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Part 1: A Glimpse of India and the Essence of Yoga A little glimpse of Indian classical dance in the video provides a wonderful sense of the culture that is available here. Whether it be music, dance, movies, or the teachers who come from time to time to impart their knowledge and wisdom to the people in this city, there is much that we can offer you concerning India right here. Please visit our website at www.ctindubai.com. A simple Google search will find it. Send us a mail with any query, and we will be happy to help and support you in every way possible. Thank you. Thank you very much. I don’t think any more introduction is needed. So, I would like to ask Swamiji, if you please, to come on the stage and guide us. Just a small request, friends. I was reminded as I walked back that I should switch off or put my mobile away. So, if I may, I can ask you to do the same. Thank you very much. A very good evening, dear brothers and sisters. Welcome to our dear guest, our brother, the Consul General of India, Rajamani, and his dear wife, Saroj. Welcome. I also welcome and thank the organizers for arranging this meeting. You have seen a glimpse of Yoga in Daily Life. For the last 40 years, I have been in Europe longer than in India. I see that all of you know yoga. Definitely, you are sitting in such a good posture; it means you are doing yoga. Now, you came to Yoga in Daily Life. Maybe you have some questions in your mind: What is the correct path? Some call it Kriya Yoga, some call it Mantra Yoga, some call it Dhyāna Yoga, some call it Yoga in Daily Life. What should we do? My dear ones, Yoga is Yoga. That’s all. Yoga is Yoga. So there is no difference in yoga. The author of yoga is Lord Śiva. So he has the copyright. Yoga is a science of body, mind, consciousness, and soul. Yoga is not just the exercise we are doing, but more than this. In Sanskrit we say Ananta Brahmāṇḍa—the endless universe, without border. We don’t know where the limit is. Therefore, ananta; this space we call Ākāśa, the space, the room. Space is like the body of the mother. This endless universe is nothing but the body of the mother, the womb of the mother. In this Ananta Brahmāṇḍa, in the endless universe, there is a consciousness we call cosmic consciousness. So the cosmic consciousness is like an embryo in the mother’s body. So first is the mother, the divine mother, the cosmic mother—not in this form which we believe or see. That is nirākāra, formless. And nowhere is empty space. The entire universe is filled with that divine consciousness, cosmic consciousness. Now, keeping these two together, balancing them, that principle is known as yoga. So, how old is yoga? You can imagine, or you can tell me. As old as this endless universe is, that old is yoga. And yoga is that principle of balancing all the elements, visible and invisible, balanced by one principle; that’s called yoga. Where there is balance, there is harmony. So the practice of yoga means to achieve harmony. Where there is harmony, there is unity, oneness. So, to realize the oneness with the cosmic consciousness, yoga means union. Union means the union of the individual consciousness with the cosmic consciousness. Eko Brahma: there is only one supreme. It is said: Ananta Brahmāṇḍa Śāstra Sūryas—endless universe and the thousands, the millions of sun systems—declared by yogīs thousands and thousands of years from Satya Yuga onwards. Now, modern science is also declaring, speaking about galaxies, many, many solar systems. The creation in this endless empty space, śūnya ākāśa, took place through sound. That’s called nāda, resonance. That sound we call Aum: A-U-M. Akāra, Ukāra, Makāra. These are the three tattvas. Akāra is the form, Ukāra is that resonance, and Makāra is the existence. So, from this one sound, thousands of solar systems were created, and our planet too. On this planet, there are 8.4 million different creatures created by that one creator, however you call the name or the sound or anything. These 8.4 million different creatures are divided into three categories: jalachar, sthalachar, and nabhachar—creatures in the water, on the earth, and in the space. Out of these 8.4 million, one is the human. Now, the difference between other creatures and the human is that humans have got a very powerful tool, and that is intellect, buddhi. And human intellect also needs a right or a good education. Immense capacities we have got in our education, in our buddhi, intellect, and the brain. This cycle of rebirth and death, to step out of this, is the last point. That is a human life. If you miss it, you missed it. You have to repeat again many