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Oṁ Maṅgalasukaraṁ Kevalaṁ Jñānadāhitaṁ Gaganasadṛśaṁ Tasmāsyādilakṣaṁ Ekaṁ Nityaṁ Vimalācalaṁ Sarvadhiṣakṣibhūtaṁ Bhāvahitaṁ Triguṇarahitaṁ Satgurutvaṁ Nāmāmyaṁ. Śrī Dīp Nārāyaṇa Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Śrī Śrī Dev Puruṣa Mahādeva Kī Jaya. Satguru Svāmī Madhavānanda Bhagavān Kī Jaya. Satya Sanātana Dharma Kī Jaya. Blessed self, dear sisters and brothers, spiritual seekers, practitioners of yoga and daily life, followers of all spiritual paths, good evening and blessings of the divine to all of you. Our subject today concerns our physical, mental, and spiritual health. Let us begin with physical health. Nowadays, there is much pollution: pollution in the air, in food, in water, and also mental pollution. This mental pollution arises from physical pollution—air pollution, pollution in nourishment, vegetation, waters, and so on. A question came to me: nowadays, there are many heart attacks and brain hemorrhages. How can we find prevention through the practice of yoga? My dear ones, you know that yoga was designed ages ago by the great saints of India for the well-being of human health. The health of nature, birds, and animals—they know how to maintain themselves. The problem lies in human activities, human ambition, and greed. The great yogīs knew that humans are the responsible beings on this planet. Humans are the protectors of this planet. Humans should maintain peace, harmony, and love for all creatures. Our Grand Master, Śrī Deep Nārāyaṇa Mahāprabhujī, said, "Love each and every entity, if not more, then at least that much, as much as you love thyself." Do not cause pain to any creature. Do not cause pain to any human—physical, emotional, mental, intellectual, social, political, etc. But in this Kali Yuga, humans have somehow lost guidance, lost faith, lost the good things they had. The result is that humans suffer themselves, and due to human actions, nature and other creatures also suffer. How to bring balance? Yoga in Daily Life is a scientific system designed for the well-being of a human's physical, mental, social, and spiritual health. But my dear ones, we need the discipline to practice. We need the discipline to live life. The great yogīs, the saints of holy Bhārat, connected with the holy Himālaya, were known as Trikāla Darśī—knowers of the past, present, and future. They wrote in the scriptures of the Vedas and Upaniṣads, Purāṇas, and many other texts. They wrote about Kali Yuga: how it would be, what would happen to humans, nature, and this planet. They also knew what could help humans. What we nowadays think and talk about, what the United Nations speaks of—achieving sustainable development—means a system that maintains itself independently. Yoga itself is a practice, a technique, that is sustainable. Many systems, theories, and trials have come into the world and ultimately failed. But yoga, the eternal science of consciousness, which the yogīs explored thoroughly from the consciousness of the stone up to cosmic consciousness—subconscious, unconscious, conscious, higher consciousness, and superconsciousness—endures. Yogīs were the fathers of psychology and the science of consciousness. They gave beautiful techniques. These original yoga techniques must be practiced properly. Nowadays, anyone may buy a book, attend a ten-day class, and declare themselves a yoga teacher. Half-knowledge is more harmful; it is not the knowledge we need. In yoga, there are techniques: āsanas, prāṇāyāmas, bandhas, mudrās, kriyās, and meditation. Generally, yoga is divided into four parts: karma yoga, bhakti yoga, rāja yoga, and jñāna yoga. Today, I will touch on the points of āsanas. Āsanas are not a sport. Āsana means a comfortable, motionless, steady posture. Āsanas are done very slowly, with beautiful rhythm—I call it a cosmic dance. While practicing āsanas, you become one with yourself, with your body and thoughts. Movements, relaxations, and concentrations should be in harmony. There are three kinds of movements. First are body-warming exercises. In yoga, these are dynamic movements, like Sarvahitāsana in Yoga in Daily Life—a beautiful, wonderful practice. When you practice Sarvahitāsana, all your muscles and ligaments are exercised, becoming warm and flexible. Circulation and the respiratory system develop flexibility. Such exercises must be practiced daily before other postures; otherwise, they may harm rather than benefit you. Starting yoga is like driving a car: you begin in first gear, then second, third, and fourth. Yoga and a healthy life form a system that leads the practitioner safely and systematically to good health. After body-warming exercises, which take five to ten minutes maximum, come stretching postures. These should also be combined with dynamic movements, but slow. If you stretch your body immediately, you may harm your muscles. When the body is warm and you stretch, all stiffness is released. You will feel more mobility in your joints, and circulation and respiration will harmonize. The third level is the practice of postures. It does not matter, my dear, which kind of yoga you practice—there is only one yoga. We give it different names. I designed a system called Yoga in Daily Life. Others may use different names, but yoga is yoga. When you practice, be aware and do it systematically; this will help you greatly. After a few minutes of stretching, you proceed to āsanas. For example, you do Paścimottānāsana slowly and remain for half a minute or a minute. After Paścimottānāsana, you should do Uṣṭrāsana or Matsyāsana—you see the counterpose. You always stretch one side while the other contracts, then stretch the other side. For example, when you close your fist and open it slowly, holding for a while before releasing, you feel the blood circulation and immense pleasant, warm