskrit word Swaasthya refers to the state

of being Swasth, i.e. the state of well-being

Importance

Understanding how Yog restores our state of

Swaasthya, will help us to choose our path wisely
and walk the journey without fear or doubt

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The Potential of the Human Body

The human body is the most advanced machine on Earth,

designed to last for over a hundred years, and support us in our
quest to achieve our highest potential, and to be the best we can
be. This tool has been used by great luminaries to reach
unprecedented heights in their respective fields.

The “Secret Sauce to Well-being – Yog

The miracle of life has given our body the ability to recover and
heal itself. Ailments can be reversed, state of health restored,
immunity built for future well-being. It IS possible to reverse the
effects of aging, to be healthier than we were 10 years ago, and to
stay healthy with the passage of time! Not only this, our body can
move from being an obstacle, to our biggest supporter as we
become the best that we can be.

Yogic recommendations covering our PanchKosh work support

with management (and even reversal in many cases) for a range
of ailments - Diabetes, Hypertension, Arthritis, PCOD, Thyroid,
Back pain, Chronic Acidity, to name a few. At Swasth Yog
Institute, we have tried and tested this extensively through
“Sanjeevani” – our course on Yog. 95% of the course content is

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the same, irrespective of the nature of ailment, or income

segment, age or any other differentiating factor. Yet, participants
have experienced, on an average, a 60%+ reduction in symptoms
at the end of 7 weeks.

The principle behind the power of Yog is simple – to identify and

remove the root cause behind our “dis-ease. Ancient Indian
researchers (rishis) in the Yogic tradition traced back the root
cause of “dis-ease” to loss of harmony within our PanchKosh,
which moves us away from our true Self. They had identified how
the disturbance starts in the Mano-may Kosh and then percolates
through Praan-may Kosh till it reaches the Ann-may Kosh. If the
root cause of dis-eases is the same, the solution, or the cure is
also the same – restoring harmony in our PanchKosh.

A “Yogi” is one in whom these five sheaths of existence are in

Yog, i.e. in Harmony. Yogis also insightfully understood how as
we come into Yog internally, the harmony will percolate into our
external world as well – relationships, work, success, lifestyle. This
is contrary to our current direction of striving – we are constantly
trying to change our external circumstances for our well-being!

The “secret sauce” to well-being is Yog. Yog is NOT Yoga. Yog

means “union” or harmony. “Yoga”, the “modern” oversimplified
version of Yog, is a set of physical contortions. Yog is the science
to remove the root cause behind “dis-ease” and restore harmony.
Well-being and harmony in our external reality is a natural
outcome of this state.

Yog is a system for living, not practices for wellness. Its power can
be compounded with aligned modern tools such as mindfulness,
life coaching, body wisdom, somatics, affirmations, art-based
therapy, non-violent communication, to name a few.

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An “inside out” approach to well-being

What can I do, to get to Yog, to be in Yog?

Yogis not offered us profound wisdom on how to be in a state of

Yog, but also practices and tools that can support our journey
towards this state. These are aligned with our PanchKosh.

These tools are

- Yogic Aahaar (what we call Nutrition)
- Yogic Vyaayaam (what we call ‘Yoga’)
- Yogic Vichaar (cultivating Peace, Love and Joy)

How do Yogic Tools restore internal harmony?

As we read previously, disturbances in the mind manifest as

physical ailments, if ignored or suppressed for long. Physical and
mental ailments are signs that the body’s self-harmonizing
homeostasis mechanisms are off-balance. Either the sympathetic
nervous system is over-stimulated (e.g. hypertension, allergies,
anxiety) or the parasympathetic nervous system is (e.g. colds,
asthma, depression). Sometimes, the system swings between
extremes (e.g. Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Bipolar disorder).

Yog restores the internal harmony by aligning our PanchKosh with

our internal, balancing rhythms. For instance, our Ann-may Kosh

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has a natural balance of sympathetic and parasympathetic

nervous system activity.

In order to achieve this balance, Yogic tools are designed to have

alternate relaxation and stimulation.
- In Yogic Vyaayaam practices such as Aasan, one relaxes into
a posture that locally stimulates internal organs, and the Aasan
Sthiti (stimulating posture) is followed by a Shithil Aasan
(relaxation posture)
- In Yogic Vichaar using the tool of Bhakti (prayer, faith), intense
emotions such as love and gratitude for a subject are evoked,
and then released through surrender and silence.
- In Yogic Vichaar using the tool of Meditation, we focus
intensely on a subject (called “Dhaaranaa”), and gradually de-
focus with effortlessness (called “Dhyaan”)

Having understood disturbances in the Mano-may Kosh as the

cause of diseases, the importance of relaxation is evident.
Consider a container with muddy water. Till the time the water is
agitated, we will not be able to see the bottom of the container.
Relaxation helps the dirt to settle down, and enables us to see the
bottom, as well as the dirt. Thus, sleep, relaxation techniques, and
grounding can be hugely impactful. In fact, slower the pace, higher
the impact. This is also being corroborated now by the emerging
field of somatic experiencing for trauma release.

One may wonder why stimulation is necessary. This is because

there is a stagnation of excessive speed at the level of body,
energy and mind, which cannot be countered merely by
relaxation. Now, consider an overhead water tank with
sedimentation on its floor. To remove the unwanted accumulation,
we will need to stimulate the water and then purge it out.

Our system too, with accumulated stress, needs a controlled

stimulation followed by relaxation to diffuse itself. Repeated
relaxation enables the system to slowly return to its original
ground state. In fact, relaxation that follows planned stimulation

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induces a much deeper state of rest (and thereby, greater healing)

than just relaxation. This has been corroborated by a wonderful
series of studies at SVYASA:
- 6 hours of sleep (relaxation without awareness) produced a
9% reduction in oxygen consumption
- Just 22.5 minutes of shavaasan (corpse pose, to create
relaxation with awareness) produced a 10.1% reduction
- Cyclic meditation (cycles of planned stimulation and relaxation
in awareness) produced a 32.1% reduction

Thus, regulated stimulation and relaxation help the system in

getting re-harmonized with its original cycles. It is important to
note that the relaxation mentioned here is conscious and planned,
not something happens when we plonk ourselves on the bed and
go to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. Also, one should remember
the importance of stimulation, as a way to move towards deeper
relaxation

Questions for Reflection

Reflect on each of the practices below, and try to understand

its mechanism of action in restoring harmony (Yog):
- Breathing practices
- Loosening practices
- Meditation
- Grounding
- Yogic Relaxation techniques
- Adequate sleep
- Aasan
- Praanaayaam
- Sound resonance (chanting)
- Journalling
- Affirmations

Finally, let us remember that over-stimulation can cause more

harm than good! Two common examples of over-stimulation are:

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- Vigorous physical activity such as running, gymming,

weightlifting. While it expends physical energy, it reinforces
stress and does not support us in breaking through our
patterns. Have you ever noticed how bodies of people
engaged in such activities become overly rigid? This rigidity is
also likely to manifest in the Mano-may Kosh. The flexibility of
the physiology too, to deal with ups and downs goes down.
This is resulting in the inexplicable deaths of many runners in
their early 30s, even people without hypertension.

- Excessive expression of emotions in a bid to get relief from

what is bothering us. Repeated recollection of our mental and
emotional trauma actually adds to our stress in the long-term.
Have we ever noticed how such people can become mentally
and emotionally rigid, believing that their needs are of primary
importance, and trying to change everything and everyone
around them, to fit their world view? Instead of their stress
dissipating through expression, it only becomes more.

Questions for Reflection

How do I want to balance stimulation and relaxation in my

overall approach to healing and specific practices?