lives. But beside all this, it is said: health is not everything, and health is not… everything, but everything is nothing without health. Health means long life. The system, one of the most ancient medical systems, comes from Satya Yuga, from Dhanvantari: Āyurveda. Āyurveda simply means: Āyu means life and Veda means knowledge. Do we have knowledge about our body, our mind, our emotions, our intellect, our memory, our consciousness, our past, present, and future? So, Āyurveda is that knowledge of existence, but in balance, harmony, and unity. And for that, two things are necessary: nourishment and movement. Yesterday, I told you about physical nourishment, solid or liquid, but the environment is also nourishment. A society is nourishment. Thinking is nourishment. No thinking is also nourishment. And movement is also nourishment. So the nourishment and these movements, which we are doing or calling yoga. Now, in our body, there are 72,000 nerves, and these 72,000 nerves are the channels to receive the cosmic energy or the energy from outside. Energy is not visible to us, but constantly, energy is moving through our body. These are 72,000 chakras, the energy points, what in acupuncture they call the reflex zone. The prāṇāyāma, practicing the prāṇāyāma and the āsanas, movements and breath techniques, will definitely influence our energy centers positively, as well as our nerve systems will be purified. We know we have a beautiful body. We know ourselves from birth till now, but we don’t know what’s going on in the body, and we don’t know how to keep our body healthy. Maybe we have a stomach ache, and we take medicine for a stomach ache, but the cause is somewhere else. Or we have a headache; we are taking a painkiller, but the causes may be in the stomach, or in the spinal column, or in some muscles or the nerves, and so on. Without cause, we cannot treat. So either to know the cause or find out through certain techniques or the science in our body, you know, all that many, many glands. And the glands are responsible to produce harmonious, balanced hormones. Any kind of imbalance in our health is definitely that some glands don’t function properly. Our muscles may not be relaxed, our ligaments, our joints, the blood, the blood tissues, and so many things. How to put it all together and keep the balance? For that, yogīs designed some yogic exercises. There are many yoga books, and in every yoga book they write good things, and the postures are very nice; they are very good. But yoga and daily life are a little different, and that is, we go very systematically from primary school, or from the nursery school, kindergarten, till the higher education. These exercises are very simple but have very good effect on the body. Remember, please, in yoga there is no competition. In yoga there is no challenge. And don’t think that if you can do the head standing now, you are a yogī. No, for standing, God gave us two legs, okay? So if you can’t manage to do the head standing, it doesn’t matter. You can get the same benefit through different exercises which you get through head standing. So, no competition, no like an artist in the circus. We would like to be happy, healthy, and have a harmonious life, to create happiness and harmony in the family, to create happiness and harmony in society, and we look a little farther into the world, at what in the world is happening nowadays. We humans have more feelings for our brothers and sisters around the world. We humans understand what is happening now, what they call global change. We are human now, realizing what the climate change and global warming mean. So many things are there. Yoga and life are working for many things. But now, today will come practical session, so always begins with relaxation. Ready? Okay. Head to my side, lie down on the back, hands beside the body, palms open, then slightly facing upward, legs slightly apart, and eyes are closed. Take a deep breath in and out, and relax the whole body. The whole day has passed; you were working physically and mentally, but now is time to relax. Withdraw yourself from the external world. Become aware of your being here in this hall, just relax. Relax your whole body from the toes to the top of the head, and from the top of the head till the toes. No tensions at all, physically or mentally. Relax. No concentration, no imagination. Just feel your body. Be aware of your physical body, relax both legs, relax hip joints, relax your back muscles, relax your stomach muscles, relax your fingers, palms, arms, elbows, and shoulders. Relax your neck, relax your jaw, relax the face muscles, relax your lips, the eyelids, and eyebrows center, just