feelings. After stretching postures, you come to the āsana. Āsana means comfortable. In that posture, you can remain for one, two, or three minutes without discomfort or pain. At that time, your entire body begins to function: all gland systems, hormones, muscles, tissues, ligaments, breath, and circulation. It does not matter if you practice only five or ten postures; be aware to do them slowly. It is not the quantity but the quality. Even two postures, held properly, can make you feel comfortable all day. Through the practice of postures, the digestive system harmonizes, ensuring good digestion. You will never have constipation or diarrhea unless you eat something raw, and you will have no gastric problems. If you then practice saṅkhaprakṣālana, kunjal kriyā, agnisāra kriyā, and nauli kriyā—this part of yoga is known as haṭha yoga. Mostly nowadays, people call only āsanas and prāṇāyāma "Haṭha Yoga," but this is not correct; it is Rāja Yoga. Yet everyone says it wrongly: "I want Haṭha Yoga." Very few are actually practicing Haṭha Yoga. Haṭha Yoga is designed to purify the body's interior system through ṣaṭ karma, the six kriyās. Like pañca karma in Āyurveda—which is adopted from Haṭha Yoga—the names are netī, dhautī, bastī, naulī, tratāka, and kapālabhāti. Haṭha Yoga keeps your body very clean. All systems and circulation will function perfectly: heart rhythm, blood pressure, digestion, movements, joints, ligaments, respiration, concentration, and your very being. You will feel pleasure and happiness under your skin. Your body will be thankful to you, my dear. Haṭha Yoga should be practiced under the guidance of a teacher, a yogī who has practical experience, who can explain the techniques, precautions, sequences, and dietary principles. Otherwise, it can cause harm. Haṭha Yoga does not take long: Kunjal Kriyā takes 3–5 minutes, Agnisāra Kriyā 1–2 minutes, Trāṭak 10 minutes, at different times of the day—not, for example, Kunjal Kriyā at lunchtime. It has its time: morning, on an empty stomach. Trāṭak can be done anytime. Please get in touch with your yoga teacher and learn Haṭha Yoga properly. When a yogī practices Haṭha Yoga, concentration and discipline develop immensely, for the ultimate aim is to unite individual consciousness with cosmic consciousness. Philosophically, according to yogic literature, "Ha" means the moon and "ṭha" means the sun, with "yoga" meaning union. "Ha" is our left nostril, Iḍā, and "ṭha" is the right, Piṅgalā. Iḍā and Piṅgalā—the sympathetic and parasympathetic, the moon and sun systems, Chandra and Sūrya—when purified through kapālabhāti, prāṇāyāma, and netī, awaken the third channel, Suṣumnā. The left controls emotions, the right controls temperament and activities, and Suṣumnā controls the level of consciousness. When Ha and Ṭha, moon and sun, come into balance, that is Haṭha, and their union is yoga. This is the root of Haṭha Yoga. I believe your yoga teacher is perfect and very good. Otherwise, you may get in touch with Yoga in Daily Life teachers around the world. There are hundreds or thousands of them who can give you perfect practice and guidance. Through Haṭha Yoga practice, we come to prāṇa. We will touch on prāṇa and the level of the cakras later. Then you will understand what Kuṇḍalinī truly means. Otherwise, Kuṇḍalinī is misunderstood in the world. Many think it is harmful or difficult, but it is not difficult at all. We must understand and have a proper teacher and literature to guide us. Today, a teacher brought me a book called The Hidden Powers in Humans: Chakra and Kuṇḍalinī Yoga. It offers a perfect explanation. First, you must read, understand, contemplate, read again, and then begin to practice. Reading once and starting is not good. Even after reading many times, you need a master who can impart it to you. The kriyā purifies the cakras so your level of consciousness begins to merge into higher consciousness. When we practice āsanas—physical postures and exercises in three parts: body-warming, dynamic stretching or counter-postures, and postures—along with concentration and heart yoga, it purifies your nervous system and arteries. You can be 98% protected from heart attacks or heart problems. Also, practicing kapālabhāti and prāṇāyāmas, which are the next steps, ensures you will not have a brain hemorrhage. Of course, it depends on other factors like stress, but a yogī should not have stress. Bhagavān Kṛṣṇa tells in the Bhagavad Gītā—please read it. According to Kṛṣṇa, yoga is divided into 18 chapters. According to Patañjali, there are four: karma yoga, bhakti yoga, rāja yoga, and jñāna yoga. The Bhagavad Gītā is one of the holy books. Read the same chapter daily, and you will gain new knowledge each time. It is called Kāmadhenu, which gives you ever-flowing milk—and that milk is wisdom. Practicing Kapālabhāti purifies all stress pollution. You will feel calm and tranquil all day, with clear thoughts. We will explore these techniques further in the next webcast. First, my dear brothers and sisters, I believe you are practicing. If not, please begin. Yoga is not part of any religion. No—yoga is one of the most ancient and primary sciences. Yoga is not part of any religion; rather, all religions are part of yoga. But you must understand what yoga is. Prayer, meditation, service (seva), humanitarian projects, protecting nature and animals—these are all sciences, techniques, and theories given to us by the great yogīs. We offer our adoration to all the great saints of holy Bhārat. Mankind should be thankful for this. In this Kali Yuga, it is the only chance for humans to survive and attain the highest knowledge and consciousness, to become one with the cosmic Self. I wish you all the best. I pray to God to bless you and grant you great success in your yoga and spiritual practices. With this, dear sisters and brothers, I will see you again.