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Key Points

• It is important to note that the purpose of this discussion is

NOT for us to go off medications. We are NOT suggesting
doing that at all! Without a medical degree, patients or
wellness practitioners are not qualified to decide when to start
or stop medicines. In fact, doing so suddenly mayharm our
body. This decision needs to be taken in consultation with a
doctor.

• Yogic recommendations covering our PanchKoshs work

support with management (and even reversal in many cases)
for a range of ailments - Diabetes, Hypertension, Arthritis,
PCOD, Thyroid, Back pain, Chronic Acidity, to name a few.

• The principle behind the power of Yog is simple – to identify

and remove the root cause behind our “dis-ease.

• Yogis not offered us profound wisdom on how to be in a state

of Yog, but also practices and tools that can support our
journey towards this state. These are aligned with our
PanchaKosh, and using them together for the purpose of well-
being constitutes an “integrated” Yog Therapy.

• These tools are (a) Yogic Aahaar (what we call Nutrition) (b)
Yogic Vyaayaam (what we call ‘Yoga’) (c) Yogic Vichaar (what
we call ‘Emotional Intelligence’)

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 Chapter 10

Healing Pathway

The road to wellbeing

Meaning

Healing Pathway refers to how the pathway

that our PanchKosh are likely to take as we
move form illness to wellness, and well-being

Importance

Understanding the path to our well-being will

help us to navigate the confounding factors that
we face along the way with love, peace and joy

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Congratulations to all of us on coming so far on this journey to

heal ourselves! The fact that we’ve reached this point means
we’re ready to take several courageous and loving steps for our
well-being. Since this journey is unique for every person who
walks the path, we will come across some confounding factors
along the way. Understanding the nuances of this journey will help
us to navigate it with love, peace and joy.

Confounding Factor #1:

Why are there no disease-specific recommendations?

Yogic recommendations covering our PanchKosh work support

with management (and even reversal in many cases) for a range
of ailments - Diabetes, Hypertension, Arthritis, PCOD, Thyroid,
Back pain, Chronic Acidity, to name a few. This is quite unlike the
allopathic drug-based system where each ailment has a separate
set of medications to be prescribed.

Have we ever wondered how the same set of recommendations,

with very little customization works for all ailments?

The answer lies in the principle outlined in Naturopathy, which

also holds true for Yog – “Unity of Disease, Unity of Cure”. This
means that the root cause of all diseases is the same (as per Yog
- disturbance in the Mano-may Kosh – in other words dis-harmony
in our PanchKosh). Hence, the solution, or the cure is also the
same – restoring harmony in our PanchKosh.

The power of Yog lies in its simplicity. It is convenient, affordable,

ease to understand, requires no elaborate equipment, and most of
all, can be done all by ourselves. The simplicity reflects the
profound understanding of Yogis.

In the words of Dr Vasant Lad, father of modern Ayurveda:

Illness does not suddenly appear. There is a direct causal link

between the factors that influence us and the effects they

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produce. The cause is the concealed effect, and the effect is the
revealed cause. The cause is like a seed, in which the as-yet-
unmanifested tree is concealed. The tree is the expressed value
of the seed. Health is the effect of a healthy lifestyle and healthy
habits; disease is the “tree” sprouted from unhealthy habits.

Yog is about cutting off the diseased tree from its roots, and
replacing it with a simple seed with the power to create a massive,
stable, healthy tree.

Confounding Factor #2:

Why is the pace of healing different across people?

We may often find ourselves comparing our progress with others

on the same path – why has someone’s weight reduced so
quickly, and ours stayed the same despite full efforts? Why are
some people reducing medicine dosages within 2 months, and
there’s no difference in our case? By now we know that the Yogic
path is of being fully with our unique self, and not comparing with
others. Our healing journey will be unique, due to many factors,
some of which are:

• The nature of body signals: We may feel a tangible

difference in our level of energy within a few weeks, but
clearing of our clogged arteries will take much longer.

• How much damage has been inflicted on our bodily

system: Some of us may have been dis-eased for decades,
while for some, the health issues had just started. A pre-
hypertensive is likely to recover faster than someone who has
been on insulin injections for 20 years.

• Individual constitution of each participant: We often want

to come to perfect values – the perfect weight, BP, pulse,

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blood sugar level – without realizing that each of our bodies is

very different. While there are “average” values of parameters,
there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Some people are naturally
broad-shouldered and heavy built, while some are naturally
thin. In Ayurved, these types, i.e Prakriti-s are broadly
classified as Vatta, Pitta, Kapha, and their permutations-
combinations. Unfortunately, in today’s world, certain body
images are promoted – e.g. girls should be thin and fair, or
boys should have muscles and be tall – which leads us all to
hanker for these traits. Yog will NOT bring us to the body that
we desire. It will bring us to the body that we’re designed to
have. For one person, the optimal weight may be 50 kgs, and
for someone else, it may be 60 kgs.

• Our Samskaar: Samskaar is a mental impression,

recollection, or psychological imprint left by all thoughts,
actions and intents that we have ever experienced. It is below
the level of normal consciousness and is said to be the root of
all impulses, as well as our innate dispositions. Our samskaars
from this birth, or past Samskaars that we are born with also
govern our bodily ailments.

• Quality of practice: The regularity, constancy and quality of

our efforts determines our progress. Waking up early every
day is likely to be more healing than fluctuating between 2
routines of waking up at 6am on one day, and at 9am the next.

Confounding Factor #3:

Why have my health issues aggravated?

As our body’s natural, self-healing mechanisms take over, some of

us may experience one or more of these symptoms: freshness,
ability to be more present during the day, higher energy levels,
feeling of lightness, new ideas…

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On the other hand, some of us may find that as we move on this

path, sometimes, problems may get compounded for some time,
or new issues may surface. It is not uncommon to experience one
or more of these symptoms: cold, fever, diarrhea, vomiting,
fatigue, feeling sleepy, mood dropping…

We may be tempted to bucket them into positive and negative

symptoms, celebrate the former and be anxious due to the latter.
But we can be at ease if we listen to our body signals and see
them for what they are.

Both types of symptoms are often our body’s attempts to heal

itself by expelling toxins accumulated inside for long. As the effect
of stimulants, refined foods, sedentary lifestyles and restless
minds wear off, PachKosh will go through some ups and downs to
self-regulate and find its new state of homeostasis, harmony, Yog.

This is good news for us, as it means recovery, detoxing and

healing is on! If you remember the seven stages of disease build-
up (from enervation to cancer), the healing process also follows
the stages in reverse order.

We need to remember at these times that a dis-ease, an ill-ness is

NOT our enemy. Instead of a fight, flight or freeze response, we
can see it as our friend, listen to its message in our interest and
take relevant action. The best medicine at this time is to listen to,
and honor these signals and support the body in its healing efforts
by taking the appropriate food, rest, relaxation that our body has
been deprived of, for so long! We can remind ourselves of the
Ayurvedic recommendation to never suppress impulses such as
vomiting, yawning, crying and belching (called “Adhaarneey Veg”).

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 Chapter 11

“Swa-raaj”

How do I prepare
for the journey?

Meaning

“Swa-raaj” means self-rule or self-mastery.

The term usually refers to Mahatma Gandhi's
concept for Indian independence

Importance

In order to achieve true freedom for ourselves,

we need to take responsibility for ourselves

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The Paradigm Shift

The biggest paradigm shift needed, in order to be successful is to

assume power and responsibility for our well-being. It is important
to know that the two go together – Power and Responsibility.