relax. Say mentally to thyself, "Relax, my friend, relax. For the time being, let me be one with myself." Relax the whole body. Bring your awareness to the breath. Do not change the breath rhythm; let it flow. Your breath, natural as it is. Just feel that you know you are inhaling, and you know that you are exhaling. I know that I’m inhaling, and I know that I’m exhaling. At the time of the inhalation, the trunk of the body is expanding, and at the time of the exhalation, it’s contracting. It’s a very beautiful feeling, a very gentle feeling. I know that I’m inhaling and my trunk of the body is expanding, and I know that I’m exhaling, and it’s contracting. No concentration, just relax. And at the time of the inhalation, the whole body is recharging the vitality, prāṇa śakti, life force. And at the time of the exhalation, you are exhaling all kinds of toxins. This cosmic energy flows through the whole body. Relax, my friend. Time of the inhalation, prāṇa śakti, life force energy flowing into the body, it removes all kinds of tensions. It removes all kinds of pressures in the body, and it removes all kinds of toxins, a flow from the toes to the top of the head, and from the top of the head to the toe. I know that I am inhaling. I know that I am exhaling. Relax. Feel ingoing and outcoming breath. Don’t let your breath flow without your knowing. You feel relax physically and mentally now, a little bit. Feeling or imagination that very soon you will perform some exercises of yoga and daily life, just imagine. And at the same time, become extrovert: my voice, your breath, sound, friends who are practicing or relaxing next to you, the objects in this hall, the lights and different sounds. And now, slowly move your fingers, move your toes, close your fist, and rotate your wrists. Slowly, while inhaling, stretch your hands above the head, interlock the fingers and stretch your whole body. Toes towards the body, heels outside, and roll your body to the left side and to the right side. Hands beside the body, bend your one knee and stretch out again, another knee and stretch out slightly, turn to the left side or right side, which is for your convenience, and sit up, please, like a farmer or a gardener preparing the soil to plant the beautiful flowers or the trees or the crops. Similarly, before beginning to practice yoga exercises, you have to prepare mentally and physically. Now your body will adapt, will accept, it will have that effect on your body. So now the demonstrator will come here. And I think, again, we liked it yesterday, our demonstrator very much, Madhuri. Come. Yes, you are a yoga star. Come here. That I don’t know. You come first. Okay. Thank you. And it will come, santos also. We will sit in vajrāsana. Yesterday I explained for 25 minutes only one posture, Vajrāsana. How good it is. But maybe in some minutes or seconds, I will explain it. Good for digestion, good to remove the tension from the shoulders and neck, good for the stomach, good to remove the stiffness and tiredness, and it improves the immune system in the body. It calms down our thoughts. So Vajrāsana is very beautiful. If I will again explain, then we will again stop at Vajrāsana. Now, today we are going to practice one beautiful, beautiful exercise, or a movement, or a posture, or an āsana, whatever you call it. The most beautiful and flexible back is the cat’s. When the cat is sitting for a long time somewhere, when she stands up, what is she doing? She is stretching back up and again down to remove the stiffness of the back. So you will also do, and if you don’t know, you just look to our models. So now it’s also systematic. You cannot put your car in sixth gear and start. You have to come slowly, one by one, gear by gear, or also speed slowly, slowly. So, stretch your hands. First, slowly up. Now, hands down. You live here in Dubai. Did you see the camel? Who didn’t see the camel? And did you see the camel, how he’s sitting and standing up? Who didn’t see? Please hand up. Then you have to go camel riding tomorrow. Okay. So again, hands up. And now you will stand up like the camel is doing. Straight, stand up. Yes, on the knees. Very, very good. Now, hands remain like this, and slowly sit back again. Yes, and hands down, perfect. So it means when you come up, you should not bend yourself. Remain like this. It goes to your thigh muscles and the hip. It strengthens and goes to your buttocks as well as your calf muscles. It gives strength to your back muscles to stand. The parallel muscles to the spinal column, so now we do consciously. Hands in the front. Slowly stand on your knees. Perfect. Now, sit down slowly. I want to check how you will sit. Now, we