Art of Living Day 2

Day 1


A new day, full of learnings. My first impression and the most lasting one of Art of Living (AOL) was it's striking similarity to Landmark forum (LMF) mantras. People who have done LMF will recollect the honouring your integrity, life is NOW, trying  exercise and group building exercises. For those who haven't, well, here is a brief description, which is in no way to be considered as a substitute for wither AOL or LMF.


Honour your integrity- Mean what you say, say what you mean. Honour your commitment, Salman Khan Wanted ishtyle. If cannot fulfill the commitment, have the guts to own up to it.


Life is now ( projected quite nicely through a clapping exercise)- Happiness in life is being in the present. Past brings regret and anger, future brings uncertainty and worry. Live in the present, stay happy.


Trying Exercise- One has to stop trying, and start doing. You can't try to lift a glass, you either can lift it, or you cant. So stop saying I will try to make it, honour your commitment, give it your 100 %, if you can't apologise and restore your integrity. The fact you gave it you all will leave you with no guilt. OR, say you cannot. This can be a long topic, better left for another article :)


AOL too, like other self help-self realisation sessions has it's principles to abide by. If my memory serves me correctly, there are six. Two were discussed. They are:


1. Life is NOW. Live in the present. The present is inevitable.
2. Opposites are complementary to each other and cannot exist without each other. Eg - Joy/sorrow, Peace/Disturbance.


We have been told to remember them and use them in our lives. 
The highlight for me was the sudarshan kriya, which was preceded by a short tutorial and practice of parts of Pranayam ( The controlling of the Life force energy, meaning of Pranayam). 


I was surprised I could sit in a Vajrasan Yogic pose for longer than I though I could, when I ignored the initial discomfort. The Sudarshan Kriya was all it promised- difficult to do, boring at times, energising, tiring and calming. you have to experience it to understand your emotions, and I am not going to delve into mine. If you wanted one good thing you could pick out of AOL, one thing only, the skeptics choice, it would most definitely be the Sudarshan Kriya. Heck, I'll tell ya. I am feeling energised and calmer, and this was my first time. 


This was Day 2 in a nutshell. Cheerios!


Love, 


K.


Day 1