So far, most of us have been operating in a completely different

paradigm – the power is with our doctor, nutritionist, therapist or
medicine! We have given them the power for our well-being – they
tell us what to do, we blindly follow. We hope a pill does the
magic. Along with power, we have also given away responsibility.
If the treatment works, our healthcare provider was good. If it
doesn't, the provider was not good! To a large extent, this is a very
convenient system for us – we don't have to take responsibility!
Like a company outsources certain tasks to vendors, we have
outsourced our health to these providers

The Yogic paradigm requires us to own the power AND the

responsibility. We empower ourselves, find the correct information
from various sources, listen to our body and decide what suits us
and what doesn't. But this also means we take responsibility – we
commit to our body for our well-being. It is in our hands to act
upon what we have committed to. If what we do works, we get the
credit! But if it doesn't, we know there is no one external to blame.

If you are reading this or undergoing a program based on this

philosophy, it means that you have made a choice to experiment
with the 2nd option. Congratulations, for this courageous choice
and for reaching this point! This reflect the reverence you have for
your body, and your commitment to exploring a Yogic approach to
your well-being. This itself is half the journey! The rest of the
journey to well-being is walkable with ease and joy.

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Step #1: Setting Purpose and Goals

Purpose and intention setting is the precurser to goal-setting. As

with any great change in our life we need to stare by setting
ambitious yet realistic goals. Becoming healthy is ambitious but
the path to health needs to be filled with realistic, small,
milestones. We can start of by listing out what our ultimate
outcome is and then work backwards from there. Or start from
where we presently are, by taking one small step at the time.

What is important is commitment, sticking to our plan with

“Anushaasanam” discipline and continuing with it. In Yog there’s
the concept of Mandala or a 40-day cycle. Every time we create a
new habit we need to give our system 40 days (roughly 6 weeks)
for it to set in, and become integrated in our nature. So, for each
small milestone we need to allow ourselves at least 40 days of
continuous work. A great place to start is a replacement plan
where you commit to replacing processed, sugary foods heavy on
animal products. If it seems difficult to let go of all at once try one
item at a time for 6 weeks at a stretch.

Practical Tip
Creating a vision board with our wellness goals, and seeing it
every morning helps us stay motivated, by connecting us to our
deep desire behind the steps we’re taking for our well-being

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Step #2: Ath (The Power of Now)

The time to act is NOW. Transforming our life requires investment

from our side. One of the scarcest resources to invest is our time.
It seems that in today’s world, the old adage – “Time is Money” no
longer holds true. Time is money, yes, but it’s much more than
money. Many of us have money to invest in ourselves, but not
time! And yet, without time, NOW, there is no journey.
Hence, we need to “find time”, before starting this journey.

Taking out 30-45 minutes for ourselves every day can seem a lot
at first. After all, if we had so much time, there are many other
pending things we would finish! So, yes, let us not add anything
extra. Let us first de-clutter! Before filling our almirah with more
and more clothes, let us remove what we don’t need. We can
identify many places where time is wasted, or small gaps available
to us to be used judiciously – e.g. time on Facebook or Whatsapp,
watching excessive TV, right before going to sleep, right after
waking up in the morning, travel time to work, evening break,
lunch break, etc. Even if we identify 6 such segments of 5 minutes
each, we suddenly have 30 extra minutes in a day!

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Questions for Reflection

• Identify where you can cut out time and use for your well-
being. Find at least 30 minutes

• Identify times of day when we can do implement some of

the Yogic tools along with your regular work (e.g. time
spent in travelling, during commercial breaks on TV).
Identify at least 30 minutes

• Identify chores that your family, friends and colleagues

could help you with, to help you have time. Identify at least
15 minutes

After doing this activity, you would’ve identified 75 minutes.

Even if you use 50% of this free time for your well-being, you
would’ve invested 37 minutes in yourself every day. And if you
do this for 6 weeks, you will see the unparalleled returns on
this investment!

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Step #3: Anushaasanam with Jpy (Self-Mastery)

Let’s go back to the 1st verse of Patanjali Yog Sutras – “Ath Yog
Anushaasanam” and reflect:

• Ath (Now) – Why do we need to do this now? Now is all I

have. Now is the best time
• Yog (Harmony) – What makes us believe in the path of Yog?
Yog solves the root cause.
• Anushaasam (Self-Mastery) – What is the need of
Anushaasanam to meet our goal? To take our health in our
own hands, we need to take our life, our PanchKosh in our
hands.

Ansushaasanam itself lies in our own hands! If we look at the life

of any person who reached their potential, we will find
Anushaasanam at every stage in their life. We may feel their life is
different from ours, and it is. What techniques worked for them
may not work for us, but the common thread of Anushaasanam
remains.

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 Chapter 12

“Sah-Parivaar”

How do I prepare others for the

journey?

Meaning

“Sah-Parivaar” means along with our “family”.

For this purpose, family refers to our larger
community of relatives, friends,
colleagues and neighbours

Importance

Our community is a core part of our journey to

well-being. Engaging effectively with them
can get us their support in the journey ahead

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Gaining Support from key loved ones

While the changes in our lifestyle may seem gradual to us,

because we are going through a thoughtful and experiential
journey, they may take our loved ones by surprise. Some changes
may impact them (e.g. the ingredients in our food), and some may
not (e.g. doing our Yogic practices silently). But they will definitely
see us becoming a new person – our true self – that they may or
may not have seen for a long time. Hence, including them with
love at the start of our journey will go a long way.

Tips for a conversation to enlist support from our loved ones

• Sharing our intention and purpose behind the changes – the

dream we have for ourselves, and our well-being. Sharing the pain
of our current situation too. This will make them understand that
this is important for us

• Sharing our need for their love and support – telling them that their
support will make our journey much easier and joyful. That we
want them to be there as we walk this path. This will make them
feel loved

• Preparing them for specific changes that might start happening –

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sleep and waking timings, what we eat and drink, time for
ourselves, expressing our emotions more, doing things that give
us joy. This will not take them by surprise later.

• Sharing that most changes are for ourselves only – that we don’t
expect our family to do the same, unless they wish. This will give
them the assurance that you are not trying to change them, and
make them feel free to do what they want. This is VERY important.
Let us first Be the Change, instead of trying to change others!

• Asking for specific support for some time – explaining that a few
changes may impact them – e.g. food ingredients, timings - and
requesting support for a few weeks/months (at least till program
ends), to see impact. Sharing our openness to going back to the
original routine if it doesn’t work. This will give them comfort that
we are open and appreciate the effort they will put in.

A great conversation will happen if we are embodying the 1st Yog

sutra during the conversation itself:
• Ath: Acting quickly, acting now! Being fully present – sharing our
truth, and listening to them

• Yog: being in harmony with our loved ones too! Understanding

that this may be sudden for them, and being in a state of peace,
love and joy when we have this conversation.

• Anushaasanam: being committed to doing this, and sharing our

resolve

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Key Points

• The biggest paradigm shift that we need to make, in order to be

successful is to assume power and responsibility for our well-
being. If you are reading this or undergoing a program based on
this philosophy, it means that you have made a choice to
experiment with, or live with this new paradigm

• Goal setting: Start by setting ambitious yet realistic goals. Every

time we create a new habit we need to give our system 40 days
(roughly 6 weeks) for it to set in, and become integrated in our
nature.

• Appreciating Ourselves: Keeping ourselves motivated through

our journey of transformation is a very important enabler in setting
new habits. we can feel motivated by appreciating our every
success, however small.

• Anushaasanam: What is the need of Anushaasanam to meet our

goal? To take our health in our own hands, we need to take our
life, our PanchKosh in our hands. And ansushaasanam itself lies
in our own hands!

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 “Sah-Parivaar”

Activity

• Step 1: Reflect and identify - who are the people whose

support would be helpful in your journey?

o Family
o Other relatives
o Friends
o Colleagues
o Neighbours

• Step 2: For each person identified above, reflect upon

o How can that person support you in your journey?

o What changes in your lifestyle are likely to impact the
person?
o What are likely concerns the person will have about your
journey?
o How can you address those concerns with love, respect
and care?
o What do you need to take care of, during your
conversation with that person?