all know the distance between the shoulders and hips. How many centimeters, maybe? I have a different one. Everyone has a little centimeter difference. So, when we come down with our hands, the palms or the hands and the knees should have the same distance as from the shoulder to the hip joint. You understand me? Okay, second, you know, how broad are your shoulders? How wide are your shoulders? So the hands should be placed like, you are here, you are putting, so the distance between both hands should be that much as your shoulders. Slowly again, so hands up and… and come up. This is one. And two, place your hands in front of you. You know the distance. And now, again, without going down, stand on the knees. Come up and sit down. Well, someone went with one hand, some went a little back, and like this, sorry. Look how this is strengthening your muscles. The movement or the posture looks very simple, but it has a very, very good effect on the entire body. Coming back, the camel also sits very systematically. I was riding camels many times, that’s why I know. Can see that I’m grown with the horses and the camels and like this. So, once more, one, stand up, two, and now I will see how you will stand up. So, slowly raise your hands up, back up, yes, and sit down, then hands down. So again, one, first hands up, and then stand on your knees, please, and place your hands down and look at your stomach. It means stretch your back up like a mountain. Try to look at your stomach, elbows straight, knees slightly apart. Look to your stomach. Try to make your back like a mountain. Stretch your backs up like a cat is doing. Just look up and press your back down. Look to the middle light or somewhere on the… ceilings four, look to the stomach. Make five, look up to the sky or the ceiling. Six, look to the stomach. Seven, look up. Eight, to the stomach. Nine, look up, and stand up and sit down. First, sit on the knees and then put your hands down. Very good. Now again, one: hands up and stand up, inhale. And stand up to exhale, hands on the ground, and look to the stomach while exhaling. Three: inhale and look up to the ceiling. Four: exhale and look to the stomach. Make your back like a mountain. On the heel, six, inhale. Seven, exhale. I think I missed the number. Now become seven up, look to the ceiling. Eight, exhale and look to the stomach. Nine, inhale and stand on the knee, exhale, and ten. Too hard? Tired? This marjari means the cat. First of all, it’s the best for our backbones. Many people have back problems. And I can tell you, after a few days of practicing, if there’s no slipped disc or some different problems, then your back pain will disappear. Like water or oil disappears in the desert, in the sand. Second, it is very, very good for the stomach, for digestion. Expanding, we are stretching and contracting our intense time. You will feel now what I tell you. You will feel during exercising very beautifully, gently stretching the front muscles of… Part 2: A Gentle Yoga Sequence and Spiritual Discourse Body Awareness and Movement When you look up, you contract the back muscles. When you look down, you press the front muscles and stretch the back muscles. This is a beautiful, dynamic movement, very beneficial for those wishing to reduce the stomach gradually and nicely. It will help. In yoga, this is especially mentioned as very good for females, particularly during menstruation. If there are spasms, irregular cycles, or cramps, it can be like a miracle; after one or two rounds, they can disappear. It means it relaxes the organs. For males, for the prostate, it will help prevent the prostate from growing bigger; it will be controlled. It is very good for the neck muscles—you may not realize it, but it nicely exercises the neck muscles—and for the thigh and calf muscles. It is very simple but has a very great effect. Now we will do it very consciously. The principle is: when you go up, inhale; when you go down, exhale. One, two—look at the stomach, exhale. Three, four, five—slowly move your head up and down. Six, seven—slowly stand up. The breath flows like this, and your body moves slowly with it. Some may go a bit quicker; try to control everything. Your body should be under control and do nothing without your awareness. One, two—looking at the stomach. Three, five, seven, eight, nine—come up, ten. Remember? Clear? Very good. Now, lie down on your stomach and relax. After each posture and exercise, it is best to relax again so the body can integrate all these movements. Observe what is happening with your muscles, joints, and breath. Make yourself comfortable and just relax. Very good. Now, turn onto your back, please. Remain