The superior state of awareness the Yoga practitioner enjoys, provides him a ring side view to life. He looks at various events that pass before his eyes not with tension but with nonchalance, not by getting caught up in stress and strain but rather remaining a witness (Saksi) to the slow unfolding drama of life. Stress management techniques in comparison work on peep-hole view of the reality of life. A little relaxation or recreation and low level attitude training that goes into stress management courses does not even scratch the surface of the matter. The awareness and attention that such measures develop has been compared to the concentration of a predator when it jumps on its prey. The concentration does not spill over into the whole personality to establish a higher focus (Bhumi) of consciousness and resulting widening of horizon. In Yoga, Ekagra Citta Bhumi (steady state of one pointedness) is a product of many wholesome traits (Bhuvas) like self direction (Dharma) , concentration and resulting knowledge (Jnana), objectivity (Vairagya) and self efficacy (Aisvarya) . Such a Citta in turn produces deep insight (Nibsreyasabetu) into all problems of life. The other advantage that classical Yoga can depend on is its psychophysical procedures that are corelated to the mental processes. It is a two way traffic here the body and the limbic system influencing the mind and at the same time perception and conation influencing the body. Managing stress at the very base foundation level and reaching upto a wide overview of life is the Yoga way of managing stress.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jayadeva Yogendra
Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra was the first born child of Shri Yogendra and Smt Sita Devi Yogendra. He was born in Bombay on 27th April 1929. He commenced his education at a Hindi primary school in Bombay, followed by an English Parsi School and garde college in Gujarat. Then he went to Wilson College in Bombay from where he completed his M.A. in Sanskrit and Prakrut. He stood first in the University and received the Bhagwandas Purshotamdas Prize for Sanskrit. He was also awarded the Hargobin das scholarship for PhD which was conferred upon him in 1955 and since then he is referred to as Dr. Jayadeva. After completing his Ph. D. Dr. Jayadeva worked as a lecture teaching Sanskrit to B. A. students for about on year at the Khalsa College Bombay. After that he has worked ceaselessly at the yoga Institute that was founded by his father. In 1958 he was appointed Principal of The Yoga Institute when the Government of Maharashtra gave special recognition to the Institute as a special teachers training Institute of Yoga and Yoga research. He was master minded many educational and the National centers of Educational Research and Training took his assistance in devising the national Yoga syllabus for schools. He was also a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of Yoga which funded a research project highlighting the advantage of Yoga techniques in the treatment of disease. He was a polific writer and has authored several books and edited the mammoth Yoga Encyclopaedia series. He edited Yoga Today Yoga in Modern life, yoga Therapy in Asthma Diabetes and Heart Disease etc. He is at present the Editor of the journal Yoga and Total Health, which were founded in 1933. He is the present Director of the Yoga Institute and past President of the International Board of Yoga. He has endeared himself to thousands of his students by his self-effacing ways and ready guidance. Most of all he inspires all by his purity of life in which he practices what he preaches.
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