• Step 3: Have the conversation

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 Chapter 13

Ready, Steady, Go!

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• Ready: If you’ve read the chapters so far, reflected upon them,

and done the activities, you’re ready to go!

• Steady: You’ve now got a strong foundation in place to be

steady in your journey over the next 3 months. And we know
that once you’ve done the 3 months sincerely, you’ll be ready
to choose this path for a lifetime!

• Go: To go, pick one, two or all three Yogic tools through the
following books in the series –Aahaar, Vyaayaaam, Vichaar

How to maximize the impact of these tools:

Holistic lens and Awareness

Each of these tools for well-being can be thought as narrowly

impacting one Kosh that seems most direct. For instance, food
seems to impact only the Ann-may Kosh (body). However, Yog
considers the impact of this on all PanchKosh. Hence, awareness
and engagement of each Kosh in the act of purchasing, preparing
and consuming food is also important!

The difference between Yogic and non-Yogic approaches is not

just a difference in terminology but fundamentally in the approach!

For instance, Nutrition typically has a very narrow lens:

What is included?
Nutrition: The food we consume
Yogic Aahaar: Entire journey of food from how it’s grown till it’s
assimilated by our body

What is consumed?
Nutrition: Individual food items
Yogic Aahaar: Combination of various food items in a meal

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 Ready, Steady, Go!

What is food?
Nutrition: The physical aspect of food
Yogic Aahaar: The following aspects also (a) Praan (b) Thoughts
& emotions (based on how it was treated before it became food)
(c) Extent of evolution (based on its position in the food chain)

How does food nourish us?

Nutrition: Give nutrients (a) Proteins (b) Carbohydrates (c) Fats
(d) Vitamins & Minerals (e) Micro-nutrients
Yogic Aahaar: Based on above aspects of “what is food”. The
nourishment from food is more than the sum of the nutrients. Also
considers assimilation and wisdom of our body

The Yogic approach is holistic, and based on the principle that the
whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Below are illustrations of how to engage PanchKosh effectively to

compound the power of Yogic tools:

Illustration on using PanchKosh for Tool – Yogic Aahaar

• Ann-may Kosh: Taking care of our posture at the time of eating

food and afterwards to support digestion and assimilation
• Praan-may Kosh: Considering the Praanic composition of what
we eat, listening to our praanic signals to understand what is
appropriate for our body
• Mano-may Kosh: Consuming food in a peaceful manner
without distractions, working through our food cravings by
identifying when we’re eating due to physical hunger and when
is it due to an emotional disturbance
• Vigyaan-may Kosh: Listening to our inner wisdom to determine
when we are full, trusting our inner wisdom and consuming
what gives us joy (e.g. selecting fruits that we’re naturally
inclined towards)

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• Aanand-may Kosh: Preparing food with love and joy, finding

joy in what we consume, approaching Yogic aahaar joyfully
rather than as dieting and suppression of cravings

Illustration on using PanchKosh for Tool – Yogic Vyaayaam

• Ann-may Kosh: Learning how to keep our body in a state of

“sthiram” and “sukham” during an Aasan, knowing how much
to stretch beyond our body’s capacity
• Praan-may Kosh: Being mindful of guidelines for breathing
patterns accompanying all practices, observing the pace of our
breath during practice and adjusting course accordingly
• Mano-may Kosh: Mindfully observing the macro and minor
changes in various parts of our body while doing practices,
instead of being distracted
• Vigyaan-may Kosh: Understanding practices which support us,
and which don’t
• Aanand-may Kosh: Doing practices joyfully and peacefully,
rather than driven by obsessions such as losing weight and
fears such as gaining weight

Illustration on using PanchKosh for Tool – Yogic Vichaar

• Ann-may Kosh: Being mindful of the impact of emotions on our

body, conversely, learning to observe and communicate with
our body to bring hidden emotions to the surface
• Praan-may Kosh: Being mindful of the impact of emotions on
our breathing, and conversely, using breathing practices to
overcome difficult emotions
• Mano-may Kosh: Understanding our needs (unmet or met)
underlying our emotions, identifying strategies to meet our

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 Ready, Steady, Go!

needs while maintaining external harmony, re-wiring our brain

and creating new patterns to replace old, compulsive beliefs
and ways of thinking
• Vigyaan-may Kosh: Overcoming difficult emotions through
connection to the universe through practices such as gratitude,
faith, trust, prayer and surrender
• Aanand-may Kosh: Cultivating practices that enable us to align
with our truest selves and can replace our self-limiting beliefs,
expressing our Self through Art

How to choose a tool for this journey?

You can choose one or two or all three of these tools towards your
journey. Each of these tools is powerful in itself! You may choose
something that appeals to you and your disposition, or something
new that you feel called to explore for yourself. Further, you can
undertake this journey by using these tools sequentially, or
undertake all of them simultaneously.

Our recommendation is to use all tools simultaneously, and

creating ease by gradually implementing the practices within. This
is because each tool complements the other, compounding the
collective impact. The whole created is much greater than the sum
of its parts. For instance, we are likely to find a reduction in our
cravings for unhealthy food, as we start doing Yogic Vyaayaam.
Hence, switching to Yogic food is no longer a challenge!

But, more than the choice of tool is your resolve to stay committed
to the path. Habits and patterns cultivated over months and years
take time to change! So, give yourself, and these tools time!

Wait a minimum of 3 months in order to see significant impact of

your journey on your well-being. You will start seeing tangible

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changes within the first 6 weeks itself, but the body needs time to
heal itself and restore its original state of well-being.

A Reminder – The Journey will come with challenges!

Yogi Swami Vivekananda said: As the organization becomes finer

and finer, it will be found in the beginning that the least irregularity
throws one out of balance. One bit of food more or less will disturb
the whole system, until one gets perfect control, and then one will
be able to eat whatever one likes.

The above statement applies not only to food, but also how we
process other external stimuli. Just like our thoughts and feelings
accumulate in the body as dis-ease, they can also get an outlet
and be sublimated through the body.

• We may find long-suppressed emotions unexpectedly coming

to the fore, during a Yogic Vyayaam practice, or meditation, or
in our dreams, or during a conversation.

• Our accumulated “samskaaraas” can get released through our

body. Meditators experience this regularly through pain, heat,
sensations such as electric currents in organs such as their
back and neck, during meditation.

This is all part of the detox process, which will happen at a

PanchKosh level! The process of coming into alignment with our
true self, and of reaching internal harmony from a state of dis-
harmony means a major re-alignment, turn or change needs to
happen. As our Mano-may Kosh shifts, accordingly the Ann-may
Kosh will also shift, and vice versa. In fact, resisting these internal
shifts can lead to more pain.

One way to understand the reason for this phenomenon is that as

we’re coming to Yog, characterized by stillness, awareness,
courage and ease, our internal systems feels it is safe, and no

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longer needs a stress response of fight-flight or freeze. In this

safety, old accumulated stresses buried in our subconscious or
toxins accumulated in our system start come to the fore, to be
addressed, and removed from their root. Isn’t this why we’ve
adopted this Yogic approach?!

These statements may seem hard to comprehend now, but the

deeper we go into our awareness and practice, the more we will
realize their truth from our personal lived experience, rather than
words in this book.

Where this Journey may lead you

This is just the start of our journey towards harmony in our Internal
PanchKosh and in our external world. Yog can not only reverse
our physical ailments, but revolutionize our experience of life, by
uncovering our true potential. This will lead to our true well-being
at many, many levels – physical, mental, social, spiritual and
universal. An end-point of this journey, the potential for which lies
within all of us, is this Jivaatma (finite Being) coming into Union
(Yog) with the Parmaatma (infinite Being) – in other words,
realizing the divinity within all of us.