lying down and listen carefully for the next exercises. Something very beautiful and good, like a blessing for your back. Stretch your hands sideways. If you need space, you can move a little; the hall is big enough. Very good. Listen carefully, please. Spinal Twist Series Legs together. Place your right heel between the big toe and second toe of the left foot. Twist your body only from the hips. Slowly bend your right toes to the ground on the left side. That’s right. Look toward your right hand: toes to the left, head to the right. Try to touch the ground. Inhale and come back to the middle. Exhale. Change the heel: left heel on the right toes. Deep inhale, and while exhaling, take the left toes to the right side and head to the left side. Maintain a normal breath while exhaling. Remain there. Slowly, while inhaling, come back to the middle and place the heel down. Right heel on the left toes. Deep inhale, and while exhaling, toes to the left, head to the right. Deep inhale and come to the middle. Place your right heel down and left heel on the right. Deep inhale, and while exhaling, toes to the right, head to the left. Inhale, come to the middle, heel down. Next Exercise Hands remain as they are. Bend your right knee and place your right foot outside of the left thigh, above the knee. Deep inhale, and try to bring your right knee to the left side on the ground. Look to the right side as far as you can, but do not raise your shoulder blades. Both shoulder blades must remain on the ground. Do not force it; it will take time. Inhale and come to the middle. Exhale and stretch your right leg out. Now bend your left knee. I will tell you a little trick; sometimes a trick is also good. Deep inhale, and while exhaling, bend your left knee to the right side. With your right hand, hold your knee to support it to that side, and look to the left side. This makes it a little easier. Never force. Inhale and come to the middle. Again: right knee bending, place the foot outside of the left knee. Knee to the left, head to the right. You may support your knee with your hand. Inhale, come to the middle. Exhale, stretch your leg. Both Knees Exercise Bend both knees, placing the soles of your feet on the ground. Keep your feet apart, about the distance from your knee to your heel—the length of your calf. Let your knees fall to the left side and your head to the right side. A correction: your right knee should touch your left foot sole. That’s it. Right knee touches the left foot sole, and you are looking to the right side. Slowly, by inhaling, come to the middle. Now let your knees fall to the right side and head to the left. The left knee should touch your right foot sole. Observe your body’s feelings. You now know very well which muscles and joints are influenced by this exercise. Inhale, come to the middle. Knees to the left, head to the right, slowly. Very good. Knees to Chest Twist Hands remain where they are. Pull your knees towards your body without using your hands. Your knees should be together and touching, if possible. Now, let your knees fall to the left side on the ground and your head to the right side. Ensure both shoulder blades remain on the ground. Slowly come back to the middle. Move the knees slowly, please; otherwise, you may cause pain to your spine or a slipped disk. Knees to the right side, head to the left side. Of course, you must have control over your muscles. Use your muscle strength as the knees go down. Inhale, come to the middle. Left, head to the right. Inhale, come to the middle. Stretch out one leg after the other. Turn over onto your stomach and relax. Just relax. Take one deep breath in and out, and relax. Cobra and Locust Variations Chin on the ground. Stretch your hands in front of you, palms on the ground. Ensure your legs and feet do not raise up; all ten toes should touch the ground. Look toward me, but keep your feet flat. While inhaling, raise your hands and head—the upper part of your body—up as far as you can. I have nothing against one meter or one and a half meters; I give you complete freedom. Raise as much as you can. Sometimes it is easier when you interlock your thumbs (not all fingers, only the thumbs). Does that give you a little support? That’s it. Inhale and come up. I will not explain this exercise in detail now because it takes a long time, and you need to relax. Come back. This is very good for our back muscles, buttocks, and especially for prevention against hemorrhoids. If someone has a problem with hemorrhoids, it will help cure it. It is also very good for back and stomach muscles. Once more, the upper part of the body does not go. Perhaps we will see if the lower part goes