Health & Happiness

“The Art of Living”

Some tips to make you effective in bringing people to our courses:

1. Be regular with Padmasadhana & Sahaj Meditation. You will be very confident and connect-
up with your audience instantly
2. Avoid memorizing the lines. Instead, understand the content and the sequence. Highlight
the keywords yourself. When actually delivering the talk, if you goof on the content &
sequence, it is ok. Just become aware of where you missed out for future reference. This is
very important if you want to graduate to an interesting teacher, unless you want to
become a repetitive and boring teacher
3. Watch what you eat
4. Watch Gurudev’s talk, “Introduction to Breath”
5. Before starting your session, mentally chant ‘Guru Brahma Guru Vishnu . . .’ with your
eyes closed. Connect upstairs!
6. When starting your talk, look at the audience, making eye contact with as many as
possible. See them as little kids waiting to hear their mother!
7. During the session, make the participants say “yes” as many times as possible. Get them
all into a “Yes” mind
8. Most important rule: Enjoy your delivery

Talks given by Gurudev on various occasions form the basis of this 45-minute “Health &
Happiness” capsule. It is very simple and scientific. It essentially has 2-principal ingredients:

1. 7-levels of existence:
• Body
• Breath
• Mind
• Intellect
• Memory
• Ego
• Self
2. 4-sources of energy
• Food
• Air
• Rest or sleep
• Meditation / knowledge

If you recall the Part-1 course content, you will see the whole course is on the 7-levels of existence
and 4-sources of energy. The 5-sutras lead to the 7-levels. Actually levels-3 to 6 (mind, intellect,
memory and ego). These, and Sudharshana Kriya along with the Yoga stretches are the salient
aspects of the Part-1 course. In the 6-day format, you also have some wonderful processes that
open people up very nicely. Now that we have covered the basics, we are ready to deliver “Health
& Happiness”

*********************

Good morning / good evening, (as appropriate) I am Mala. I am a homemaker and am a volunteer
in Art of Living. I also run a business in my spare time

Welcome to a 45-minute “Health & Happiness” session

Let us start by a better understanding of health. Mere absence of disease is not health. Health is
some thing much deeper than just physical health. Can any one here give me the Sanskrit word
for health? . . . Yes, what is it? Is it “Swastha”? Correct. In Sanskrit, “Swa” means “Self” and
“Swastha” means established in the Self

What is this “Self”? Do we know?

We all have a body? Yes? And, this body has a name? Yes? Are we just this body? Are you all
here? Yes, some of you are physically here. But some have gone some where . . . Yes? Some are
thinking what to give for dinner tonight . . . Some are thinking of the cheque that is coming for
collection tomorrow . . . Yes? What is this “something” that has taken a walk? That is the mind.
Where body is gross, mind is subtle. The Vedas have described the gross body as “sthoola sharir”
and the subtle aspect as “sukshma sharir”. Body & mind are like the two bullocks pulling a cart.
Body is the gross aspect and the mind subtle part, the two bullocks, both have to work in unison.

So you agree that we have two aspects to our self? Yes?

There is some thing that links the body and the mind? Can you tell me what it is?

What does a baby do as soon as it is born? (many of them will say “cry”) Do you say cry? Yes?
Before the cry, it takes a deep lungful of air – its first breath. Only after taking the breath, it can
cry. Yes? So, our first act of life is taking that first breath in. And, what is the last act of our life?
Our last breath out . . . The breath intimately connects the body and mind. The breath links the
body & mind

No breath, no life. Our entire life is between the first breath in and the last breath out. The breath
holds many secrets . . .

Do you want to know some of those secrets? Are you ready? Yes? Say yes or no . . .

OK. Let us spend a few more minutes on knowing a few more aspects and then we will practically
experience what we have learnt. Ok? Yes?

Have you noticed your breathing pattern when resting? It is slow and relaxed? Yes? When you run
to catch a bus or vigorously exercise, how is your breathing? Fast & forceful? With every physical
change, there is a change in the breathing pattern

Have you noticed that your breath is hot and fast when you are angry? At the same time, when
you are relaxed, listening to music, you will have seen that your breath is cool & relaxed. Thus,
every emotional change reflects in your breath.

The breath is what links the gross body and the subtle mind. This is usually a one-way traffic.
Conversely, it is possible to use breath to enjoy a healthy body and a calm mind though

We have now moved from the gross to the subtle and have seen that the breath links both. Mind
has subtler aspects to it: Intellect, memory, ego & Self. Would you want to look at the mind a little
more? Because it is subtle, we cannot handle it directly. One can handle it only with awareness.
Awareness of its nature, nature of the mind . . .

Shall we play a game?

Let us all close our eyes . . .