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And remember - let us not rush this beautiful journey, instead let’s
take time to enjoy the sights and smells on the way. To do this, let
us learn to be in Yog, rather than “do” Yoga. One powerful tool to
help you on your journey is the “Words of Self-Love” affirmation.

Read it at least every day for 6 weeks, and see the difference. It
works! To know more about the science, read the book “Yogic
Vichaar”. But better still, don’t trust what you read. Trust your own
experience, that’s what Yogis have taught us. Read the affirmation
every day for 6 weeks and assess the impact for yourself. ☺

May you be in Yog.

May you live fully and freely
May you be in peace, love and joy.
May you be Swasth at all levels –
physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual and universal.

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Words of Self-Love

I am at ease and experience stillness within my Self.

I am aware and draw courage from my Self.

I am strong and feel connection with my Self.

I have power and discover compassion within my Self.

I am responsible to act in flow from my Self.

I am blessed with a purpose, for which my Self is in gratitude

I am established in my Self. I am Swasth.

I am free to be my Self. I live my life fully and freely.

My body, energies, mind and emotions are in Yog.

My home, finances, work and relationships are in Yog.

I accept the past.

I embrace the future.
I live in the now.
Every moment brings me peace, love and joy.

I allow myself to fully experience peace, love and joy.

I free myself to fully express peace, love and joy.
I receive peace, love and joy.
I am peace, love and joy.

I am Swasth at all levels –

physical, mental, social, spiritual and universal.

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Additional Resources
and About Us

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 About Swasth Yog Institute

About Swasth Yog Institute

Our Vision:
For all to live fully and freely

Our Mission:
To create an ecosystem
which enables a state of internal harmony (Yog)
within each individual's body, vital energies, mind and emotions,
thus freeing them to be their true, full Self,
and reach their potential.

Current reality

A state of internal harmony within our body, vital energies, mind

and emotions, enables us to be our true self, and reach our
potential. Today, one or more of these are misaligned, within
many of us. e.g. we are great problem solvers, but our ability to
deal with emotions is limited. We are focused on creating a
conducive external environment for us, but our inner landscape
gets lesser attention. The result of this widespread internal
misalignment is visible in the form of “dis-eases” across
individuals, families, organizations and society.

Some indicators of “dis-eases”, i.e. absence of natural ease are:

Increasing incidence of mental and psychosomatic (“stress-born”)
chronic ailments in individuals, strain in relations in families,
depression amongst youth resulting in suicides, disengagement
and attrition in organizations, damage to the environment, and
increasing crimes rates and inequities in society (such as income
and gender)

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What makes the situation persist?

An individual is directly touched by a range of other individuals

and institutions across one's lifecycle – parents, school, college,
employers, media, healthcare and wellness providers, to name a
few. A conducive ecosystem with many pieces in the puzzle –
education, professional growth, organizational development,
healthcare and wellness – can enable harmony over the entire
lifecycle of an individual.

Sadly, the ecosystem today is far from its potential. Our education
includes language, science and math, but does not teach us how
to handle ourselves. Employers invest more resources on
strategies and skill-building than culture building, role-modeling
and supporting staff to be their best. Incentives of healthcare
providers are not aligned to health. There is limited formal support
for life changing transitions such as starting work, getting married,
becoming a parent, and retiring.

Many issues prevent stakeholders in the ecosystem from

contributing effectively – settling to address symptoms rather than
the root cause, silo-ed approach with little cross-sectoral
collaboration, misaligned incentives, to name a few.

How will we create a new ecosystem?

We will build and nurture a community of leaders, who can

support a range of individuals, institutions and communities to
reach their potential, living their own potential in the process.
Based on a harmony-centered approach (Yog), the leaders will
operate with

• Internal harmony (with our true ‘self’ by aligning all dimensions

of our being)

• External harmony: Driving social transformation in a way that

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 About Swasth Yog Institute

allows us to stay true to ourselves while also bringing forth the

potential in others

This will be achieved through

• Leadership Development programs to build self-led leaders

who embody being the change they wish to see in the world.
We will focus primarily for 3 sectors – health and wellness,
education and running organizations especially in the
development sector. The programs will be customized to meet
leaders of leaders with varying contexts and skill-level,
catering to management as well as grassroots leaders.

• Sector-specific Curriculum & Program design to enable

leaders to tangibly integrate the learnings in the sector of their
work. The in-house curriculum will support practical application
of Yog in the above sectors. Leaders will be certified to
conduct these programs for social transformation

• Additional support services such as consulting, research,

quality monitoring and entrepreneur incubation to establish
new enterprises.

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 About Swasth Yog Institute

Key principles behind program design and

resulting decisions

Affordable: Developing our Intellectual Property (IP) instead of

using expensive existing IPs; disruptively affordable pricing; range
of price points to meet the needs of various segments

Accessible: Offered in regional languages; usable across sectors

(e.g. organization development, education, wellness); Open
source model for IP; modular programs to suit participant need

Sustainable: Fee-based delivery; cross subsidization models;

remuneration for staff; expanding internal talent pipeline; based on
time-tested Yogic wisdom of inside-out transformation

Our Secret Sauce – Yog

The Potential: History is replete with examples of luminaries

realizing their potential as individuals and as leaders of social
transformation - Mahatma Gandhi, Swami Vivekaananda, Albert
Einstein, Maya Angelou...We believe this potential lies in people
from all walks of life - managers and entrepreneurs, teachers,
social workers, doctors, housewives, artists, media professionals,
lawyers and engineers.

The “secret sauce” to build stronger ecosystems enabling us to

thrive and reach our potential is Yog. Yog is the science to restore
internal harmony within all dimension of existence – our Body,
Vital Energy, Mind & Emotions, Inner Wisdom and Joy. Yog is a
system for living. Its power can be compounded with aligned
modern tools such as mindfulness, life coaching, body wisdom,
somatics, affirmations, art-based therapy, non-violent
communication, to name a few.
Adapted to today's context with aligned modern tools, Yog can
make us achieve far more than reversal of dis-eases. Yog can

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bring us closer to our true potential – as individuals, organizations,

and societies. This is a universally applicable approach needing
minor local customizations.

First area of focus – health and wellness

Our focus post conception in 2017 has been to establish a solid

proof of concept in one sector – health and wellness. We are
building Swasth Yog Institute as an action research center
focused on building a community empowering health eco-system
that integrates knowledge of the west and wisdom of the east.

This is enabled through the following key activities:

• Knowledge building and research
• Integration of knowledge into standards & processes (SOPs)
• Conducting training
• Monitoring quality of health and healthcare services and
service providers to build accountability
• Providing Certifications

Highlights of first two years

• Well-being Curriculum Design: We designed “Sanjeevani”,

a 55-hour course for patients suffering from various chronic

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 About Swasth Yog Institute

conditions. ~100 participants across 8 cohorts underwent the

program and experienced an average 67% reduction in
symptoms over an 8-week period. The multi-disciplinary
research resulted in a documented standardized curriculum
and program design which is modular, customized and
scalable with quality audio-visual content.

• Clinic-in-a-box Design: Standard Operating Procedures

(SOPs) and Standard Treatment Guidelines (STGs) to deliver
accountable primary care services, piloted through our
network of 24+ Swasth India Medical Centers.

• Training of Health Professionals: Primary care physicians

certified to treat key non-communicable diseases –
hypertension and diabetes. A pilot undertaken to develop a
new cadre of health coaches who can deliver the Wellness
Curriculum, enabling communities to take charge of their well-
being.