higher. Fix your palms on the ground. Your hands are stretched. Thank you. Rest one cheek on the ground. Your palms will remain on the ground. Inhale, and together raise both legs up. Keep your cheek fixed on the ground. Hold for a count: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Relax. I was counting quickly in your favor. Once more: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. Relax. Interlocked Hands Variation Interlock your fingers over your back, or hold one wrist, as you like. This time, again, only the front part of the body will raise up. Your toes remain on the ground. Deep inhale and raise the upper part of your body up. If possible, look at the ceiling—at whichever light you don’t like. Once more. Again, interlock the fingers over the back. This time you have complete freedom: you can raise the whole body up, but not higher than one meter, okay? Legs, hands, and thighs. Now we know we can levitate, but we have only one obstacle: our stomach. Our stomach keeps us on the earth. Feel those muscles which are engaged. This is a beautiful exercise. The back muscles will become very strong, and you will not have back pain. Relax. Inhale and stretch the body up. With normal breath, it may be easier for us now. Move forward like a cradle. Yes, perfect. Relax. Turn onto your back. Integration and Relaxation At home, when you come, they will ask, "What did you exercise?" We were lying all the time—on the back, on the stomach. So please, bend your knees, hold them, and comfortably roll your body left and right like a back massage, as you like. Very good. Relax. On Prāṇāyāma and Breath After this, prāṇāyāma will come, but I would like to explain as you relax and listen. Breath is life; life is breath. When we were born, what did we do first? We inhaled. And what will we do last? We will exhale and will not be able to inhale anymore. Our breath is so long, from birth till death, like the ocean from one shore to the other. The space between inhalation and exhalation is like the waves on the ocean. Similarly, the movement of exhalation and inhalation is that kind of wave which supplies oxygen to the body and keeps our body healthy and long-living. Breathing quickly shortens your life. Breathing slowly prolongs your life and makes you always relaxed and happy. There are three steps of the breath. 1. Breathing with inhale and exhale near the throat or upper chest is not good. All creatures that breathe like this live short lives. 2. Breathing from our lungs below the chest is good, but not perfect. 3. Yogic breath: Inhale first into the stomach, then into the chest, expanding the chest. Exhale first from the chest, then from the stomach. Place your right hand on your stomach below the navel and your left hand on your chest near the throat. First, inhale into the stomach, expand the stomach, and then the chest. Exhale from the chest, then from the stomach. Inhale slowly, expand the stomach, and leave it as it is. Now feel the air in the lungs. Now, empty first from the chest and then from the stomach. Please do this five times yourself. Very, very good. Hands down. Take three deep inhales and exhales. Slowly turn sideways and sit up, please. Closing and Q&A We will have a 15-minute interval. If you want to go to the washroom or drink something, please do. After 15 minutes, there may be more exercises, but I think it is getting late for many of you. So after 15 minutes, we will sit together. If you have some questions or a particular health problem, I may advise you on some exercises. Otherwise, we will do 10 minutes of breathing exercise and a little meditation, and then finish. Thank you. Time is passing. There are two things which are very correct: one, time doesn’t wait for anyone; and two, karma doesn’t leave anyone free. There is no excuse in karma, and time will not wait for you. So this is that. Yoga Through Life's Stages An equation: yoga begins before getting pregnant, so that you have good energy, a good constellation, harmony with your partner, and harmony in the family. If you were consuming alcohol or nicotine, then a few months before getting pregnant you should stop everything and purify your body. That means you are already beginning to do yoga for the baby. During pregnancy, there are also very gentle breath exercises. After the birth, there is another exercise called the mother’s hands—a massage of the child’s back, foot soles, and hands, moving gently. A beautiful yogic massage. When the child begins to walk, you can also do some postures. So it begins already from there. For small kids, it should be something like a play, not something they must do. It should be like a story: the cat, how the