Let us take a deep breath and let go . . . Just listen to the instructions. Please continue to keep
your eyes closed . . . Think of any animal, but DON’T think of a monkey . . . Think of any animal,
but DON’T think of a blue-tailed monkey . . . Think of any animal but DON’T think of a blue-tailed
red-faced monkey . . . You are free to think of any animal but not a blue-tailed red-faced monkey .
..

Slowly you may open your eyes

What did you experience? The more you tried not to think of a monkey, a blue-tailed red-faced
monkey kept leaping in front of you? That is your mind and the nature of the mind is: what you
resist, persists

Some more on the mind-stuff?

Mind is seldom in the present. Like the pendulum of an old clock, it keeps vacillating between the
past and the future. When it goes to the past, we experience anger, regret . . . When it goes to the
future, we experience, anxiety, worry . . .
This leads to stress and saps our energy. Just being 100% in the present itself is elevating. OK.
Let us play another game.

The game is simple. You just have to clap your hands exactly the way I do it. You simply have to
follow me the way I clap. OK? Shall we start? Yes?

(start clapping rhythmically slowly . . . increase the speed of clapping . . . keep increasing and
take it to a crescendo . . . stop abruptly, but let your palms remain facing each other well-spaced .
. . clap once, thrice . . . stop . . . continue this way without a pattern in your clapping. After a few
minutes, stop)

How was the game? (Don’t pay too much attention to what people are saying) How is the state of
your mind now? (without waiting for an answer) Many of you feel elated? (some hands will go up,
many heads will nod) What did we do? We clapped, but were very alert, not to miss the game . . .
In the process, we brought our minds to the present, with us, here and now . . . We also, in the
process, have got energized. Yes? I know we can’t go around hand-clapping to feel energetic.

Talking about energy, let us look at sources from where we get our energy. There are 4-sources of
energy, there isn’t a fifth source. Can you help me? What are the four sources of energy? (prompt
people to answer, some one will say food) Yes, food is a source of energy, right kind of food and
the right quantity. Too much food makes us dull. Too little makes us irritable. OK. What next?
(some one may say water – remember to say water is part of food. Our food always contains
moisture. Some one may say air. If no one comes forward with suggestions . . .) Air that we
breathe is the next source of energy. In fact, we can survive even for a couple of weeks without
food. But without air how long can we survive? Rest or sleep is the third source of energy. We
have covered 3-sources of energy. The fourth source of energy is meditation. In fact, meditation is
the most important source of energy. Yogic practices such as pranayama and meditation can very
effectively energize us and lead us to health & happiness

We talked about awareness earlier . . .? Once you begin to attend to your energy levels – the 4-
sources of energy, your awareness will automatically be good. You will feel energetic. You will
automatically enjoy good health & happiness

Would you all like to experience a short meditation? Yes? OK.

Let us also do some pranayama before we do the meditation. We will do bhasthrika pranayama.
Sit with your spine erect. Those sitting on chairs please come a little forward in your seat. Make a
loose fist of your hands and hold your fists in front of your shoulders (demonstrate). Good. When I
say, IN raise your arms, taking your palms as high as possible and open your fingers. When I say
OUT, bring your hands down and close your palms. (demonstrate the complete movement) Have
you all got it?

Next let us learn to coordinate our breathing with the movement of our hands. When taking your
arms up, take a deep breath in and when brining your hands down, breath out. That’s all. Have
your all got it? Can we all do it? Shall we do it together to my count? (please give three rounds of
bhasthrika of 10 to 15 per round with a couple of minutes of rest in between rounds. Let it not be
very fast and forceful. After three rounds, you can play Guruji’s “Om Meditation” audio CD. After
the mediation, many may take time to open their eyes. Give them all enough time. After you bring
them out, continue)

How do you feel? Good? How is your energy level now?

Well this was just a sample. In the 6-day Art of Living course, we learn very effective pranayama
techniques. We share with you another wonderful breathing technique called “Sudharshana Kriya”
Sudharshana Kriya is a rhythmic breathing technique that helps the body & mind, especially the
mind. It is a medically researched technique. I have articles on Sudharshana Kriya from All India
Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurological
Sciences. You could go through these articles after the session (please remember to carry these
two studies with you)
A few millions across the world have benefited from the Art of Living courses. The course is unique
because it has cut across color, creed, religion and geographical boundaries. Art of Living has over
3,000-centres in 150-countries

Art of Living today is the largest volunteer-based NGO reaching out to the needy across the globe.
We run many service projects. Our school project is one of the many & it is unique. Our rural and
tribal schools provide free value-filled stress-free education to mostly first generation children.
These children are picked up from their homes, provided uniform, books and a nutritious meal.
They get quality education. The donations collected in our courses help us fund such service
projects

We invite you to come and participate in our 6-day course and enjoy a good health & stress-free
life. While you do this, you also become a part of our service projects that benefit many. Next
course is happening from . . . (give all the details)

(Please carry enough forms. It is ideal if you can complete the registrations along with the
donations)