• Early pilots of Leadership building: Emotional intelligence

workshops facilitated and personal coaching delivered to ~75
leaders across levels in Swasth with a panel of 20 life coaches
over a 3-6-month period. The program received satisfaction
ratings of 88%, and 92% of leaders reported an increased
sense of their leadership potential – increase in confidence,
better interpersonal relationships and clarity on vision for
themselves.

• Quality Monitoring: An accountability system designed for

ongoing measurement of quality of service delivery by a health
system. The system was piloted with over 200 staff members
of Swasth Foundation, simulating a range of players in the
health ecosystem – medical professionals, clinical assistants,
health coaches, warehouse, pathology lab, back-end services.

• Certification and Key partnerships: Affiliation from VYASA

(mother organization of India’s only Yoga University) to offer
Yoga Instructor Certification courses.

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Journey ahead

From 2019 onwards, we intend to build on the foundation in health

through the following areas of focus:

• Research & Knowledge Building: A Randomized Control

Trial (RCT) to assess and establish impact of the wellness
program “Sanjeevani” on chronic ailments. Knowledge
Building in additional domains such as women’s health,
dentistry, acute diseases, child health, other chronic diseases,
cancer.

• Development of Integrated standards: Standard Treatment

Guidelines (STGs) integrating Allopathic & Ayurvedic drugs.
Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) for various players of
a health system (simulated internally at the mother
organization, Swasth Foundation)

• Community Empowerment: Development of additional

consumer warranty products and designing other interventions
to enable communities to hold healthcare providers
accountable

• Training a wide range of leaders: Building self-led leaders

equipped with key skills to Lead from the Self - coaching,
training, partnering and management. This will maximize their
potential and enable them to create a multiplier effect at their
workplace. Various programs will be designed and offered,
such as building the first cadre of Health Coaches with women
from low-income communities, and training doctors on self-
leadership and prevention modalities

• Quality Monitoring: Develop a comprehensive accountability

system to measure quality of processes and medical protocols

• Additional Partnerships to offer certifications to Life

Coaches, Trainers and in Nutrition

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 About Swasth Yog Institute

Additionally, we will take our first steps in education and

organization building by
• Training middle level managers and supervisory staff in a non-
profit
• Piloting a leadership building intervention with school leaders
in education

The Dream: As Vivekaananda said, each soul is potentially

divine. We believe these seekers are everywhere – as teachers,
housewives, social workers, doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists,
media professionals, managers and entrepreneurs. We aim to
ultimately be accessible to anyone who wishes to access their
divinity to reach their potential, and enable others to do the same.

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About our Well-being Programs

Programs to support our journey to Well-being
The flagship program conducted by Swasth Yog Institute is
“Sanjeevani” - a 55-hour course over a 7 week period for anyone
suffering from conditions such as Diabetes, HTN, Arthritis, PCOD,
Thyroid, Back pain, Chronic Acidity. Well-being is addressed
through a group course and personalized health coaching.

SOME TOOLS USED

• Ayurvedic & Yogic Food

• Body Wisdom & Awareness
• Mindfulness & Self-awareness
• Aasans & Praanaayaam
• Creative / Art based therapy
• Life & Health Coaching
• Sound Resonance
• Affirmations & Mirror Work
• Emotional release & handling

RANGE OF INTERVENTIONS

• Group Sessions
• Health level measurement
• Self-learning resources
• Personal consultation
• Diet & Lifestyle assessment
• Assessment of Learning
• Whatsapp Support Group
• Cooking demos & pot-lucks
• Participant-led celebrations at end!

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 About our Well-being Programs

What does the course offer?

• “Swaasthya” (Wellness): A tangible, measurable difference

in health which YOU can perceive. A feeling of well-being,
being active and energetic.

• “Swaraaj” (Independence): All the knowledge, motivation

and skills you need to be able to continue on your journey to
reversing your ailment independently, over time

• “Sah-Parivaar” (With family): Tools to impact and influence

the health of your family, friends and larger community

Impact of intervention

Batches covering a wide range of participants – age groups,

ailments, levels of severity, geography and cultural backgrounds
have undergone the course and experienced the following results:
• High engagement - 98% satisfaction, 85% attendance, 85%
successful completion rate (>=70% marks in theory & practical
assessments).
• 60% reduction in symptoms on a self-reported scale
covering over 50 parameters.
• 95% of the participants reported feeling empowered to take
charge of their health.
• Reversal of many ailments such as PCOD, Infertility and
Hypertension post the course.
• In a long-term impact survey administered 6-12 months post
course completion, 95% participants reported to be in a better
state of well-being than a year ago, and 56% felt that the
course had made a significant impact on their life.

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What makes the program unique

• Sustainable solution for long-term health – addresses the

root cause of ailments
• Interventions at multiple levels – body, mind, vital energy,
inner wisdom & being
• Grounded in a holistic understanding of Yog & Ayurved, but
adapted to today's context, using relevant modern tools
• Meets the needs of a wide range of participants – age groups
and background, type of ailments and levels of severity
• In-depth understanding of concepts through a combination of
theoretical and experiential learning and practice
• Extended course duration, so that participants can experience
measurable changes in state of health (previous batches of
participants have experienced a 30-50% reduction in their
symptoms)
• Empowers participants to take health in their hands, and
walk their path independently after program completion
• A joyful journey! Participants discover their inner child,
hidden talents, and dreams in the process…

Innovations in the delivery of program

• Use of a Wellness curriculum: The curriculum is holistic,

modular (deliverable in a range of formats, levels and
modules), customized (to target conditions) and scalable with
quality (audio-visual content).

• Financially sustainable model for course delivery: The

program has been primarily delivered to low-income
communities served by Swasth Foundation. A user-fee based
model can ensure recover ongoing operating costs of
conducting courses (rent, trainer salaries, marketing, learning
material)

• Course Delivery: Multiple formats can be created to suit the

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 About our Well-being Programs

needs and interests of participants. People can choose from a

variety of modules as per interest or relevance for their health
condition. Each Module can be broken down into levels,
making it easier to integrate changes gradually, and also
building motivation to move up levels over time.

Illustrative formats of modular courses which can be derived

from the main course

• Module-wise: E.g. Nutrition, Healthy Cooking Alternatives,

Understanding Diabetes, Yogic Aasan and Praanaayaam,
Emotional release techniques, Art-based therapy (e.g.
Performing arts)

• Condition-wise: Diabetes, Child Nutrition, Hypertension

• Timing formats: Daily, Bi-weekly, Weekly, Fortnightly,

Monthly

• Duration of engagement: 1 Day, 1 week, 6-8 week, ongoing

wellness journey

Note: These are “courses”, not workshops. Courses follow best

practices of teaching to maximize engagement and learning
outcomes for the participants, facilitate in-depth understanding of
concepts through theoretical and experiential learning, consist of
rigorous theoretical and practical assessments, and ultimately
equip participants to continue walking their path independently
post the intervention.

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Why does this approach work?

1. Multi-dimensional approach to well-being
2. Addresses root cause of ailments
3. Measurable impact on health outcomes
4. Cuts through the clutter of conflicting “tips” by integrating
traditional and modern sciences
5. Participant-centric intervention design

Key success factors and how they manifest in program

design

Multi-dimensional approach to well-being –

The program integrates interventions for the PanchaKoshs, the 5
Yogic sheaths of existence - Body (Ann-may Kosh), Vital Energy
(Praanaamay Kosh), Mind (Thoughts, Emotions) (Mano-may
Kosh), Inner Wisdom (Vignanamay Kosh), Inner Bliss and Joy
(Aanand-may Kosh)

Addresses root cause of ailments –

Takes an “inside out” approach by addressing underlying
stress/emotions, which are the root cause of ailments. This has
been established by Yogic sciences. The field of Psycho-endo-
neuro-immunology too, has established the link between emotions
and health, for chronic ailments.