cat is getting up, drinking milk, putting feet up, playing with its tail. Children like this. Sitting like this, the flower is going up, opening, closing. We have a very nice book for children. So you can begin anytime. Welcome. Questions and Answers From which country are you? Denmark? Yes, I think I asked you already. Why yesterday? Why did I ask again? Any question? On Diet: In the morning I take tea—black tea cooked with milk, which removes the strong effect of the tea. Boil it longer with milk. Put inside some spices we call tea masala: cardamom, cloves, black pepper, and ginger. Grind them and put them in while boiling. After that, I have some bread with butter and cheese. In India, I have some chapāṭī and some vegetable. Some fruits. Lunch: salad, dāl, vegetable, chapati. Afternoon: some fruits, tea. Evening again, the same: chapatis, fruits, vegetables. Good? On Practice Order: Yes, prāṇāyāma should always come after physical exercises. During the practice of āsanas or movements, the body warms up, circulation begins. Then prāṇāyāma is for detoxifying or purifying the body. So always after physical exercises, prāṇāyāma has more benefit for detoxifying. And after prāṇāyāma comes concentration or meditation. Then the body is relaxed and comfortable, and the mind is also not restless. Everything is tranquil. On Meditation and Sleep: Well, it’s not completely true that meditation replaces sleep. A person who meditates has less tension, and one who practices yoga has fewer toxins. When you meditate, you are completely relaxed, and it can supplement your sleep, okay? You get more relaxed, more comfortable. So it’s like you replace some sleep, but not that ten or eleven minutes of meditation replaces four or six hours of sleep. One day is okay, but sleep is sleep. God made this system, Mother Nature made this system, so we should keep to it. Of course, a yogī doesn’t need so much sleep, but the body still needs it. You should read my Kuṇḍalinī book, and then you will see. If you do very, very little sleeping, you will have psychic problems. On the State of the World: The world changed in the best and better way, and in negative ways, both unfortunately. In negative ways: a lot of pollution, global warming, climate changes, and some civil wars in the Middle East. This is not good. In other ways, many countries changed their political systems toward democracy, and many feel comfortable and good. The young generation became more aware about quality of life and spirituality. They are less following dogmas or orthodoxy. Young people would like more tolerance, respect, and understanding. So it’s changing. The past two World Wars made people very individualistic and fearful; they couldn’t trust anyone. But now this young generation came out, and it is better. But the overall picture of our globe is not good: so many earthquakes, hurricanes, landslides, floods. This is all a sign of human greed. Okay? On Practice Frequency: How often should one practice? If you do it honestly to feel the effect, then a minimum of one and a half hours every day. Two hours is the best you can do peacefully. The best time is before your day’s activity begins, so it is morning. If you cannot practice in the morning, then any time is good when you feel free. But always avoid physical exercises and prāṇāyāma immediately after eating. Practice only three or four hours after eating. Final Meditation Okay, let’s sit for a while with closed eyes and relax. Feel your being here and be relaxed. Feel your breath relax your body. Concentrate on your breath in the middle of the chest. Feel the incoming and outgoing breath touching your inner part, the center of the chest, which awakens the feeling of happiness. Sense your heart—the happiness, the harmony, and love for every creature. Feel your incoming and outgoing breath. Be relaxed. If you cannot concentrate on your heart, concentrate at the center of the eyebrows. What do you see with closed eyes? Or observe your thoughts. What are you thinking? Ask yourself, "Why should I think what I was thinking? What should I think? Why should I?" Think like that now. Deep inhale and exhale. We will chant "Oṃ" three times all together. Deep inhale. Slowly move your fingers. Close your fist. Open the palms. Close the fist. Open the palms and fold them. Rub your palms. Place your hands on your face. Warm your face muscles and eyelids, and open your eyes. That’s all. I wish you all the best, good health, good luck, and, as destiny will allow us, to see each other sometime, somewhere—here or there, definitely somewhere. You can see my lectures and programs on the live program website, Swamiji.TV. See you next time. Thank you.