Measurable impact on health –

Over 50 parameters are tracked regularly, enabling participants
and health coaches to see progress, and course correct
accordingly.

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 About our Well-being Programs

Cuts through the clutter of “tips” –

Integrates time-tested traditional wisdom (such as Yog, Ayurved)
with modern sciences (such as Allopathy, Psychology,
Mindfulness, Nutrition)

Participant-centric design –

• Focus on simplification and practical application of knowledge

• Participants empowered to take health in their hands, and walk
their path independently
• Wide variety of offerings and formats available
• Personalized lifestyle modification planning, individual
prescriptions for Aasan/ Praanaayaam
• A joyful journey! Participants discover their inner child, hidden
talents and dreams along the way…

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About our mother organization –

Swasth Foundation

Swasth Foundation (www.swasth.org) is a not-for-profit social

enterprise founded in 2009 and committed to health and joy for all.
Swasth’s mission is to build and demonstrate a sustainable and
accountable health eco-system with joy. Towards this mission,
Swasth Foundation operates 2 programs in addition to Swasth
Yog Institute:

Swasth India Medical Center: India's largest non-governmental

clinic network comprising 24 neighborhood one-stop-shop primary
health centers offering comprehensive health services in 2
departments – family medicine and dentistry. Each as a one-stop-
shop, each clinic treats infectious diseases like fever, malaria,
dengue and also manages chronic diseases like hypertension and
diabetes. The clinic also performs dental procedures from
extractions and root canal, to oral surgeries and dentures.
Swasth’s clinics offer innovations, the first of the kind in the
healthcare space - like the lowest price guarantee and reporting
time guarantee on Pathology Lab Services; 3-year warranty on
dental treatment and a safety warranty on family health
treatments. Each of these, is an enforceable quality assurance,
designed to deliver a patient-centric experience.

Aanand Aalaya (“Abode of Joy”): A wellness center operated by

a health coach – a new cadre of health professionals who
harmonise the wellness disciplines of Yog and Life Coaching, thus
empowering the community to take charge of their own health.
The center conducts various workshops and screening camps in
the community and offers wellness services like yoga classes,
yoga courses, nutrition courses, etc at the center.
At Swasth, our impact and outcome metrics reflect our
commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centric, affordable

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 About our mother organization – Swasth Foundation

services at scale to the urban poor. Our programs are designed to

deliver high-quality at low cost (half of market rates), in a scalable
and self-sustaining manner. As of 2019, Swasth has served
800,000+ patient visits, delivering direct savings of ~INR 10 crore
of patients, with a 4.2-star rating.

At Swasth Foundation, we aim for all to be in Self and experience

health and joy. This is reflected in our motto - ‘Swasth Raho,
Aanandit Raho’ (Be in Self, Be in Joy)

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

My Journey
by Garima Gupta Kapila, Founder of Swasth Yog Institute

Garima graduated from IIT Delhi in 2005 and started her

career as a management consultant at McKinsey &
Company’s India practice. She joined Teach For India
(TFI)’s core start-up team in October 2008 and setup
operations in Mumbai and managed its subsequent scale-
up. She moved to Swasth in 2012, heading multiple verticals
over the next 3 years focusing on improving performance &
productivity, institutionalizing systems & processes as well
as training staff for scale. In 2015, she took up the role as
the COO of Swasth, overseeing Operations & Quality
Improvement.

Garima has an avid interest in Yoga, and established the

Swasth Yog Institute, after obtaining a Post Graduate
Diploma in Yoga Therapy (and Yoga Instructor’s course)
from S-VYASA, India’s only Yoga University. She is also a
Certified Professional Coach from the International
Coaching Federation (ICF) and completed her ACC
accreditation from ICF in 2018. Additionally, she obtained a
Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate with a scholarship from the
T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies in 2019. A
life-long learner Garima is currently pursuing an MS in Yoga
from SVYASA, studying Integral Somatic Psychology and
has commenced her journey in research as a Lown Scholar
selected by the Harvard School of Public Health.

I have a deep desire for seeing a world where we can all live fully
and freely, where each of us can feel – “I’m free to be me”. A world
where all of us can reach our highest potential, with the full

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 My Journey

support of our body, in our endeavors.

This is my belief: The human body is an advanced machine,

designed to last for over a hundred years, and support us in our
quest to achieve our highest potential, to be the best we can be.
The miracle of life has given our body the ability to recover and
heal itself. Ailments can be reversed, health restored, immunity
built for future well-being. It IS possible to reverse the effects of
aging, and to be healthier than we were 10 years ago!

This belief is not born out of reading books and having intellectual
conversations, but by living this truth. As I look back, I see three
distinct chapters unfolding simultaneously in my life.

Chapter one – From Yoga to Yog

At the age of 23, while living my professional dream, as a

consultant in India’s premier management consultant firm, I had to
reluctantly go to a Yoga ashram for a month, due to a debilitating
back-pain, not solvable through any form of western or a range of
alternative treatments including Ayurvedic massages, Yoga
Aasanas and even Hypnotherapy. It was here that I discovered
“Yog” (now known as Yoga) preserved in its true form. I learnt that
Yog (literally meaning “union” or “harmony”) is not bodily postures
& contortions – but being connected to the body, vital energies,
emotions, thoughts and inner joy. This connection took me to the
root cause of my ailment – misalignment between my corporate
work and my interest in the social sector. The way my body
responded as I connected with this underlying cause was nothing
short of miraculous. Since that time in 2007, my backpain has
never returned, whether I’m swimming, running, trekking or
working late. In the process, I also discovered a way to dissolve
the conflict between my skills and interests – becoming a
consultant in the social sector practice of the Firm where I worked.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

I also got to know of thousands of cases of successful disease

reversal through Yogic practices, documented & validated by
modern scientific research. Over the next 10 years, this interest in
well-being led me to dozens of explorations and readings. I also
got trained formally and completed my Yoga Instructor’s Course,
followed by a Post Graduate Diploma in Yoga Therapy from S-
VYASA, India's only Yoga University.

Chapter two – From Diets to Ayurvedic & Yogic Aahaar

Along the way, I also discovered the importance of Yogic Aahaar

(food) in today’s context. All around – there were so many diets
being proposed – high-carb, low-card, high-protein, low-protein,
paleo, keto, fruit, vegan…While these diets looked at the body’s
need for nutrients, it was rare to find practitioners who saw Aahaar
in a yogic manner – i.e. considering the food’s vital energies, the
effect of combining foods in a meal, the role of our mind and
emotions in Aahaar. I found the answer in Ayurvedic principles,
with some tweaks in application, given our context today.

Applying these in my life led to gradually shedding the excess

weight I had put on, my skin clearing up, and a feeling of
freshness and lightness through the day. The result - today, I feel
10 years younger and 10 times happier! My belief became rock
solid when I found my family members also reversing many health
issues they had come to accepted as part of life, by applying the
learnings. There was a gradual reduction in medications for
hypothyroid, high blood pressure, diabetes and nutrient
deficiencies which being taken for several years by my mother-in-
law (our first patient, who whom I’m forever grateful!).

Also, I understood the failures of prevalent approaches towards

well-being - traditional sciences have been oversimplified today –
yog has become “yoga” and Ayurved has become “Ayurveda”.
Yoga is understood as a series of asanas and praanaayaams, and

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 My Journey

Ayurveda is associated with Panchakarma massages and

medications. Further, pure practitioners of these sciences have
sometimes failed to adapt their “language” and practices to the
modern context, or have retreated into secrecy to preserve the
purity of their practice. On the other hand, “modern” western
science suffers from an overload of information, conflicting
research, mounting evidence on the damaging “side” effects of
medications and surgical interventions and multiple retractions of
widely accepted “modern” research after being disproved by long-
term studies.

Chapter three – Harmony within Mind and Emotions

One more piece in my journey needed to be aligned – my

personality led by my mind and emotions

The story of the first 33 years of my life had been a struggle of

finding, and trying to attain my highest potential. For the longest
time, I believed the way to do that was to become free and
perfect. This quest for perfection drove me to become an over
achiever at a young age – top 100 All India Rank in IIT, get the
dream job as a management consultant, and head teams of 100+
people in my 20s. At a personal level, my desire was always to be
“strong, confident, independent”, unlike the stereotypical women.
This made me rise above “feminine” looks and emotions, take
charge of my life, live life at my own terms and not as per societal
norms.

Until I realized, that even after doing and getting all the above, I
wasn't happy. The more I achieved, the more worthless I felt. The
more I fought norms, the more I felt imprisoned. Externally, I had
all the freedom and validations I needed – supportive parents,
spouse, in-laws, friends, colleagues as well as resume value
achievements to die for. But none of it made me feel perfect and
free. As I cut needs, desires, relationships and external measures

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

of success, by giving up the corporate sector and transitioning to a

simpler life in the development sector, I was healthier and happier,
but still felt imprisoned and unworthy. Until I realized the person
holding myself back was me. And then I started fighting myself.
Trying to change myself. Become a better human being. I
meditated, travelled, attended workshops, read, tried to give
importance to relationships, did whatever I could to “find myself”.
The process was tough! It was so hard to become a yogi – the
more I tried, the harder it seemed!

And then I realized, where these 2 intense needs were coming

from:
• The need for freedom, was actually the need to be free from
my self-limiting beliefs, and to step into my Being, like a child.
But I did not recognize that my need for freedom had become
so intense, that I had become bound by it!
• The need to achieve my highest potential, which often
manifested in a manic drive for perfection, stemmed from the
insecurities I had developed myself, in my early childhood
years and reinforced to myself throughout life.

I realized that to break this vicious cycle of wanting freedom and

to be perfect – I had to step away from “wanting” to “being”. I am,
right here, right now, free and the best I can be. I have that choice
at every instant. The free child I want to find again, lives inside
me. To access it, the place to start is LOVE. Love and acceptance
for myself – my mistakes, wrong-doings, shortcomings, life
choices, past, present, future.

Chapter four - Domino effect

Suddenly, the pieces started fitting together. I was doing the same
activities, but the feeling and therefore the outcome changed.
Writing became a way to facilitate a dialogue between my inner
child and critic, workshops became an avenue to test out small

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 My Journey

changes in my being, work became a means to be connected to

my fellow human beings, meeting family and friends became an
avenue to share and exchange ideas, music a means to access
and express the whole range of my emotions, reading a way to
receive messages from the universe.

And then small changes in outcomes began to emerge – prose

changed to poetry, restricted movements to freely dancing, doing
to being, later to now. In the process, I re-discovered many parts
inside me – the innocent inner child, my feminine part, my
masculine strength, the parental critic who actually wants the best
for me.

I began to feel things I had forgotten –

• Love for all parts of me, and others
• Joy at the lightness of being, externalized through creative
expression
• Harmony within (mind, body, soul, emotions, masculine-
feminine) and outside (relationships, nature
• Freedom from myself
• Gratitude

Most of all, I learnt to get truly connected to the source of answers

to all questions – my inner self / voice / wisdom / intuition. I was no
longer alone, I always had a companion inside!

Chapter five - Unravelling the mystery

With this being, I could unlock the secret which I had almost given
up on being able to understand! Yes, I found the purpose of my
life. Ma raison-d-etre. The reason for the birth of this earth-bound
visitor, I. The most liberating part of this knowledge, was that I was
but an instrument in the hands of God.

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

It started as designing a well-being program based on the

principles of Yog and Ayurved, but adapted correctly in today's
context, combined with relevant modern tools & research. In doing
so, I feel blessed to have been able to combine all the skills in my
palette – engineering a well-being program, delivering measurable
impact through management principles, incorporating best
practices in adult learning techniques, knowledge of yog therapy,
nutrition and life coaching. This led me to Swasth Yog Institute.

Now the goal for me has shifted. I'm no longer looking to be

perfect, and free. Because I AM perfect. I am a child of God. And
knowing that has made me free. Knowing my purpose, which
seemed burdensome for a while, doesn't seem so anymore. My
purpose exists, with or without me knowing it. My purpose, like my
life, is not mine! I am an instrument of God or whatever other
name we wish to give to the universal force that creates, sustains
and destroys us. if I can enable the universe to meet its will
through me, then I will have lived fully and freely, and also
reached my highest potential.

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 Resource People and Institutions

Resource People and Institutions

Sharing, not hoarding is the spirit of yog, of union. In this spirit, we

have created the following YouTube channel with resources for
well-being: https://tinyurl.com/swasth-yog-institute
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzP_q2xogzk4Zf7J56Mkn_g

The channel contains videos of recipes as per Yogic Aahaar

guidelines, Yogic practices (such as Praanaayaam, Aasan,
Loosening Practices, Dynamic Practices), Guided Audios for
Meditations, Talks on Spirituality, to name a few. All are welcome
to use and refer these resources. Also, feel free to email us to get
access to the templates and checklists used in the book.

Following organizations and people could be potential resources

for you, as you chart out your journey. Their work has been a
great support to us in re-discovering Yog, and we are forever
indebted to them.

Yog, Ayurved & Body Wisdom

• Isha Foundation
• Kaivalyadhama (Lonavala)
• The Yoga Institute (Santacruz, Mumbai)
• Swami Vivekaananda Yoga Anusandhana Samsthana
• Dr Robert Svoboda
• Dr Claudia Welch
• Suzanne Scurlock-Durana

Life Purpose Work

• Mission Impossible Leadership Program

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From Treatments for Illness to Yog for Wellness

Emotional development

• Leadership That Works (LTW)

• Indian Society for Applied Sciences & Behaviour (ISABS)
• Dr Wasundhara Joshi (Changeworks)
• Louise Hay
• Manav Sadhana
• Sukhvinder Sircar (Joyous Woman)
• Vikram Bhatt (Leadership That Works)

Yogic Aahaar - Food, Nutrition

• Vaidya Atreya Smith

• Dr Vasant Lad
• PHC Clinic and Nutrition Science (Bengaluru)
• Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)
• Sanctuary for Health and Reconnection to Animals and Nature
(SHARAN)
• The Health Awareness Center (THAC)
• T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies

Spirituality

• Art of Living
• Chinmaya Mission
• Isha Foundation
• Mukeshaanand (http://www.mukeshaanand.org/)
• Ramana Maharshi Ashram
• Vipassana

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 References

References

Additional Reading – Books

• Course documents of Post-Graduate Diploma in Yoga

Therapy, SVYASA University
• Inner Engineering by Sadhguru
• Cancer: A yogic perspective, by Sadhguru

Additional Reading and Video Links

• Excerpt from an interview with Sadhguru on listening to our

body -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1mFPoMY_aY&t=15s
• Rohit Arya’s commentary -
https://aryayogi.wordpress.com/2013/12/12/rohit-arya-on-
yoga-sutras-ch1v1-atha-yoga-anushasanam/
• Sadhguru’s commentary -
https://isha.sadhguru.org/in/en/wisdom/article/classical-yoga-
the-influence-of-patanjali
• Animated film introducing stress -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7S_BB7R8NMU - 1 min
• Scientific explanation to stress -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyP8L3qTW9Q
• Cancer - An Eradicable Epidemic – by Sundeep Kapila
• Akshay Kumar and discipline -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSf3vde-odQ
• Technology of Spirituality (Full Version), on Vigyaan-May
Kosh - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9aR_xfm-gE

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